hornbrook education dramatic art
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AcknowledgementsThe author and publisher would like to thank the following for permission to
reproduce copyright materials:
B.T. Batsford Limited for an extract fromDrama and Educationby B.Watkins; Century utchinson Limited for extracts from the following
books:Dorothy Healhcote; Drama as a Learning Mediumby!Betty "aneWagner# and Teaching Drama; A Mind of Many Wondersby $orah %organ
and "uliana &axton; 'a(id Clcgg and )obin *emberton!Billing for an
extract from Teaching Drama,published by!+ni(ersity of London *ress#,-,;Drama Broadsheet, the /ournal of the $ational 0ssociation for the
Teaching of 'rama# for 1igure , in Chapter 2;
.%.&.3.# for extracts fromEnglish for ages 5-! andDrama 5-! in the
"urriculum Matters series; The London 4ast 0nglian 5roup and the 6nner
London 4ducation 0uthority for extracts from a pilot scheme syllabus for
5C&4 'rama and Theatre 0rts 7'ramatic 0rt8 ! %ode 66# %odular; $ew
Theatre 9uarterly for the 4nglish translation of the performance analysis
uestionnaire# translation by &usan Bassnett.
Wc would also like to thank %artine 1ranck and %agnum *hotos for
permission to use the photograph on the co(er# from a performance by Le
Theatre du &oleil of #$%& The 'rench (e)olution, *ear one+
4(ery effort has been made to trace and contact copyright holders but in a
few instances without success. We apologie for any errors or omissions in
the abo(e list# and would be grateful for notification of any corrections that
+6
Child drama and after -
Learning through drama ,=
2 The *layers: 'orothy# 5a(in and the $ew %uggletonians%ystifications and dramatic midwifery ,
s settlement 2-$ew ideologues =2
0nything you can do .
'rama and the struggle for the arts =D 'ramatic Tension: Barricades and Bewilderment
)eaction and inter(ention in the ,-s E2Bewilderment and acuiescence EE
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7lalls to the barricades: 1reirc# Boal and the radical left E-F!?GHIIII the future J,
VIContents
*art Two 'rama!in!education: 6nterpreting the TextJ The 3mnipotent &elf
0uthenticity and the self JThe psychological imperati(e >,*henomenology# uni(ersale and the fallacy of indi(idualism >J
> appening on the 0estheticThe art forms of school drama >-
The tradition of 4nglish ,$aturalism and and the theatre E
&ignificant 2$otes ,>E
Bibliography ,-6ndex 2
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V
(i Contents
*art Two 'rama!in!education: 6nterpreting the TextJ The 3mnipotent &elf0uthenticity and the self J
The psychological imperati(e >,*henomenology# uni(ersale and the fallacy of indi(idualism >J> appening on the 0esthetic
The art forms of school drama >-The tradition of 4nglish ,
$aturalism and and the theatre E &ignificant 2
$otes ,>EBibliography ,-
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6ndexMN
2
k
x Prefacethe place of performance and the study of dramatic texts. The reportAs
authors see the ?mounting of school productions and acti(e in(ol(ement in
community or touring theatreA as ?of immense (alueA. $e(ertheless# for
drama teachers like myself# who long ago fought for the independence of
their sub/ect from 4nglish# the working groupAs uite genuine enthusiasm
for drama is tempered somewhat with a sense of de/a )u+ We ha(e been here
before. 0lso# at a time when secondary headteachers are hurriedly
reorganising their curriculum structures to bring art. music# drama and dance
together in ?arts clustersA of one kind or another# 5C&4 boards are
scrambling to satisfy the demand for creati(e arts syallabuses# and the new
BT4C in *erforming 0rts is galloping like the 5ood $ews from 5hent to
the countryAs 14 colleges# the curricular re!coupling of drama to 4nglish
does seem peculiarly inapposite.
*erhaps we are ill!ad(ised to seek for too much consistency in thego(ernmentAs new curriculum. By all accounts# it was expeditiously cobbled
together as (ery much a second order political matter. %ost obser(ers
belie(e that local management will ha(e a much more profound effect on
the countryAs education than the national curriculum. Whate(er the
philosophy underlying the go(ernmentAs simple ten!sub/ect prescription 76
attempt to unearth some of it in this book8# the grammar school ideal of Tory
*arty mythology will not be what emerges from the (arious working groups
and committees of professional educators. Who would ha(e thought that e0-
Blac1 2a3er editor Brian Cox# for example# once scourge of the
progressi(ests# would# twenty years later# find himself being praised by the
$ational 0ssociation for the Teaching of 4nglish for his stand against the
crudities of parsing and learning by roteK
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1oremost among the professionals concerned to protect the best of current
practice against the winds of political opportunism are % 6nspectors of
&chools. Within weeks of the publication ofEnglish for Ages 5 to !, in "uly
".--# %6As#Drama 5 to ! appeared in their "urriculum Matters series.6n the documentAs first introductory paragraph# %, assure us that drama is
?a practical artistic sub/ectA# ranging ?from childrenAs structured play#through classroom impro(isations and performances of specially de(ised
material to performances of &hakespeareA. WhileDrama 5 to ! embraces
all the many manifestations of drama in schools# including the use of drama
as a learning method in the context of 4nglish# the picture it paints is of an
arts discipline with its own particular associated skills and ways of
understanding. With careful## strategic reference to the national curriculum#
%6 suggest that ?drama encompasses the art of the theatre and in(ol(es
some of the technologies or the applications of the sciences# as in designing
and making scenery or controlling sound and lightingA. The document
highlights the ?public aspectsA of drama# emphasising tinO way
Preface
?performing and sharing work with others# pro(ide important links between
schools# parents and their communitiesA.
0ll this is (ery positi(e. 6n the same month the $CC 0rts in &chool *ro/ect
came to its formal conclusion with a hugely o(er!subscribed conference at
the +ni(ersity of Warwick. Chastened perhaps by the e(ents of the pre(ious
two years# - per cent of the > arts delegates (oted for attainment targets
rather than the recommended guidelines for the arts. 4arly in ,--# the
British 1ilm 6nstituteAs2rimary Media Education spelt out what attainment
targets in media studies might be like; as 6 write# the 0rts Council iscon(ening a working group to do the same for drama.
Things are on the mo(e# and there is much still to play for. 6n looking at
some of the paradoxes of drama!in!education 6 shall try to make sense of
them against the background of this wider and fast!changing historical
scene. 6n proposing ways forward 6 shall be re(ealing no secret formula# no
transforming educational medication. %y modest aim is to offer drama
teachers ways of recognising# legitimating and de(eloping what is best in
their practice# in all its rich (ariety# so that curricular ob/ecti(es may be
articulated with more confidence and clarity.
0lthough the form of this book is unapologetically theoretical# it is not abook which itself proposes a pedagogic theory. 6t aims to be descripti(e and
interpretati(e rather than prescripti(e and definiti(e. 6n that o(er!worked
aphorism# it starts where teachers are# in the e(eryday experience of their
classes and out!of!school drama acti(ities# and it attempts to bring to all that
enthusiasm# integrity and expertise# a structure whereby we may better
understand both what we ha(e been doing and where we might go.
6n proposing ?dramatic artA as a form which is both social and sociable 6
ha(e been much influenced by the work of the late )aymond Williams. is
&traightforward commitment to acti(e democracy and a good common
culture together with his refusal to regard as anything but extremely difficultthe processes of getting there ha(e been a constant inspiration. Closer to
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home# , would like to thank &ian 4de# &ally odgson# 0ndy
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,
The Plot: The Rise of Drama-in-education
Noble savages in an English ArcadiaTheory# and the challenge it implicitly presents to empiricism and ?common
senseA# is (iewed# like ideology# with some suspicion by a culture
traditionally disposed to fa(our practical ways of doing things. For yearsthe drama-in-education community has been conventionallyinstrumental in ust this !ay" generally #referring to discussand #rogress !orking methods rather than to !orry toomuch about their theoretical or ideolo gical im#lications. QQQQQQQowe(er# simply to ignore the existence of theory in the conduct of human
affairs is to render oursel(es powerless in the first instance to interpret
e(ents and then to influence them. Formulating theories is the!ay !e make sense of our ex#erience by givingourselves meaningful structures !ithin !hich it maybe ex#lained$6 would argue that the ways we ha(e been encouraged to talk about drama!
in!education and its characterising practices arc in the grip of implicit
theories of this kind. 6n the struggle o(er methodology# which
has dominated the school drama debate for o(er thirty
years# they ha(e long since been buried in theassumptions which inform the debate itself. 6t is my intentionin this book to bring some of these theories out into the open.
6mmanent to this pro/ect will be my belief that for drama to legitimate itself
within education it must be theorised within culture and history as a
demonstrably social form. %y de(eloping critiue of current practice will
show the extent to which drama!in!education has been traditionally pre!
'3C+picd with the pri(atisation of experience# a paradox nowhere better
exemplified ill#hi in its sell!imposed isolation from generally accepted
ideas #IRSIIII i6h .iiiiO 6 will argue that far from being a radicalising process#
this
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44ducation and 'ramatic 0rt
pri(atisation has manacled school drama to narrow forms of indi(idualism
which ha(e inhibited access to our dramatic culture.
