Ethical questions in Secondary Theatre Education.
I first reviewed this article earlier this year and I decided to re review it as I still feel the content is very relevant even with the redirection of my inquiry.
My original review can be found on my blog:
http://rebeccajanegaskell24.blogspot.com/2011/04/task-6c-literature-review-3.html
Previously I had selection a small section of the article looking at how working within a musical theatre industry could be approached and improved from Joan Lazarus who teaches theatre education at the University of Texas at Austin. Although this isn't specifically linked to my inquiry topic looking at whether 'a teaching role within the arts impedes the opportunity to perform'. I believe Lazarus's distinct backbone of strong ethics when teaching within the arts is valuable and definitely something I feel should be considered when teaching and/or performing. Lazarus talks about remaining professional and having boundaries as the role of a teacher which made me consider where they would lie if both of these professions were combined. This led to my decision to investigate the roles of teaching and performing in the arts and see what can be done to ensure long term success with this choice. I felt Lazarus’s ethical recommendations in particular "Make a life for yourself outside of school. It will make you a better teacher and artist". To me this advice suggests that life experience and perspective on situations are vital. In finding this balance myself I believe it has helped me to establish my role as a teaching performer.
My personal experiences and Lazarus's advice spurred me on to further investigate how attitudes and approaches to professional practice can provide an established a frame work for other professionals to seek assurance from.
In this article Lazarus also asked the question 'Is there a difference between creating theatre with young performers and creating theatre with adults? Should there be?' Lazarus interviewed nearly one hundred teachers and teaching artists, each director/teacher spoken to talked about the nature of this difference.
The following is taken from this article which provided substance to the basis of my inquiry approach:
'When working with experienced actors, a director can assume the performers have skills, experience and a certain degree of training with which to "tell the story". Seasoned actors have a working knowledge not only from the art form of theatre but also of how to work in this art form. They understand fundamental rehearsal practices, terminology, methods and procedures. ‘With inexperienced performers, telling the story of the play requires acquisition of the most basic information and skill. Directors of secondary school theatre must be both artists and teachers and must understand theatre pedagogy as well as theatre artistry.'
This exert was collected from a wide audience of professionals discussing how theatre can be created with different types of performers. For me this was interesting and compelling evidence to see how each group was treated. The opinion that 'Directors of secondary school theatre must be both artists and teachers' seemed poignant and relevant to my inquiry. While the role of a teacher is important, the opinion that they should be an artist suggests to me that the need for performance experience is essential in providing a sufficient standard of teaching. I then began to wonder if teaching experience could benefit and be necessary to enhance an artist’s performance? In conclusion Lazarus's article prompted me to explore different perspectives and explore the advantages each role a teacher and performer could have to one another and if the two could be sustained simultaneously without impeding the other.
This article is adapted from Signs of Change: New Directions in secondary Theatre Education, Joan Lazarus. Copyright © 2004 Heinemann, Portsmouth, NH. Reprinted by permission. (Accessed 27.04.11)
No comments:
Post a Comment