William Shakespeare once wrote: “All the
world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their
exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts
being seven ages.” (As You Like It, Act
II, Scene VII)
Are teachers also performers? While being a
teacher for most usually brings to mind the countless hours of prepping as well
as evaluating, assessing and reflecting, one rarely stops to consider the
performance role teachers adopt both within and outside the classroom. What is
even more difficult is maintaining a constructive as well as engaging balance
between theoretical components and practical applications, which if given the
opportunity can extend beyond the classroom. In most cases, however, certain
applications take on a more simulated nature. Official assessment methods
aside, presentations, debates, mock interviews and demo teaching are within a
somewhat controlled and pre-determined context. A workshop that was organized
within the context of the Introduction to Drama unit proved that the
performance aspect of Drama while necessary to consider within the parameters
of the course per se upon reflection can lend itself to more imaginative
simulated practical applications of teaching and learning.
The particular workshop aimed at engaging
students with the performance dimension of dramatic theatrical texts such as
William Shakespeare’s Othello, Henrik
Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Oscar
Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest.
Within this workshop, students were initially prompted to compartmentalize and
communicate specific emotions when stating a single phrase. With the use of
exemplary videos introducing students to table readings, as well as the impact
of accent, impressions, gestures and facial expressions students were also
called on to implement and demonstrate with the appropriation of the
aforementioned features how a single text excerpt, normally belonging to and of
a different context, i.e. a rock song, could be appropriated and delivered as a
political speech at a rally or how a news report segment might be delivered by
a young child. The practice of these and other skills could benefit students in
regards to presentations, debates as well as future teaching. While the overall
aim of the workshop was to engage students in dramatic stage readings of selected
scenes in Othello, The Importance of Being Earnest and A Doll’s House and draw on their
critical thinking and interpretation from a different perspective, it appears
as though the notion of teacher and learner as “performer” is a parameter that
ought to be invoked and practiced more often.
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The compartmentalization of emotions as well
as the contexts in which one speaks and the register one adopts can be
simulated and practiced through role-playing. For example, raising student
awareness of the teacher’s necessity to leave personal feelings aside when
entering a classroom, or of the context in which one speaks, such as that of
potential employer and interviewee, and the register one must adopt for maximum
effect can provide students with ample opportunities to work out any kinks as
well as practice before encountering the authentic situation. Undergoing a
process where a student is exposed via role-play to a positive interview
environment as well as a slightly discouraging interview environment could aid in
preparing students for respective situations. Being exposed via demo teaching
to a rowdy or undisciplined class of students could prove beneficial to one who
may encounter such cases in his/her future teaching profession. In addition to
the many skills students acquire within an academic context, they can also work
on improvisation and more critical interpretation of situations in which they
need to adapt themselves accordingly so as to have a better chance at positive
outcomes. This brings to mind an educational “incident” which took place during
the CiLT Module 1 Workshop Week where participants learned the negatives of
classroom management via the workshop co-coordinator’s simulated role-play;
which for myself personally, left a much deeper impression than it would have
had it been simply introduced and discussed as part of a lecture. Finally, it
could tap in to talents which students are not fully aware of and which they
could use to their advantage.
In closing, a performance dimension is yet
another way to demonstrate teacher creativity and, in my opinion, can make the
lesson more engaging. Involving students in a similar process through simulated
role-play could alter the way they view circumstances, social contexts and
heighten their critical perception of situations to which they may be exposed.
As academia is the final safe environment prepping students for the next step,
it is important to provide an exposition to life’s play, consider the rising
action and “conflicts” as well as prep students as best we can so that they are
in a position to achieve a positive resolution.
Katerina
Marazi
Lecturer English
Studies Department
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