The distincti(e discourse of educational drama arises from a series of inter!connected assumptions associated with the progressi(e education
mo(ement. This mo(ement# in turn# has its origins in the re(olutionary spirit
of late eighteenth!century )omanticism# so that in "ean!"acues )ousseauAs
model of pre!ci(ilised man 4sic free from the corrupting influence of city
life# his noble savageimbued with natural goodness whose infallibleguide was his feelings# we may recognise the ghostly prototype of the
paradigmatic student of educational drama.,
The autonomy of consciousnessad(ocated by
%ousseau"with its extention into a uni(ersality of moral feeling#where the source of moral rectitude is seen to reside not in the hands of thegods and their earthly representati(es# but in the authentic examination of
the self# ?the true and uncorrupted conscienceA# lies at the heart of the
challenge that was to be offered to con(entional ethics by )omanticism. 2
This idea of a sub/ecti(e morality accessible through an awareness of our
true feelings also permeates thinking about school drama. 6t has long been
supposed that pupils engaged in the spontaneous impro(isation and role!
playing of the drama lesson can lose themsel(es /ust sufficiently for their
?deeply feltA# and by implication#genuine, morality to re(eal itself.
&avin 'oltonputs it succinctly when he proposes that while ?in theunreality of the classroomA #u#ils (may ado#t an intellectual#osture of acce#ting the notion of shades of o#inion"!hat surfaces in drama is their real feelings)$)eal feelings and personal (alues are thus concepts common to )omanti!
cism and drama!in!education. 6n both# they indicate a commitment to a
pri(ate world of sensation where cogniti(e endea(our is often confined to
knowledge about what one truly feels. )ousseau# of course# also had strong
(iews about drama. is well!known polemic against "ean le )ond
dA0lembert#E
who had suggested that the city of 5ene(a might impro(e itsamenities by building a theatre# re(eals not so much a puritanical dislike of
pleasure# but rather a perception of theatre art as leading to the falsification
of the self. To be sure# the cramped# odorous playhouses of eighteenth!
century 1rance can hardly ha(e been places of moral or spiritual self!
enhancement. 1or )ousseau# committed as he was to the authentic (oice of
conscience# the actor on the stage deliberately distanced himself from the
uni(ersality of moral feeling# thus diminishing his own authenticity by
?counterfeiting himself# by ?putting on another character than his ownA.
the replacement of those ?exclusi(e entertainments which close up a small
number of people in melancholy fashion
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The )ise of 'rama!in!education J
in a gloomy ca(ern# which keeps them fearful and immobile in silence and
inaction#A with open!air festi(ities of communal participation:
Let the spectators become an entertainment to themsel(es; make them actorsthemsel(es; do it so that each one sees and lo(es himself in the others.
We can see clearly reflected in drama!in!education both )ousseauAs deep!
seated suspicion of the entire apparatus of theatrical illusion# his distaste for
?counterfeitingA# as well as his enthusiasm for the home!made authenticity of
participatory drama.
Certainly# in the contemporary context# it might fairly be said that real
feelings and personal (alues ha(e no more a place on the stages of &haftes!
bury 0(enue or the &outh Bank than they did on those of eighteenth!century
*aris. owe(er# already there are problems here. We should be careful of
making too easy a distinction between the ?falseA world of the theatre andthe ?genuineA world of human interaction. 0lso# although we often speak
confidently of our real feelings# how is it possible for us to make a
distinction between the feelings we ha(e so that we may intelligibly say of
some that they are true and of others that they are falseK 1urthermore# who is
to mediate between your morality and mine when our ?true and uncor!rupted
consciencesA lead us to different conclusionsK These 7peculiarly modern8
dilemmas will be much my concern in the argument that follows# for they lie
at the heart of educational drama.
6f not in its playhouses# historically 4ngland did pro(ide more fertile and
stable ground for the seeding of these particular products of )omanticnaturalism than the turbulent politics of nineteenth!century 1rance were able
to offer. Without the home!grown images of political despotism that
inspired the cataclysmic# liberationist (isions of their 4uropean counterparts#
4nglish )omantic artists turned instead to attack the
economic despotism of the 6ndustrial )e(olution.This theysaw as callous and philistinic# fundamentally at odds with the arcadian
indi(idualism of %ous seau)s (uncorru#ted conscience). Theexpanding working!class ghettoes of the new cities were the antithesis of
naturalism# their inhabitants as far from ideals of simple pastoral nobility
that it was possible to imagine. 0gainst the bleak# dehumanising townscapesof industry the 4nglish )omantics fielded# not a class!based politics of
re(olution# but the sensibility of the radical indi(idual. uman liberation
was to come about not as a result of class struggle# but through lo(e#
creation and self!expression. ThereO was to 6.c a re(olution of feeling# a
new self!awareness# leading to a
tiuiiiii# more progressi(e# humanism.
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I *+,, iiiuiii and Dramatic .rtWriting nl 6A%6W3+ld dominate the timetable alongside crafts like Car!
pi iin(# W6A666
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The )ise of 'rama!in!education-
now declared such spontaneous ?acting outA to be necessary for the childAs
adeuate de(elopment. This kind of performance# flowing apparently from
the unconscious inner world of the child# could thus not only claim a secure
place among those arts processes already dedicated to the exploration of
sub/ecti(e feeling# but by (irtue of its psychological imperati(e# could alsoclaim to transcend them. 1rom being an innocent di(ersion# drama# through
the offices of psychology# had become a fundamental need.
'rama both of the less and more formal kinds# for which children# owing to
their happy lack of self!consciousness# display such remarkable gifts# offers
further good opportunities of de(eloping that power of expression in
mo(ement which# if the psychologists are right# is so closely correlated with
the de(elopment of perception and feeling.
Brought in from the cold by the child
psychologists and psycho!therapists of the ,-=sand ,-Es# drama was now in a position to make
its mark on the school curriculum. 6t was to presentits credentials not# as first might be expected# in the form
of a body of theatrical skills and practices# but as a
psychological process# dedicated to the aesthetic and
de(elopmental ?needsA of the young.QQQQQQ With their acceptance#drama in schools may be seen as the crowning achie(ement of 4nglish
progressi(ism# embracing as it does all that mo(ementAs ma/or precepts.The universality of moral feeling and the #rimacy ofthe subective" the authentication of the self throughthe exercise of the creative faculty" the need to #lay1these are the cherished tro#es of drama-in-education$They encapsulate its humanity as well as its nai(ety# holding together a
(ision of a better world# but# as wc shall see# lacking still the crucial political
and social dimension through which such a (ision might be realised.
/hild drama and afterBy the outbreak of the &econd World War all the guiding principles of
school drama were in circulation. The war itself ga(e new impetus to
thinking about education# pro(iding the will and circumstance for the
structural changes necessary for the incorporation of drama in the post!war
curriculum. This wartime debate pro(ed to be the historical backdrop
VXYZ[PR\ ]] before which the disparate philosophical elements of
school drama progressed from the educational fringes into legitimacy. 6n
,-E= the 4ducational 'rama 0ssociation was founded# and in the same year
Peter Sladewas appointed 'rama 0d(iser for &taffordshire; by ,-J,school drama wasrecei(ing all important %inistry of 4ducation recognition.
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, 4ducation and 'ramatic 0rt
6t is true that many schools still include little or no drama in any part of their
curriculum# but so many others do find room for it in one form or another
that drama can now be regarded as an established and worthwhile part of
school life.AE
'espite his early struggles# Peter Sladewas soon to findhimself estab lished within an increasingly fashionable
new progressi(ism. By the time his seminal book "hild Drama was
published in ,-JE#,=thephilosophy which inspired it was
gaining significant influence in thecorridors of
educational policy!making. &ladeAs book 7together with
its popular pocket!sied follow!up which appeared four
years later,>
8 came to inform the practice of a newlycreated generation of drama teachers.QQQQQQQ
The post!war population bulge and the expanding teaching force of the
,->s had created an urgent need for more teacher!trainers.,A &choolteachers
with drama backgrounds ranging from 4nglish and amateur dramatics to
licentiateships from the speech and drama academies suddenly!found
themsel(es swept into the new or enlarged teacher!training colleges on a
wa(e of progressi(ist enthusiasm# and entrusted with the preparation of
students in 4ducational 'rama. Well!intentioned and
optimistic# but themsel(es often desperately ill!prepared# they turned to the only theoryavailable# and that lay in the pages of "hildDrama+77777777
Like /i2ek# *eter &lade belie(ed that the creati(e acti(ity of childrenshould not be measured by adult standards; he argued that Child 'rama ?is
an 0rt in itself. 6n the classroom he stressed the im#ortance ofnon interference in the natural creative #rocess#QQQQQQsuggesting that the teacher should instead become a ?lo(ing allyA# notcriticising or directing but perhaps drawing a groupAs attention ?to some
little piece of beauty they may ha(e missedA. Conscious no doubt of the
force of the child!psychology argument# he emphasised the distinction
between the spontaneous processes of classroom drama# ?drama in the
widest senseA# and the theatre ?as understood by adultsA.
