Abstract
This paper discusses the the use of theatre sports to bring disadvantaged communities together with those of more affluent means in the form of a fun, light hearted form of competition.
The paper outlines the basic principles of communication ideologies.
The Great Level Playing field
By Martin Buckingham
An Out of Class Learning Proposal
In Sport they talk about a level playing field, where all are equal in competition. Nothing however could be further from the truth. Schools competing in sport gain advantage through their availability to resources and facilities, and even through the number of students that may be attending the school. The more students, the greater the possibility of discovering those with the physical attributes favourable for a particular sport. Also affecting a school’s sport teams are gender and age divisions, and the list goes on. There is one sport, however, where many of these concerns are not a factor: Theatre Sports.
My proposal is to set up an interschool theatre sport competition. Theatre Sports teams are not necessarily gender or age specific. They focus purely on the communication of conceptualisation as opposed to the successful physical completion of a task, which you find in most other sports. Theatre Sports do not require a swimming pool, a well maintained field to play on or a weights room in which to train. William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) cites that Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) once proclaimed: “‘All I want is four trestles, four boards, two actors, and a passion… good plays are a proof that” (p. 37).
The actors or players can be of any age, gender, creed or social demographic. Engaging in Theatre Sports has some great benefits. Research suggests a direct causal link between drama-based instruction and improved reading comprehension (Rose, Parks, Androes, & McMahon, (2000), p. 55). Further studies by de la Cruz, Lian, and Morreau (1998) indicate that “creative drama can serve to remediate difficulties in social and language skills” (p.89).
But how is this possible? Through the human condition. As Pearce (1989) explains, “The human condition derives from being simultaneously hermeneutic (“interpretive”: an inveterate story teller) and social, inextricably enmeshed in still unfolding patterns of collaborative action” (p. 49).
Kalantzis & Cope (2012) talk about a sense of common knowledge as ‘lifeworld’ attributes, consisting of “things you end up knowing without having to think how you came to know them” (p.385). This is what players bring to the game and as a result becomes “the background to their learning” (p. 385). So if the human experience and/or ‘lifeworld’ attributes are the subject matter being explored through Theatre Sports, then visual, spatial and gestural forms of
communication are some of the literacy mechanisms by which dramatic exercises function.
Visual Meaning
In any theatre situation it is visual communication in association with audio that forms the foundation for effective meaning to be possible. As a subsection of this, spatial and gestural meanings rely upon the frame work of visual communication. Theoretically speaking, visual meaning is “making still or moving images which communicate meaning that might be seen by another as a visual message prompt” (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p.193). In many fields, this has an advantage over purely linguistic literacies.
Spatial Meaning
Spatial meaning is crucial in any theatre game. Spatial communication, implied by the players, is essential in setting up the situation or setting of any scene being portrayed. According to Kalantzis & Cope (2012), spatial meaning can be thought of as “positioning one’s self in relation to others, and creating spaces and ways of moving around in spaces, which others may experience as a message prompt” (p. 194). Through mime, spatial meaning can materialize objects from thin air. The player creates a conceptual world through building a series of scene conventions. First they might show, through mime, where a piece of furniture is, then when walking through the scene continue to reaffirm that object’s existence by recognizing the initially implied dimensions of it. The more precise the reaffirmation, the easier viewers are able to understand the world being created. As mentioned, spatial meaning also communicates “one’s self in relation to others”. In the context of a scene, the relationship between two people can be quickly deduced without a word being uttered. For example, lovers might embrace or enemies stand off from one another.
Gestural Meaning
If visual meaning is the foundation and spatial is the framework, gestural meaning makes content possible. In fact, without gestural meaning helping to frame spatial communication, implied scene parameters would be far more difficult to identify. In other words, if the mime hadn’t gestured an outline of a table’s dimensions at the beginning of the scene, then it would take a very keen eye to make the connection that there is anything meant to be there at all. So once the scene is set with its conventions, it is far more likely that an intelligible narrative can be communicated. Toward this end gesture is invaluable.
