4D - Literature Review (1)

AND THEN, YOU ACT – MAKING ART IN AN UNPREDICTABLE WORLD BY ANNE BOGART (2007)

Anne Bogart is an American theatre and opera director. She is also a professor and columbia university. I have looked at her book of essays to help me find ideas and theories that will aid my inquiry planning. 

‘One of the most radical things you can do in this culture of the inexact is to finish a sentence.’ (A.Bogart 2007 p.17) Bogart talks about theatre and how it can help a person to articulate. Many people are nervous or unable to express themselves. Having an education with drama will help you to find your voice. It could help with many other career paths, not just as a performer.

                Bogart says that words are ‘key’, she relayed a story which I found very helpful to myself. Robert Brunstein (find more about him) ran the drama school at Yale University. After a time he was invited to start a theatre company at Harvard. Whilst working on this project he also wanted to start up a drama school at Harvard in conjunction with American Reparatory Theatre. He proposed his idea to the Dean several times. First as an ‘art school’ and then as a ‘conservatory’ which the dean said Harvard could not support. The dean however did say yes to an ‘institute’. Brunstein had found the right words to get what he needed. He was saying the right thing. I could relate to this as in my job you have to cater to what specific clients would like in their school or for their child. We have to be mindful of what language we use and how we present ideas.

                We have to offer what people want in order to get them attracted to the arts. I have been asking whether exams like LAMDA ( speech and drama exams ) are really the best way to learn performance skills. Exams like these attract schools and parents. They see it as a way to prove that their child is achieving. They are attracted to the UCAS points that can be gained and the percentage grade that their child will attain. Some parents do see that their children have a genuine love of arts and don’t rush the exams through.

                Bogart states that ‘language’ is ‘dumbed-down’ she thinks that as a ‘civilization’ many are ‘afraid of artistic expression’. She thinks that some people even consider it a ‘subversive activity’. In my opinion I do think people can be afraid of what they don’t know. However, I doubt most people would have given the topic enough thought to think of it as a ‘subversive’ activity.  

In another section of the book Bogart touches on Brecht’s theory of ‘attitude’. She says that ‘attitude’ gives another way of approaching acting rather than using the ‘method’ (Bogart, 2007).

She says that the actor plays the ‘attitude’ rather than making the performance a, ‘ purely inner experience.’(Bogart, 2007. P94) In it’s simplest form using this theory of attitude could be a good way to explain things to my younger students. It is a lot to ask them to draw on personal experience, which they may be too young to understand or handle. It’s more about ‘outwardly’ showing the mood. This is what they need in the LAMDA exams as they are marked on how they portray the mood.

Bogart argues that no matter when theatre was created it is relevant to the here and now (Bogart, 2007). This is important as you want your students to be interested and relate to what your teaching them. You want to teach them practical skills that will help them in life. Bogart says that theatre is, ‘ultimately about community’. We should be ‘challenging’ each other. I think drama is a great way to teach young people about working in a community. For example, if I asked a class of year 2 children (6/7years old ) to find a partner or a group to work in there is almost always an argument or somebody gets upset. This situation then shows them they have to be brave and work with new people. Also in the choosing who will play which part they learn to compromise. They can’t always be the part they want. Whilst they are performing they are learning to trust others and by encouraging them to give constructive feedback they are developing their critical thinking. They are able to begin giving different ideas and see that there are different ways of approaching things.

Theatre grabs your attention, it wants you to be drawn in by topics. It wants to make you listen. It is topical and can be used to send a message (Bogart, 2007).

‘I do not believe that artists are teachers. They are, on the contrary, learners.’ (Bogart, 2007. P84)

For me this is so true. I have a love of learning, I always have. I have always enjoyed sharing what I have learned with other people, and finding ways to help them understand it also.

                I love history and a lot of that knowledge has been gained from plays, films, TV or books that have prompted me to do further research and have a wider understanding of the world around me. For example, when I left school I never knew that after WW2 Germany was divided into two countries ( we just learned about the road to war). History topics were so specific at school. I learned about the Berlin Wall and the cold war from watching drama and then going to do further research on the topic. I hope that the topics we touch on in class will encourage my students to find their own interests.  

What I am looking for is the connections between drama and how it can aid education. Although I do not yet have a specific line of enquiry I have found several points and techniques in Bogarts book that have stimulated ideas and opportunities for further research.