Theatre means an ordered occasion of entertainment and
shared emotional experience; there are actors and
audience ^ differentiated. But the child# if unspoiled#
feels no such differentiation# particularly in the early
years ^ each person is both actor and audience.,
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By ele(ating classroom drama in a way which sought not only to distance it
from general theatre practice but also to in(est it by implication with a
superior moral status# Slade inherited the aesthetic of%ousseau)s romantic naturalism and inscribed it
irrevocably in contem#orary theories of drama inschools. 6ndeed# such was the depth of this ideological commitment that
The )ise of 'rama!in!education ,,
drama teachers soon found themsel(es redefining the word ?dramaA itself#
corralling it and branding it into the exclusi(e ser(ice of their practice. To
this day there are drama teachers who will happily subscribe to a semantic
sleight of hand _`Z_\XRZ\ Z\V\]] whereby ?dramaA
gathers to itself all the affirmati(e elements of the discourse# such ascreati(ity# sincerity and need# while ?theatreA has to resign itself to a
thoroughly non!progressi(e and disapprobatory residue of illusion#
inauthenticity and irrele(ance.
0s well as a mistrust of adult theatre# the primacy of self!expression and the
disco(ery! of moral truth by inner reflection uickly became recognised as
characterising features of the new &ladian aesthetic.
... in this drama# two important ualities are noticeable ^
a8sor3tion andsincerity+ 0bsorption is being completely
wrapped up in what is being done# or what one is doing# to the
exclusion of all other thoughts ... &incerity is a complete form
of honesty in portraying a part# bringing with it an intense
feeling of reality and experience ...U
This emphasis on the acti(e and spontaneous participation of children in
dramatic games and impro(isations draws our attention to another of school
dramaAs inherent dilemmas; that of e(aluation. 6f the teacherAs relationship
with Child 'rama was (itally non!critical then how was it possible to know
to what extent its educational aims were actually being realisedK 0ttempts to
deal with this problem ha(e led to children being assessed not on how much
they know or by what skills they ha(e acuired# or indeed by some measure
of originality of response# but on their degree of complicity with thestructure set up by the teacher. Those members of the class who are 7or who
at least seem to be8 most sincerely absorbed in what the teacher has planned
for them are# by this token# the most meritorious; those eually absorbed in
ri(al acti(ities# such as chattering or looking out of!the window# the least so.
What is surfacing here is the dilemma surrounding Caldwell CookAs belief
in ?right conductA. 'espite his enthusiasm for spontaneity and his desire not
to criticise# &lade himself was in little doubt about the rules of the play of
lifeA.
*ointing out the need for cleanliness and good manners will often help them
7the lads in the school8 to grow up and be more acceptable to the young
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women . . . 5irls do not lake kindly to rather ragged# rough mannered
clowns who spoil the drama period.
6n 6in thai 0ristotle might lia(N #(undrislood# honour is due to those with
6. .in 6 iii tit 6n mid S#GIIIR milliners This tendency to assess acuiescence
in the
!
4ducation and 'ramatic 0rt
absence of any other acceptable criteria is still much in e(idence# as we shall
.sec.
'espite these reser(ations# there is no doubt that the pioneer work of *eter
&lade in those years following the war enthused huge numbers of young
teachers and succeeded in establishing drama as a force in state education.
The $ewsom )eport of ,->= which expressed its concern o(er the
education systemAs apparent failure with the less able# ga(e much credenceto the psycho!therapeutic role of drama in countering the ?social
maladroitncss and insensiti(ityA of ?less giftedA young people. 0rt# according
to $ewsom# and 4ducational 'rama in particular# should be regarded not as
a ?frillA# but as a way of helping young people ?to come to terms nidi
themsel(esA.
By playing out psychologically significant situations# they can work out
their own personal problems.2,
The idea that school drama has much to do with childrenAs psychological
ad/ustment to their social circumstances figured prominently in the rash of
handbooks which followed the success of "hild Drama+ *robably the mostnotable of these was Brian WayAsDe)elo3ment Through Drama+ *ublished
in ,-> in the wake of The Plo!den %e#ort)sendorsement ofprogressi(ism.De)elo3ment Through Dramapro(ided /ust the right mix of
theory and practical ad(ice to stimulate and inspire a second wa(e of young
drama teachers in the enormous# post B.4d# expansion.223ayreinforced&ladeAs distinction between ?theatreA and ?dramaA#but largely
abandoned his idea of Child 'rama as 0rt in fa(our of a
comprehensi(e theoryof personal de(elopment.Belie(ing#
along with the child psychologists# that play is practice for adult life# andhypothesising that it is an instincti(e need artificially suppressed after early
childhood# 3aysaw school drama as a means of restoringthe ?naturalA de(elopmental processes which play
encourages:
1ully de(eloped people will seldom make poor or uninteresting
drama# e(en though it may not be brilliant ... drama# far from being
new# is closely interwo(en in the practical implementation of both
the spirit and the substance of e(ery 4ducation 0ct that has e(er
been passed# especially the idea of the de(elopment of the wholeperson.2=
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3n closer inspection# the ?whole personA# the uniue ?human essenceA for
whom WayAs drama lessons ha(e been a gradual nurturing process# turns out
to be a decent# law!abiding liberal humanist# the heir surely of )ousseauAs
noble sa(age# sensiti(e# tolerant# imaginati(e and reflecti(e# fitting in
The )ise of 'rama!in!education ,=
well to the social en(ironment# yet managing to be creati(e and original
7within acceptable limits8.
Through the mid!,->s and early ,-s book after book professed to
demonstrate how drama!in!education de(eloped ?self!confidenceA# or en!
couraged ?personal awareness and an awareness of othersA# or taught chil!
dren how to co!operate in groups# or fostered ualities of ?tolerance and
understandingA# or helped children to become more ?self!disciplinedA. E"ust
about the only thing school drama made no claims to do# and by this time
many teachers would ha(e been puled to ha(e it suggested# was to euipyoung people with an understanding of their dramatic culture.
Learning through drama
There !as a tendency in the 4567s and 4587s fordrama teachers to be content !ith the assum#tionthat as long as their #u#ils !ere sufficiently(absorbed) in their im#rovisations then they !ere(develo#ing) satisfactorily. QQQQ Books offering catalogues of?ideas for dramaA proliferated# and teachers dipped liberally into menus of
themes such as ?ConflictA# or ?The 1amilyA or ? 1airgroundA. owe(er# on
the whole they felt no particular obligation lo contextualise the drama nor to
attempt to impro(e the performance skills of their classes; instead they tried
hard not to interfere 7unless discipline demanded it8 with the ?natural
creati(ityA of their groups. 3ften children were led through imaginati(e
exercises of one kind or another# or more freuently encouraged to play
energetic drama games before collapsing into small groups to make up plays
to be performed 7time permitting8 at the end of the lesson. &uch educational
scepticism as there was about these practices could be dismissed asstraightforwardly reactionary# with the confident assumption that more
traditionally minded teachers who might express worries about the noise and
apparent anarchy of the drama class would# gi(en lime# become aware of its
assuredly self!e(ident (alue.
There were some dissenting (oices. "ohn *ick and 'a(id Clegg both raised
fundamental uestions about the theory and practice of drama in schools#
bin after brief defensi(e flurries and a general closing of ranks# their
concerns receded into obscurity.2J
3ne of the handful of practitioners who responded in print to ClcggAs I
hiilleugc was a lecturer atA the +ni(ersity of $ewcastle upon Tyne#
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Dorothy 9eathcote. 6n a letter published in ,-=# eathcoteagreed with llliA
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the ?sub/ecti(e processA. ?Drama for understanding)or?drama for knowingA became key concepts in a new language of
?authenticityA# ?negotiationA and ?uni(ersalsA# whereby it was argued that by
manipulating dramatic impro(isation# children could be led to an ?authentic
experienceA# a so!called ?deep knowingA# of the essential truths of the human
condition. )ather than being the sub/ect of pedagogy# drama!in!education
became a sophisticated form of pedagogy itself.
6t should not be forgotten that these changes were being brought about
against a background of educational contraction. By the early ,-s the
number of specialist initial training courses in drama teaching had fallenfrom o(er fifty in the mid!,-s to only se(en. While this to some extent
reflects a more general cutback in teacher education# the relati(e drop in
drama courses was particularly se(ere. There were many drama teachers at
this time understandably willing to see eathcote and her new methodology
as the potential sa(iours of their discipline.
Thus it was that# despite &chools Council recommendations for a more
eclectic approach#!j the dissection and analysis of cathcoteAs methodology
The )ise of 'rama!in!education
,J
came to mark out the parameters of acceptable drama in schools. Likewise#
the charismatic ualities of her remarkable presence began to bewitch the
increasing numbers of drama teachers who came to watch and participate in
her workshops; two early con(erts described her work as ?breathtakingA.^
By ,--# a comprehensi(e account of her techniues#Dorothy Heathcote:Drama as a Learning Medium, was on the shel(es of 4nglish bookshops.