Synaesthesia
The reality is that it is not a single means of communication but the sum total of what any individual is capable of which defines their ability to understand and analyse and create new meaning. As combinations of information are received by the brain, 'cross sensory synthesis' or synaesthesia can take place almost instantaneously. Synaesthesia is "a grand junction where information about touch, hearing and vision flow together to enable the construction of high level precepts" (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p,194). These precepts are informed by ‘lifeworld’ attitudes on both the performers’ end as well as the audience’s or fellow performers’ end. The effect creates two simultaneous dialogues, a passive one with the audience, and an active one with fellow performers. A cohesive active response is possible through role play of every day events or happenings which are reconfigured to create an new improvised occurrence. Dramatic performance, in essence, is a metaphor of the human experience. This "metaphor involves making non-arbitrary links between seemingly unrelated conceptual realms." (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p.195). Through synaesthesia, performers are able to communicate through physicality, creating "a common language to describe and explore gesture, feelings and meanings." (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p.293). Synaesthesia has a positive effect in association with learning. It allows a deepening understanding of subject matter through a broader range of experiences. Charles Sanders Pierce identifies three mechanisms which enable meaning making: icon, indicator and symbol (as cited in Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p. 327). Of these, icon and symbol are invaluable tools in theatre Sports. “Icons are signs that stand for a particular thing to which it refers by way of mimicry, copying or imitation” (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p. 327). Mimicry, copying or imitation are easy ways to represent a character due to stereotype or typecast. In Theatre Sports, this is crucial in the quick identification of a character and its role in the developing scene. This association helps to inform actors’ decisions. The more appropriate the response the more the audience will come to relate to the scene. Then there are symbols. According to Kalantzis & Cope (2012), “symbols form systems in which one meaning comes to be defined not just in terms of what it represents in the world but in relation to other meanings in the meaning system” (p. 328). So for example, table and chairs make a dining room set.
A performer sits and mimes reading a menu, another comes to take his order, and we are in a cafe or restaurant, depending on the demeanour of the waiter. Like spatial meaning, making symbols are a great asset in creating the actors implied environment. The difference is that symbol uses a real world association incorporated with inherent knowledge to achieve its end. Synaesthesia is the external world communicating with the individual. However, the cognitive reorganisation of the received concepts is possible through generalization, abstraction and conceptualization.
Cognitive Analytical Ability.
Cognitively speaking, this program may not be suitable for children. Vygotsky argues that child’s thought is characterised by highly unstable unorganised congeries, or heaps. To a child “inherently unrelated objects are related by chance through their proximity to each other” (as cited in Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p. 331). The problem here is that the child wouldn’t be able to understand the communicated associations of mime, for example in dramatic situations. The result might be that their conceptualisation of the scene being played would lack the implied dynamics of situational convention. Kalantzis & Cope (2012), explain that for the child, “the greatest difficulty is encountered when having grasped the abstract concept, it has to be reapplied to a new concrete representation” (p. 333).
However, the child’s limited cognitive ability could be enhanced through peer grouped teams consisting of older and younger players. The older members become teachers or mentors to the younger performers. In this way the younger performer’s potential development could be taped into creating what Vygotsky referred to as a ‘zone of proximal development’. “The teacher orchestrates student performance of tasks the children would not be able to do themselves” (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p.334-335).
These peer teams would create a social situation in which all involved would be learning and experimenting with social concepts through play. This combination creates a rich learning environment. Vygotsky attributed a lot to social learning. For him, “learning awakens a variety of internal developmental processes that are able to operate only when the child is interacting with people in his environment and in cooperation with his peers” (as cited in Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p. 336).
The unorthodox ‘classroom’ of the theatre, due to its social nature, does not suffer “the difficulties inherent in classroom discourse,” which Cazden blamed
upon “the relative absence of reference to shared physical contact” (as cited in Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p. 340).
The role of literacies in learning is intrinsic. In a theatre Sports environment, learners use image, gesture and space. The participants not only think but act in a multimodal fashion. These kinds of dramatic exercises greatly enhance the brains ability to conceptualise, not just in clarity but speed. Performers are required to interpret an existential performance situation and form a relatively compatible response almost instantaneously.
Leontyev said that, “meaning is thus the form in which the individual man assimilates generalised and reflected human experience” (as cited in Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p. 341).
Many of the acting techniques require literacies to be utilised as an extension of the mind. They represent a social memory. This is ultimately how mime is able to communicate, aside from all the associated devices, such as body language. The mime is able to communicate because we as a social collective share culture which can then be referred to through a spatial prompt.
The Teaching Pedagogy of Theatre Sports
One of the more common games played in Theatre Sports is ‘space jump’. The participants make a circle facing in toward the centre. One is selected to stand in the centre of the ring. When discussing the knowledge process of this activity, the students present supply the known. The known, in this case is the first concept that is presented by the player in the centre of the circle. For example, the player may come into the centre and motion that he is digging a hole. The leader running the session calls freeze. The player freezes. This frozen representation is the known. Another player is asked to enter the circle. This second player then functionally analyses the frozen physical form of the first player, assessing its potential through, “logical connections, cause and effect, structure and function” in order to come up with a response (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p.357). Then using this analysis as a spring board, players creatively apply the result, “distinctively expressing their own voices…transferring their knowledge to a different context” (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p. 357). The result is that the second player reapplies the first player’s frozen physical state, creating a new dramatic situation. The rest of the group watching, or the de facto audience, critically analyse the result. They “evaluate their own and other people;s perspectives, interests and motives” (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p. 357). This process leads to conceptualisation. The learners, in this case everyone apart from the second player, subconsciously use theory to name the situation.
Firstly the “learners make generalisations by connecting concepts and developing theories” (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p. 357). Then from these theories, they are able to flesh out the conceptualisation by naming the situation and grouping the experienced physical expression into categories. The result is that rather than the players being in a hall, they are transported to a restaurant or zoo or any possible location they are capable of presenting.
The Players & Paradigms
As you could imagine, the players must rely on conceptualising. Games like this greatly develop ‘didactic literacy’. The players are continually required to reinvent “abstract concepts that can be used in general contexts” (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p. 356). A theatre sports competition is also an ‘authentic literacy’ environment. Apart from the weekly out-of-school experiences the competition would provide, players would also engage in training with people who they would be more familiar with. As a result the players “focus primarily on experiencing, or learning by doing” (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p. 356). It is through their training and competitive experiences that the players learn through Functional and Critical paradigms. ‘Functional literacy’ revolves around, “how to create meaning,” as theatre games cannot function without the ability to create meaning, not to mention the need for critical learning application (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012, p. 356). For a player to formulate a response they must be, “interrogating the motivations behind communicated meanings” as quickly as possible to maintain a sense of atmosphere (Kalantzis & Cope, p. 356).
Assessment
The assessment of any theatre sports event involves a predominance of formative and summative methods. Formative assessment takes place during practice or training sessions. Summative assessment considers the player’s ability to perform in competition. However, there are far more important elements to consider. For example, assessing how the player’s personal demeanour has changed is crucial. Are they more social or easier to get on with? Has their overall ability in school improved?
The reality is that Theatre Sports have far greater reaching implications than just who won or lost on the weekend. As an out of class activity, Theatre Sports allows for greater interaction with the wider community. It makes it possible for a much more level playing field, enabling a greater mix of participants so we might share a broader human experience.
References
de la Cruz, R. E., Lian, M.-C. J., & Morreau, L. E. (1998). The Effects of Creative Drama on Social and Oral Language Skills of Children with Learning Disabilities. Youth Theatre Journal 12 (1), 89-95. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/.U3__nSh66QI#.U4
Go1vmSy8A
Henley, William Ernest. (1892). Views and Reviews: Essays in Appreciation. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/files/22280/22280-h/22280- h.htm
Kalantzis, M. & Cope, B. Literacies. (2012). Cambridge, United States: Cambridge University Press.
Pearce, B. (1989). Communication and the Human Condition. Southern Illinois University Press. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.au/books?id=mFtDDIQcDrkC&printsec=frontco ver#v=onepage&q&f=false
Rose, Dale S., Parks, M., Androes, K., & McMahon, S.D. (2000). Imagery- Based Learning: Improving Elementary Students’ Reading Comprehension With Drama Techniques. The Journal of Education Research, 94(1), 55-63. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/.U3__MSh66QI#.U4Gpi_m Sy8A