1or ordinary teachers inspired by her inno(ati(e way of working# the old
handbooks of themes for drama now seemed paltry. $ew collections of
lesson ideas by drama specialists with ordinary school experience translated
eathcoteAs idiosyncratic skills# such as (teacher-in-role)# intomanageable techniues for die classroom.=,Less happily# as we shall see# a
fierce sectarianism gripped drama!in!education as ranks closed around the
new methodologies. 0 host of eulogies flowed from the pens of eathcote
de(otees during the ,-s# ranging from the worthy to the unshamefacedly
messianic# but all united in their de(otion to the words and deeds of thisremarkable figure. 4(en after her retirement from $ewcastle in ,-># past
accounts of eathcoteAs drama workshops were still being dissected and
analysed by her admirers for the wisdoms they might offer up.
+nfortunately# for some at least# the return from 'amascus pro(ed to be a
sobering experience. The newly con(erted# not unnaturally# attempted to
imitate eathcoteAs techniues back in their classrooms# but confronted with
the frustrations of their forty!minute lessons and the daily battles of the
school many teachers saw themsel(es as failing to li(e up to her exacting
standards 7see 0ppendix 08. 1or others# it has to be said# the eathcote
re(olution simply passed them by. 'espite its persuasi(e methodology and
its (ery considerable claims on the curriculum# e(idence suggests that this
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latest manifestation of drama!in!education was rather less successful in
engaging with the day!to!day practice of drama teaching than might be
thought from reading the literature.
While this chapter has been by way of a contextualiscd history of an
educational mo(ement# 6 ha(e also attempted to set the scene for some of
the agruments which follow. Thus# while tracing the de(elopment of drama!
in!education from its ideological origins in late eighteenth!century
)omanticism through to its emergence as an expressi(e form within pro!
gressi(e education and its acceptance onto the 4nglish school curriculum#
certain key dilemmas ha(e been identified. 6 wish now to look more closely
at two principal players in our story and examine the strange but powerful
fusion of practice and personality which sustained their hierarchical domi!
nance o(er drama!in!education in the ,-s.
;
The Pla!ers: Doroth!" #a$in and the %ew&uggletonians
7 9ill gi)e 3o9er unto my t9o 9itnesses, and they shall 3ro3hesy one
thousand and t9o hundred and threescore days + ++
7)e(elation ,,.8
Mystifications and dramatic midwifery
It is impossible to embark upon an examination of the complex texture ofdrama!in!education in the ,-s without acknowledging at an early stage
the o(erarching presence ofDorothy 9eathcote and &avin'olton.0lthough by this time both had long been members of uni(ersitydepartments# their domination of thinking about practical# classroom drama
during the ,-s was comprehensi(e# at least as influential as *eter &ladeAs
had been for an earlier generation of drama teachers. They managed to
inspire in their supporters a tenacious VRY_RZ[]] loyalty to the forms
of dramatic pedagogy which they ad(ocated# forms which by the mid!,-s
seemed to many set to change irre(ocably the agenda of drama!in!education.
6n the e(ent# as we shall see# history was not to deal kindly with their
(ersion of drama as cross!curricular pedagogy# and the impact of the new
methods on actual classroom practice was in reality (ery much more modest
than has often been claimed. 0lso# although the radical seriousness
represented by techniues such as ?teacher!in!roleA blew through the aimless
games and impro(isations of many drama classrooms of the ,-s with the
promise of a new purposefulness# this alone is not enough to explain the
way these two practitioners maintained a such a grip on the field for o(er a
decade.
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6n ,-JE# *eter &lade had painted a (i(id picture of the magical world of
Child 'rama# which he claimed should remain for the child a realm of
mystic secrecyA.,&ubseuent literature abounds with similar sentiments.
6n creati(e drama work .. . we are helped enormously to soar into the world
of magic and mystery ! the world in which our most pri(ate
'orothy# 5a(in and the $ew %uggletonians
,
and peculiar sel(es obtain that which enables the metamorphosis from
?existingA to ?beingA to happen.2
By contrast# in her early writings# 'orothy eathcote speaks of what she
does with an appealing clarity. ere she is in the same year# ,-># defining
?dramatic impro(isationA:
ery simply it means putting yourself into other peopleAs shoes and# by
using personal experience to help you to understand their point of (iew# you
may disco(er more than you knew when you started.=
owe(er# as the years passed# and forced perhaps by increasing demands to
theorise her practice# this refreshing directness was replaced by a more
con(oluted#RZ\R[]] digressi(e VXZ_RZ\]] style# where
(aluable insights into her dramatic practice became mixed up with
excursions into her #rivate and idiosyncra ticbibliogra#hy. The result produced an effect hardly less mystifying thanthat which had so characterised the writing of her predecessors. This is all
much in e(idence in a published inter(iew with David Davistwentyyears later. ere is a section of that inter(iew which its editor has seen fit tohighlight:
... if theatre is anything to anybody# it is thick description# and if
theatre is to be used for perception# perception will only come
through thick description# this laid upon that# pro(ided that slow
incrementing of one experience on another is filled with ! filled with
/oy.E
Later# 'a(is asks her about 'recht7editorAs emphasis8:6A(e always liked the notion of Brecht ^ 6A(e ne(er read him and 6A(e
ne(er seen him# not in what 6Ad call a real Brechtian production ^ but
always# e(en as a kid# 6 liked the notion of :that 9hich, shall stand forthis ! not the book that looks like the book# but this that shall stand forit. 6 lo(e that# 6 get great pleasure out of it# because 6 3lay, you know# 6
think that is dee3 3lay ! that Q can see 9hat 6 would
%im
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,
4ducation and 'ramatic 0rt
mystifying language illustrated abo(e played a ma/or part in eathcoteAs
ascension. 6t helped to en(elop her with an aura of pedagogical magic which
ser(ed both to deflect criticism and to reinforce her mystical status. Time
and time again# the strident assenti(eness of the language used to describeeathcote and her work transforms potential analysis and explanation into
simple expressions of allegiance.
ealhcot!ites often sound like a nauseous# self!congratulatory group# but if
affirmation is genuine it breeds that ?we!feclingA which our reductionist#
mechanistic# techne!orientated society will slowly and ine(itably destroy if
it is not co!operati(ely challenged ... 'orothy eathcote teaches people to
dance with butterflies not fossilie them.
By heroic .. . 'orothy refers to that le(el of experience
wherein a person finds himself at one with the uni(ersal
elements of existence# seeing himself suddenly not as anindi(idual with pri(ate ?worldlyA preoccupations# but as
part of the mystery and magic of creation .. .
When the moment of knowing is born# 'orothy weighs and measures it#
pronounces it fit# and then# most difficult and important of all# gi(es it back
to the person who made and fought for it.-
This last example# which is taken from an extended midwifery metaphor# is
particularly re(ealing# for it combines the image of the plain woman rolling
up her slee(es to do the /ob# with that of the officiating priestess. 0s 0nn
&eeley points out# with respect to this same passage# ?there was a time# after
all# when jwitchU and jmidwifeU referred to the same personA.,&eeley isunderstandably disuieted by the sexual politics of the analogy. owe(er#
this synthesis is likely to remain attracti(e to a discipline which has his!
torically seen itself as uniuely euipped to lead children from the ordinary
to the transcendent# from the ?real worldA of the classroom to an ?awesome
awareness of uni(ersal truthsA.,,With the subseuent need both to sub!
stantiate and ad(ertise its metaphysic# the canonisation of a practitioner
seemingly so specially able to con/ure such transfigurations is then but a
small step. What follows is that casual utterance becomes inscribed as text#
texts become sacred# and dissent is reducible to heresy.
Where(er eathcote goes# she generates excitement and e(en adulationZ\ZR ZRY]]. &he emanates power. er power is like that
of a medium,bringing into the present the distant in time or space# making itcome ali(e in our consciousness through imagined group experience ... 0
spell has to be cast; rituals must be followed; conditions ha(e to be right; the
uni(ersal inherent in this moment must be realied# and sheAs witchlike in
her control leading to this effect.,2
c
'orothy# 5a(in and the $ew %uggletonians ,-
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Keeping it in the family
&avin 'olton)srise to prominence in the shadow of eathcoteallowed him to complement his mentor in significant ways# not least by his
attempts to gi(e eathcoteAs highly intuiti(e methodology respectable
intellectual form. 0s Seeleycomments# 9eathcote)s o!nex#lanations of her !ork (de#end u#on a use oflanguage !hich is idiosyncratic and not accessible tothe traditional tools of academic criticism).,JBolton# onthe other hand# apparently! able to ?play the academic gameA# was rapidly
cast as drama!in!educationAs resident theoretician.
&eeley also re(eals how eathcote was in(ariably constructed by the school
drama mo(ement in con(entionally feminine terms 7?the midwife of creati(e
knowingA8# while Bolton 7?the cool e(aluatorA8 was allowed to fulfil the
expectations of the con(entionally masculine. Certainly# in thearchi(es of drama!in!education the names of
9eathcote and 'olton will remain difficult toseparate# if for no other reason than that they will
be remem bered for ha(ing ?mothered and fatheredA
the pedagogy upon which the reputation of schooldrama was once staked. 1or those who became
com mitted to that pedagogy# howe(er# these twoeminent practitioners arc more likely to be
remembered familiarly as ?Dorothy and &avin)$We 75a(in and 68 were discussing how we realise our own
knowledge# and 6 said that 6 felt that 6 ?burrowed along like a
mole in the darkA# occasionally coming up to look around for a
brief spell# whereas 6 felt 5a(in flew o(er the terrain like an
eagle seeing a large landscape and the patterns of it ...,E
This extract from a piece by eathcote was subseuently much used to
differentiate between what were seen as the complementary attributes of thetwo progenitors. 6ts cosy ?Wind in the WillowsA uality deli(ers a reassuring
message to the offspring# who need little persuasion to respond in like
manner ! ?please# 4agle and %ole# donAt apologise# donAt feel threatenedA. 6n
the manner of families# 'orothyAs and 5a(inAs deflects external criticism
and uickly closes up against attack.
There is another less happy theme in 5a(inAs talk which is concerned with
ideological conflicts between 5a(in# %alcolm )oss and "ohn *ines. %y
own feeling is that this conflict 7made ugly by the ful!iiiiiiiiloiy alliicks on
5a(in iArom()oss8 arises from the nature of the ftCidemic roles shared by
all ihrrr.,J
2
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4ducation and 'ramatic 0rt
ere# the disapprobatory use of %alcolm )ossAs surname heightens the
sense of exclusion while at the same time reinforcing the collecti(e
solidarity, of the family itself. 0s for "ohn 1ines# his loyalties are uite clear:
$ow when you ha(e had your hand slapped by someone as good and wise
and noble as 5a(in the best course of action is to stuff it into your armpit
and grimace a little# but uietly in a corner ... &urely we should all re(erence
what he has done and wait calmly but eagerly for the next episodeK ,>
The trouble with this mode of discourse is that it obscures the (ital
distinction we must always make between utterance and uttercr if we are to
attempt a constructi(e e(aluation of what is being said. The employment of
first names# the a(uncular familiarity# the selecti(e use of critical /udgement#
make it almost impossible to prise the text from the personality. 6n a blur of
disciplinary defensi(eness# 5a(in becomes inseparable from 5a(inAs
theories; to challenge the idea is to threaten the person.
This tendency to conflate personality and agency is not" of course# confinedto the world of school drama# but is a much more general feature of the
twentieth!century consciousness# as many commentators ha(e noted.
)ichard &ennett# for instance# makes the point that# as we are now prone to
accept public exhibitions of authenticity for guarantees of political com!
petence or incorruptibility# a charismatic political leader has no need to
resort to demagogy to retain power.
e can be warm# homey# and sweet; he can be sophisticated and debonair.
But he will bind and blind people as surely as a demonic figure if he can
focus them upon his tastes# what his wife is wearing in public# his lo(e of
dogs ... What has grown out of the politics of personality begun in the lastcentury is charisma as a force for stabiliing ordinary political life.,A
Thus# the charismatic leader is free to display political or intellectual
incompetence# or to admit to ignorance in areas which must seriously
challenge his or her credentials to be a leader# /ust so long as the heart is
worn on the slee(e 7how often did wc hear )onald )eagan definiti(ely
described as ?a nice guyAK8. The cult of personality which is ready to
endorse all manner of actions and pronouncements on the grounds that they
are ?authenticallyA felt by the protagonist# infuses drama!in!education# and
has helped to hold its familial structure together.
'orothy# 5a(in and the $ew %uggletonians2,
Assaulting the ivory towers
4(er since drama teachers first mo(ed away the desks and chairs and asked
the children to ?find a spaceA# educational drama has had ?doingA at the top
of its methodological agenda. There has long been anThere has long been an
assumption that# if drama in school achie(edassumption that# if drama in school achie(ed
nothing else# at leastnothing else# at least it released #u#ils from theit released #u#ils from theconventional structures of teaching andconventional structures of teaching and
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learning for !hich the traditional classroomlearning for !hich the traditional classroomlayout !as such a stark meta#hor" and allo!edlayout !as such a stark meta#hor" and allo!eda ne! #hysical freedom !ithin !hich thea ne! #hysical freedom !ithin !hich the
ex#ression of ideas and feelings might takeex#ression of ideas and feelings might take#lace#lace. 6n the early days ?doingA in this physical. 6n the early days ?doingA in this physicalsense dominated the drama lesson to the exclusionsense dominated the drama lesson to the exclusion
of anything much else.QQQQQQQQQQQof anything much else.QQQQQQQQQQQ
*upils who enter a drama lesson do not want to spend long periods of time
locked in discussion. 0t first the class should consider suggestions uickly#
begin rehearsal and then discuss and rehearse simultaneously# otherwise a
conflict of ideas and personalities de(elops within the groups and nothing is
created.
1or 1airclough here# and for drama teachers like him in the ,->s and early
,-s# so long as pupils were purposefully engaged
in the prescribed acti(i ties# the criteria of Child'rama were considered to be satisfactorily ful !
filled. While the ,-s brought the legitimation of ?discussionA as a (alidconstituent of the new ?learning through drama processA# the legacy of
?doingA is still (ery e(ident among drama teachers. *hysical acti(ity is
considered by many to be a supremely better way of resol(ing difficulties
than mere intellection.This emphasis on ?doingKhas allowed drama to be increasingly identified
with those pupils less likely to reach high le(els of academic attainment.
Drama teachers have thus become institutionally as !ell astem#eramental ly associated !ith the lo!er ability range. Thisallegiance has# in turn# led to a fiercely reductionist (iew of all forms of?academic elitismA. Writers misguided enough to argue for a more
intellectually rigorous approach to the teaching of drama are peremptorily
VR_Z_RZ]] dismissed as those who ?would lead drama in education
away from the classroom where it belongs and towards the slowly
stagnating swamps of academiaA.,-
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resurrect them. Write or speak to me. Write or speak to each other. Write
and speak to yourself# but abo(e all# do it affirmati(ely and trust your own
intuition .. .2,
6t is worth noting that enthusiasm for simple sub/ecti(e experience has not
pre(ented students of theories of dramatic pedagogy from arguing their case
in the most con(oluted RZ\RRY]] ?academicA ways. Thus# many
writers who had sprung to the defence of the idea that one can somehow
sub/ecti(ely 1no9 9hat should 8e done ha(e themsel(es engaged inob/ectifying pro/ects of one kind or another in defence of this same
sub/ecti(ity. 4xamples are plentiful; rigure , is an extract from a piece
entitled ?Three La(ers of %eaning in 'ramaA by an ex!student of
eathcoteAs:
T'R(( )A*(R+ O, &(A%%# % DRA&A .OR)D
&T+'4$Tl amU F jou are7T40C4)
+C'OO)
Figure 1 Teacher, student and o8/ect7role form a triangle in 9hich e)ery3erson as
an = is related to the o8/ect7role, the :it+ The diagram sho9s the 3rimeelements of
drama& t9o 3ersons interrelated to each other 8y their mutual interest in an
o8/ect or arole 9hich is em8odying the theme or as3ects of it +++>>
'orothy# 5a(in and the $ew %ugglctonians 2=
&uch an approach illustrates the highly selecti(e nature of drama!in!cducationAs attacks on theoretical discourse. Writing about school drama
notoriously swings between extremes of obfuscation and honest nai(ety# so
that a simple statement of innocent incomprehension can be held to be a
uite legitimate response when the intellectual going gets tough.2=Within
the family# such candid declarations ser(e only to reinforce the authenticity
of its fa(oured members. 0fter all# as )=eillpointout# did not 'orothy herself benefit from her lack of contact with contagious
academeK
&he ne(er trained as a teacher or taught as a full!time member of
staff in a school# and accounts for what she calls her ?innocenceA of(ision and expression by the lack of early exposure to intellectual
and academic models. 6t is partly this which gi(es her work its
uniue fla(our . . #2E
3nce again# by demonstrating# howe(er briefly# their homely lack of
academic ?pretensionA# their ?genuinenessA as ordinary# common!sense kinds
of people# while implying at the same time that their practices could be
?scientificallyA (alidated if necessary# messengers and messages are /ointly!
endorsed in the terms of the conceptual structures they themsel(es ha(e
helped to build. 6n the chumminess of the conference# theoretical discourse
is not so much understood as measured by its authorAs family status. 6f
?'orothyA chooses to use a language all of her own to describe her practice#
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that is an indication of her uniue powers and our feeble comprehension.
1or =eelands# ?'orothyAs statements are not mystical ! itAs /ust that theacademic# rigorous# ob/ecti(e# technical /argon .. . doesnAt always exactly
express her intentions as an artistA.2=
The dilemma of a##raisalThis perception has not helped the de(elopment of coherent assessment
procedures for drama in schools# particularly as the ma/or theorists of
7liama!in!cducalion ha(e themsel(es paid (ery little attention to how
achie(ement in drama might be measured. 0t one time# of course# such
maims were thought not to be the concern of educational practices which
deiill willi llir intangible ualities of natural creati(ity and self!expression.
owe(er# in recent years the reuirement for suitable e(aluati(e criteria linn
become increasingly recognised; this has been no less the case in the mix
lliiin in other areas of the curriculum# 4fforts that ha(e been made to
/
?ducation and Dramatic .rt6brmulBtfl e(aluati(e schemes for educational drama strikingly re(eal the
oldAs contradictions and paradoxes. 0s 'erek )owntree explains:
6fwc wish to disco(er the truth about an educational system# we must look
into its assessment procedures ... ow are its purposes and intentions
realiedK To what extent arc the hopes and ideals# aims and ob/ecti(es
professed by the system e(er truly percei(ed# (alued and stri(en for by thosewho make their way within itK The answers to such uestions are to be
found in what the system reuires children to do in order to sur(i(e and
prosper. The spirit and style of student assessment defines the de factocurriculum. ?
We ha(e seen how &ladeAs conception of Child 'rama# with its criteria of
?sincerity and absorptionA# raised difficult uestions about appraisal. These
kinds of problems ha(e continued to beset drama!in!education as it has
resolutely set its face away from theatrical practice and critical aesthetics. 6n
the early days# this dilemma was sharply manifest in the arguments o(er the
drama syllabuses of the Certificate of &econdary 4ducation 7C&48. Thoseteachers who had not re/ected the whole idea of assessment in drama out of
hand tried agonisingly to e(ol(e means of testing ?in(ol(ementA# or the
?authenticity of responseA# or e(en ?de(elopmentA.
0 brief look at the assessment criteria of the first 5eneral Certificate of
&econdary 4ducation 75C&48 syllabuses in drama re(eals similar confu!
sions# this time inspired by the redesignation of school drama as a ?learning
processA. TheLeicestershire Mode
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The lengths to which drama!in!education will sometimes go to exclude
discussion of the theatre from its assessment criteria and the e(aluati(e
incoherence that arises as a conseuence are well exemplified in BoltonAs
post!mortem on a well!documented workshop at the )i(erside &tudios in
,-O.O 0fter a scries of three one!and!a!uarter!hour demonstration lessons
Bolton reflects with some satisfaction on what had been achie(ed with thegroup of children:
What do 6 think they had learntK ... trust; protecting; negotiating meaning;
and containing. 6 claim that each of these is a worthwhile experience for me
and the class to share. But more than that 6 would be satisfied if 6 could
guarantee that they ha(e learned three (itally important things:
,8 a new sensing of dramatic form and a glimmer of what works in the
dramatic process
'orothy# 5a(in and the $ew %uggletonians2J
28 at least a tentati(e grasp that drama is for understanding!this is its
purpose
=8 that this understanding is reached through finding an integrity of feeling.
6 would not expect that the children themsel(es could articulate these points.
6f indeed 6 ha(e planted these seeds then that class and 6 are ready to mo(e
forward with leaps and bounds. 6 may ha(e achie(ed in three lessons 7three
long consecuti(e lessons8 what it takes teachers with their one hour a week
six months to achie(e ! and what those confined to thirty!fi(e minutesperiods ha(e little chance of achie(ing.2
6t is not necessary to pick o(er the bones of this workshop to ha(e (ery
substantial reser(ations about this piece of appraisal. 1or one thing# while it
might reasonably be said that the children had learnt to trust a specific
person# or set of purported facts# 6 am unclear how ?trustA# or for that matter
?containingA or ?protectingA# can e(er be acuired in thisgeneralised sense.0lso# the three ?(itally important thingsA with which Bolton would express
satisfaction seem to be excessi(ely modest outcomes# particularly as there is
no expectation ?that the children themsel(es could articulate these pointsA.
0n unarticulated# ?tentati(e grasp that drama is for understandingA must be
(ery difficult indeed to spot. 3ne is left with the impression that if this really
is all that can come from such prolonged and concentrated educational
drama work# then# as he rightly points out# what hope for the classroom
teacherK
We should be profoundly concerned about the paucity of these outcomes
mid alarmed by the complacency with which they are offered. 6f drama
teachers are being presented with these scarcely sustainable# minimal claims
as a model of e(aluation# it is no wonder that their own more formal
it..sessmcnt schemes are often such a muddle. 0 recent book by $orah
%organ and "uliana &axton# in which the authors ha(e attempted to
construct a comprehensi(e system for teaching drama based on the ideas ofeathcote and Bolton# unwittingly but (i(idly illustrates my point. The
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'93k concludes with a labyrinthine grading scheme# part of which is repro!
duced in 1igure 2.
6f we analyse the substance of what is being appraised here# from the first
693tion# ?What is to be e(aluatedA# there emerges a form of Caldwell
CookAs DSRI conductA# concerning itself with the degree of compliance of
the child with the 6tf+Cturc imposed by the teacher. The second section#
?What is to 8r GSA# 6ncorporates this h/dden agenda of acuiescence 7a
higher &C3rC it awarded to the hoy who has submitted himself 7o the
acti(ity
2> 4ducation and 'ramatic 0rt
'rama as a sub/ect
6mpro(isation: &itting!down drama 'ay 2What is to 8e e)aluated Lance "omments Martyn "omments
0ttendance: 7,8 - 5rudging ,
*unctuality: 7,8 , Late again
)espect for space and
euipment: 7J8
2
-, 2Belongings
spread around
J
)ules of the gameQ
following instructions:
7J8 E Chatting J
omework: 7J8 2 %essy /ournal J 6mpeccable
Total marks 7=J8 2, =,
What is to 8e assessed
Le(el of personal
engagement:
CvB Barely engaged to Committing B Committed
4xpression of feeling: 0 0 way with words B )eal concern
Work as process: *roduct!oriented B
%aintaining role: C!0! 1rom the superficial to the
real# e(en when we arc notwatching
B Likes to feel safe
4nergy appliedappropriately:
C When it suits him 0
4xpressing in another
mediium:
C Thin 'oes not see this as a
way of being jseen,#
B Thoughtful but dull
Figure ; Teacher)s thinking about her evaluation@assessment of Aance and Bartyn;5
sufficiently energetically8 and attempts# once again# to grapple with drama!
in!cducationAs longstanding preoccupation with the expression of ?true feel!
ingsA. owe(er# while the authors are anxious to grade the genuineness of
the feelings expressed# it is ne(er made clear how this can be reliably
ascertained# particularly if a pupilAs high score in ?%aintaining roleA suggest
more than fair competence in the skills of deception.
The problem is# and it is a most serious one# that gi(en the progrcssi(isl
'orothy# 5a(in and the $ew %uggletonians
2
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legacy of drama!in!education together with its recent transmutation into
pedagogy# it is difficult to see how the /umble of associated but too often
contradictory teleological explanations can e(er produce schemes with
much more coherence than this. 0s was uickly disco(ered by the old C&4
Boards# in allocating marks to childrenAs drama# you can grade the le(el of a
childAs co!operation with the creati(e enterprise# and you can grade theircreati(e ability and their acting skills. Beyond that you are in the realm of
metaphysical speculation. ow Bolton e(aluates ?containingA# for example#
is difficult to imagine.
$one of this should be mistaken as an argument for a set of practices
prescribed by the exigencies of formal assessment. 6 ha(e simply applied
)own treeAs proposal about finding the truth of an educational system
through its appraisal structures# and concluded that in its efforts to formulate
e(aluati(e schemes of one kind or another# drama!in!education has nowhere
more completely exposed the serious weaknesses in its own conceptual
apparatus. 6t would not be an o(er!simplification# for example# to say thatthe child who is ?good at dramaA in the scheme uoted here# would be one
who toes the line and appears to be sincere. e or she# in other words# who
cansuccessfully ta1e us in+ *aradoxically# we ha(e a prgrammc which has
abandoned the culti(ation of )ousseauAs natural nobility in fa(our of the
encouragement of the street!wise cut!and!thrust of effecti(eness and
appearance.
The t!o !itnesses
+nlike earlier manifestations of drama!in!education# the
new orthodoxy cast in eathcoteAs $ewcastle workshopswas absorbed into the thinking and practice of school
drama with an especial (igour. cathcotc and Bolton
between them seemed able to inspire an astonishingly
uncritical loyalty which in(ested in them a uniue#
apparently indisputable# authority. )ather like the se(enteenth!century %uggletonians# who put their sal(ation in the hands of "ohn )ee(e
and Lodowick %uggleton# belie(ing them to be the ?two witnessesA of The(e)elation, substantial numbers of drama teachers in the ,-s seemed
happy to forsake the discourse of the wider educational community infa(our of the witness of ?'orothy and 5a(inA.
The concluding passage of WagnerAs account of eathcoteAs teaching well
illustrates that strange mixture of awe and whimsy which came to
surround her performances:
Learning to loach from 'orothy cathcotc is like dancing with a whirlwind#
The symphony she hefcfl sweeps you along with a sense of 666 rhythm; %illyou liu(tO (ery ide understanding of the steps your
2
4ducation and 'ramatic 0rt
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feet must take when her leadership is gone and you are left to dance alone.
%y hope is that this book will spell out some of the steps so that you can
start the dance; but the music you hear must be in your own soul.=
1reuent use of this kind of semi!magical imagery reinforced the e(angelic!
al thrust of the new orthodoxy# wrapping eathcoteAs already powerful
physical presence in a cloak of spirituality around which an increasingly
beleaguered discipline could rally. 0s Christopher ill writes of the disillu!
sionment which followed the collapse of the radical programmes of the
4nglish )e(olution:
6f anything was to be sal(aged from the wreckage of radical hopes# some
legitimating force was reuired. The %ugglctonians had the indisputable
authority of the Two Witnesses. What could not be won by political means
might be secured by di(ine assistance.=,
+ndoubtedly# eathcotc and Bolton succeeded in pro(iding far more than a
new methodology for the teaching of drama. Like )ee(e and %uggleton#
they offered a wisdom that claimed its origins in a deep spiritual truth and a
unifying (ision of humanity which absol(ed their followers from further
moral or ideological speculation.
owe(er# the dangers of the self!appro(ing system which drama!in!
education engendered for itself during the ,-s# and of which eathcote
and Bolton were the unchallenged ambassadors are# 6 hope# ob(ious. The in!
tense personalisation of practice# combined with a mistrust of disinterested
analysis# meant that it became almost impossible to challenge the premises
upon which the practice was built. %eanwhile# without the checks and
reassessments that genuine debate brings with it# the elders became more
self!assured and less in touch with reality# gathering their disciples aroundthem as a shield against an increasingly unsympathetic educational world.
Like the disappointed %ugglctonians# and 1ifth %onarchists# and )anters
and 'iggers of the se(enteenth!century# ?when the kingdom of Christ failed
to arri(e# the faithful could retreat into their own communities and en/oy
there much of the euality# comradeship and fraternity that the outside world
denied themA.=2&adly# as the ,-s came to an end the promised kingdom of
drama!in!education must ha(e seemed as far off as e(er# paradise
indefinitely postponed. The ,- 4ducation )eform 0ct heralded a (ery
different educational en(ironment from that marked by its predecessor in
,-EE. 0fter a decade of dramatic hagiocracy too many ordinary drama
teachers were to find themsel(es dangerously ill!prepared for the demands it
would make upon them.
C
The +etting: ($ents on the Pu0lic +tage
The !"#s settlement
The single!minded pursuit of classroom strategies# the
struggle for a methodology of drama teaching# which
marks the past ten or fifteen years of de(elopments in
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educational drama# was based upon the belief that if
?drama as a learning medium)4 could be shown to bepedagogically effec ti(e# then drama!in!education recast
in this way would be able to /ustify a place for itself 7and
its practitioners8 at the (ery core of the school curricu !
lum.QQQQQQQQQ 6 shall suggest here# and in the following chapter# that the
exclusive attention conseuently #aid to theories ofexclusive attention conseuently #aid to theories ofdramatic learning had in fact uite the reverse effect"dramatic learning had in fact uite the reverse effect"#laying a significant #art in drama)s relegation in the#laying a significant #art in drama)s relegation in thenational curriculum of thenational curriculum of the 4545 ?ducation %eform?ducation %eform.ct.ct.2QQQQQQQQQQQQQ
The wider origins of this paradox lie in the shifting of the post!war
ideological balance of political life in 4ngland# well under way by the mid!
,-s# but largely ignored by those in positions of influence in the drama!in!
education mo(ement. The latter# with their heads down amongst their
methodologies# rarely looked up to consider the serious implications of these
changes for a sub/ect discipline still with only a tenuous hold on thetimetable.
0s far as education is concerned# the ,->s can be recognised with hindsight
as years marked by consensus politics. The Centre for Contemporary
Cultural &tudies has called this general agreement o(er educational aims
?the li%"3s settlementA# seeing it as ?the product of a distincti(e alliance 3f
three groups of forces: leading sections of the Labour *arty# the orga!uiQrdteaching profession# and certain key intellectuals in the new
lduonlion@rclfttcd academic disciplinesA.Ill ftl>t" ihii ?pr3)lT&i(cA alliance spread more widely still# resting not
124ducation and 'ramatic 0rt
only on the pragmatic socialism of 0nthony Crosland# but also on the non!
conformity of his Tory opposite number. 4dward Boyle.EBoth men presided
o(er a period of educational expansion fuelled by popular demand. 'uring
the ,->s education grew at a greater rate than any national enterprise
except gas and electricity. 4ach year successi(ely greater numbers ofchildren gained 5C4 \ and 0 le(els. By ,->= The )obbins )eport was
warning of ?an educational emergencyA in higher education because of the
effects of the post!war ?baby boomA.4ducation spending as a proportion of
gross national product rose from =.2 per cent in ,-JJ to > per cent in ,->- 7a
period co(ered by both Conser(ati(e and Labour go(ernments8# partly
because of public demand and partly through a con(iction that Britain had to
modernise its social and economic infrastructure in order to compete
successfully in world markets.
5reater access to education at all le(els of society was a key element in this
strategy. There was an expansion of further and higher education and a new
commitment to the comprehensi(e school. Ways were sought to reducebarriers to opportunity for working!class children# traditionally inhibited by
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the elitism of the uni(ersities and contained within the low expectations of
the secondary!modem school. There was a perception by go(ernment#
endorsed by $ewsom and other reports from within the education estab!
lishment# that the young of the nation represented a key resource in a new!
technological age# and that BritainAs economic future depended to a large
extent upon that growing populationAs ability to li(e within and manage thatnew age. This ability could only be achie(ed# and later sustained# it was
thought# by opening up educational opportunities right across the social
spectrum.
This# then# was the tide upon which drama!in!education found a secure
anchorage. Concerned more with the processes of deli(ery than with the
politics of pro(ision# the non!politicians in the settlement alliance 7the
teachers and their allies in the uni(ersities8 saw the child!centred# de(elop!
mental premises of the progressi(e mo(ement# of which school drama stood
as such a prominent representati(e# as ideally placed to ser(e the new
egalitarianism. 0mong the state agencies# too# there was percei(ed to be aneed for children of different social classes to understand each other better#
or# as a &chools Council document argued in ,-># a reuirement that
education should aim ?to help students find within themsel(es the resources
that alone can help them li(e at ease in the changing worldA.A The disman!
tling of these cultural barriers would come# it was assumed# not as a result of
political re(olution and reconstruction# but through the increase of
awareness and understanding brought about by the exercise of the socio!
psychological principles of progressi(e teaching methods. Child!centred
models of classroom practice# it was thought# would help this process ofad/ustment# particularly for that large group of pupils whom $ewsom had
3&i4(ents on the *ublic &tage=,
identified as ha(ing abilities ?artificially depressed by en(ironmental and
linguistic handicapsA.Brian Way is thus perfectly in tune with his time
when# in the first chapter ofDe)elo3ment through Drama, he declares that#
&o far as is humanly possible# this book is concerned with the de(elopment
of people# not with the de(elopment of drama ... 4ducation is concerned
with indi(iduals; drama is concerned with the indi(iduality of indi(iduals#
with the uniueness of each human essence .. . drama encourages originality
and helps towards some fulfilment of personal aspiration.
This emphasis on autonomous fulfilment was gi(en added impetus in the
secondary sector because of the undoubtedly beneficial effect the new child!
centred methods had on the daily guerilla warfare of the school. By allowing
particularly ?difficultA pupils informal space to express opinions and debate
their concerns# teachers often found the task of pedagogic inter(ention
considerably eased.,The exceedingly flimsy content boundaries of the
drama lesson made drama!in!education a particularly suitable (ehicle for
this kind of approach. 'rama teachers found themsel(es increasingly called
to ser(ice courses directed towards the lower end of the ability range# with
repertoires of trust exercises# group therapeutics and games.U
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While for many teachers who can look back on this time it was indeed a
kind ofAgolden ageA# the ,->s settlement and the progressi(ist ideas which
flourished under its protection were the result more of a series of fortunate
economic and political coincidences than of a sustainable ideological
momentum. 0 period rich with curriculum initiati(es and methodological
ad(ances# it was also one marked by political compromise and educationalpragmatism. 3pportunities to alter radically the structure of the education
system# by remo(ing the anomaly of a parallel pri(ate ser(ice# for example#
or e(en by simply legislating away the lingering tri!partite system of gram!
mar# technical and secondary!modern schools set up by the ,-EE 0ct# were
either not taken by the ,->E! Labour 5o(ernment 7which after ,->> had a
ninety!se(en seat ma/ority8# or only tardily embarked upon. The Labour
*arty in power asked for no report on comprehensi(e education# for exam!
ple# and seemed content to lea(e the problems of the new schools to the
experts.
&imilar caution characterised the introduction of the new Certificate of&econdary 4ducation 7C&48 in ,->J. While the new syllabuses ga(e
teachers control o(er public examinations for the first time# and introduced
Continuous assessment 3n R wide basis# the examination system itself# with
9C4 78 6c(i!6h remaining for the more able# reinforced the old grammarQ ?#i I
7.ndaiy niileiii ili(iiimii mill ini(r them an anomalous structural home
14ducation and 'ramatic 0rt
within the comprehensi(e system. %any curriculum initiati(es 7such as
4uropean &tudies# for example8 perished as they tried to make headway
within the tangle of historical compromises and (ested interests which for so
long had plagued 4nglish education# and which no real efforts were made todisplace.
%eanwhile# the tendency of the teaching profession itself to o(erlook the
material ambitions of parents for their children# and go(ernmental reluct!
ance to become in(ol(ed with what 'a(id 4ccles once called ?the secret
garden of the curriculumA# ser(ed to distance and e(en alienate the general
public from educational affairs. The alienation was soon to be recognised
and exploited# as a loose alliance of the political right sought to fill fhc
policy (acuum and mobilise public concern.
$ew ideologues
Before the decade was o(er# the first of a series of polemical literary essays#the notorious Black *apers on education# had been published.,2iewed by
many teachers at the time as little more than an aberrant outburst from the
extreme right# the writers who contributed to these documents ne(ertheless
set out to challenge the premises upon which the educationalists of the
,->s had founded their strategies for egalitarian reform.
By attempting to appeal# o(er the heads of the educational establishment and
the political consensus which supported it# to the ?common senseAU of the
man or woman in the street# contributors found that they could exploit
widespread popular uncertainties. 6t was in the o(ert populism of this pro/ect
7and the model it was later to pro(ide for the 3ou/adiste ascendancy of the,-s8# rather than in the presentation of a coherent alternati(e programme#
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that its success lay. 0lso# it has to be said that the association in the minds of
the press and the public of key elements of the ,->s settlement# such as the
comprehensi(e school# mixed!ability classes# and progressi(e teaching
methods# with an intellectual ?liberalA elite out of touch with the aspirations
of ordinary people# was by no means an entirely mistaken one.,=
The Black *aper writers mustered discontent around three distinct themes#
namely standards# parents# and teaching methods. Cyril Burt# for example#
claimed that ?attainment in the basic sub/ectsA had actually declined since
the 1irst World War# and that /udged by ?tests applied and standardied in
,-,=!,E# the a(erage attainments in reading# spelling# mechanical and
problem arithmetic are now appreciably lower than they were JJ years
agoA.,EBurtAs later 7subseuently discredited8 findings# relating to inherited
intelligence# pro(ed another popular theme among Blok *aper
contributors# many of whom were con(inced 7hat working!class
4(ents on the *ublic &tage ==
children were# on a(erage# innately less intelligent than their middle!classpeers. By this account# de(ices such as comprehensi(e schools and mixed!
ability teaching were an egalitarian illusion# doomed from the start in the
face of genetic reality. 0t the root of this proposition lay a form of social
'arwinism similar to the competiti(e sur(i(alism fa(oured by right!wing
economists. 0ccording to this (iew# it was natural# indeed desirable# that the
intellectually able should climb on the backs of the weak. This (igorous#
healthy process# it was argued# was being blocked by the cranky permissi(e!
ness of ?progressi(eA teaching.
*arents were central to the Black *aper pro/ect# and were to be enlisted in
support of it once the amorphous sense of concern already identified had
been amplified sufficiently into ?the crisis of educationA. The ?common
senseA of the ?ordinary parentA was contrasted fa(ourably with the ?woolly!
thinking progressi(ismA of the intellectual left. ere is )hodes Boyson 7then
head of ighbury 5ro(e &chool8 arguing that parents wanted nothing more
from the secondary!modern school than that it should emulate the grammar
school with ?an attracti(e uniform# some cxclusi(eness of intake# and the
creation of traditionA:
... parents see schools largely as places which train their sons and daughters
for better /obs .. . secondary modern schools with progressi(e methods# rural
science# much art and music and freedom of de(elopment endeared
themsel(es to no!one other than the (aguely!idealistic# unworldly andle(itating types so well represented and influential amongst education
officials and ad(isors.,=
*ublic reser(ations about the unfamiliar teaching methods of progressi(ism
were easy to exploit. Concrete e(idence played only a small part in this
attack# which instead leant hea(ily on fears about discipline and control. The
comprehensi(e school was deemed to ha(e made a significant contribution
to the ?pop and drugA youth culture of the ,->s and ,-s# while attempts
on the part of teachers in the same schools to de(ise new strategies for the
deli(ery of education were ridiculed as absurd and irresponsible.
... 6 know that the best comprehensi(e school heads ... will ha(e no truckwith libertarian absurdities 7?child centredA education# free acti(ity# no rules#
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no streaming# no examinations# no teaching and therefore no learning8 but
there is enough e(idence to show that the Comprehensi(e outlook only too
often in(ol(es ?progressi(eA concomi!tiinl# "nsi as the Labour *arty find
the trades union mo(ement ha(e .ilwiiy$ s settlement was already a matter for the history books. 6n fact# the
speech marked the end of a long post!war period of educational expansion#
and began a process of go(ernmental reassessment and economic contrac!
tion# in which the teaching profession# and those academics most associated
with it# were to become increasingly marginal to the creation and imple!
mentation of education policy. 6n his speech# Callaghan laid down the
parameters of the debate in a series of uestions relating to the ?real worldA
to which he was in no doubt the nationAs education ser(ice must perforce
adapt: !
Let me repeat some of the fields that need study because they cause concern.There are the methods and aims of informal instruction; the strong case for
the so!called core curriculum of basic knowledge; next# what is the proper
way of monitoring the use of resources in order to maintain a proper
national standard of performance; then there is the role of the inspectorate in
relation to national standards; and there is a need to impro(e relations
between industry and education.,
1rom the mid!,-s onwards# ad(ocates of progressi(e education were to
find themsel(es increasingly on the defensi(e in educational policy!making
at all le(els. 6n this respect# it should be remembered that de(elopments in
drama!in!education after this time 7and that includes all the ma/or writings
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of eathcote and Bolton8 must be set against a background of a broken
consensus# and within a political and economic climate fast changing to
4(ents on the *ublic &tage
=J
meet the concerns which had been so effecti(ely articulated by Cox and
'yson and their fellow Black *aper contributors in ,->-.
zo longer can it be accepted that progressi(ism and comprehensi(e schemes
are necessarily right# or that the future necessarily lies with them. The Black
*aper has encouraged parents# teachers# %.*.s to speak out on the present
day abuses in education. There are many signs that the trend is now back to
more balanced and tried (iews
,-
Anything you can do
These ?balanced and tried (iewsA were much in e(idence in the Labour5o(ernmentAs 5reen *aper#Educaiion in @chools,published in "uly ,-. 6t
contained# for example# the suggestion that there should be national agree!
ment on curriculum content# with a core of essential sub/ects:
... it is clear that the time has come to try to establish generally accepted
principles for the composition of the secondary curriculum for all pupils . ..
there is a need to in(estigate the part which might be played by a ?protectedA
or ?coreA element of the curriculum common to all schools.
Education in @chools also urged the 'epartment of 4ducation and &cience
to be less reticent about inter(ening in matters traditionally left to the
?professionalsA:6t would not be compatible with the duties of the &ecretaries of &tate ... or
with their accountability to *arliament# to abdicate from leadership on
educational issues which ha(e become a matter of li(ely public concern.
There was to be a greater in(ol(ement of the commercial sector in policy
committees; a core curriculum should be able to ?offer reassurances to
employersA as well as to teachers and parents. 0bo(e all# schools were to be.
di(erted from the egalitarian pursuit of that legacy of )enaissance human!
G++" the well!rounded citien# to ?education for in(estment# education forefficiencyA#22or in other words# to the preparation of pupils for an effecti(e
place in the ser(ice of the economy.
0midst all this concern for economic rele(ance# it should be remembered
int thd relationship between a( nationAs economic performance and its
7duration ynlein remains unpin(cn; sunnO economists ha(e e(en argued
=>
4ducation and 'ramatic 0rt
that education policy has no appreciable effect whate(er on the operation of
the economy.2=$e(ertheless# from the mid!,-s# it was against predictions
of economic demand that education policy was increasingly measured. This
necessarily entailed attacks on the institutions within the ser(ice most
identified with the old progressi(e ideal. 6n ,-# for example# the &choolsCouncil was forced to change its constitution to reduce the representation of
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teachers. 4(en the 'epartment of 4ducation and &cience itself was not
considered sufficiently free from the taint of the ,->s settlement. 1rom its
creation in ,-E# the %anpower &er(ices Commission 7%&C8 7directly
answerable to the &ecretary of &tate for 4mployment8 became an agency of
growing importance in the deli(ery of education policy. The implications of
the new utilitarianism for sub/ects like drama which had floated into thecurriculum on a tide of progressi(e ideas were potentially (ery gra(e.
By the early ,-s there is e(idence of attempts from within the field to
reach an accommodation with the changing political climate. 6ndeed# it is
possible that the growing ad(ocacy of eathcoteAs theories of dramatic
pedagogy could be interpreted as a generalised# almost subliminal# acknow!
ledgement of the changing political context. The reinstatement of the teacher
as the key moti(ating figure in the lesson# for example# which was being
widely ad(ertised as the model for good practice by the ,-s# could be
interpreted as an attempt to disassociate educational drama from what Cox
and 'yson had called the ?excesses of laisse-fairepermissi(ismA withwhich it had for long been identified. The coloured lights and noisy disorder
of the ,->s drama lesson must surely ha(e embodied all that the new
idealogues most mistrusted and sought to eradicate.
*aradoxically# it was the influence of the %&C and its associated enterprises
which was to offer educational drama a role wi
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