7. Presuppositions
3.1 Drama: as a means of education
3.1.3 Educational drama strategies
3.1.3.1 Dramatic play
Dramatic activity is finnly rooted in the natural behaviour of play, which is a nonnal way of exploring and conquering one's world, developing skills and nurturing the growth of one's personality.
Huizinga (1970), the Dutch social historian, argues in his book Homo Ludens that adults also need play, not only for recreational purposes, but as an important ingredient of a satisfactory lifestyle. The reason for this is that fonnal education, the nature of people's work today and the expectations of society suppress one's innate capacity for playfulness, thus stifling one's creativity which could benefit society as a whole. For most gays whom I have interviewed, a loss of their childhood (being different from others), for example gay boys would usually alienate themselves from playing "nonnal boys'" games and because ofembarrassment from others, they made deliberate decisions not to play at all. Creating opportunities through drama can help release true inner emotions in a safe and non-threatening environment.
The sense of pleasure, fun and excitement that comes with new learning is important for a gay person's capacity to grow. These positive feelings within a person often give rise to new challenges ofself-confidence and resourcefulness. People, thus stimulated (Bemstein, 1971) can approach new situations with an exploratory, searching and experimenting attitude. Bemstein argues that a good deal of both learning and enjoyment can emerge from social aspects of play where one can learn to play co-operatively with others according to set rules. In pledging with others, one learns that one is not only an individual but also part of a larger society. A wider culture ofexpressiveness provides opportunities for fun and a greater chance ofbroadening one's experiences through play.
Itis through play that self-esteem, co-operation, discipline, physical awareness, compassion, and so on, are practised. Play moves one towards exploration, fantasy, experimentation and creativity.Inits most extreme, play can become creative work which is a disciplined technique of artistic expression. Italso creates a spirit of power and balance in the lives of people.
According to educational drama theorists Heathcote (1980; 1984), Bolton (1979) and Wagner (1988) play can be characterised by the following features: it is voluntary and self-initiated, and helps to free people from threats and needs. Motivation in play is contained within the pleasure or the challenge ofthe activity. Play is governed by rules, which the group often make and agree to abide by while they move between dramatic fantasy and reality. Play can also act as a temporary reliever of frustration, and as a long term therapeutic process because it focuses more on the process rather than the product of the activity (Valente and Fontana, 1994). Problem solving is usually met in play with calm and pleasure. Play improves people's concentration levels and enhances their creativity and learning because their concern is with engaging in the present activity and not in achieving a particular goal.
Psychologists Erikson (1950, 1968), JOhnson (1991), Piaget (1962; 1977), Freud (1908, 1958) and Bruner et al. (1976) add that play allows for experimentation with others and the world they live in, providing one with opportunities to develop strong egos and higher confidence levels.
They agree that play provides a safe outlet for intense emotions such as aggression. Play also develops individual and group competency and it has the potential of using up surplus energy.
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Yawkey (1980) points out that play helps in the development ofone's selfconcept. One's concept of self detennines how one perceives and evaluates experiences (ours and others). All these experiences contribute to one's sense of belonging, worth, competence and achievement. This view of self is in line with Maslow's (1968) theory of self-actualization and Bowen's (1994) natural systems theory because it detennines the way in which we relate to ourselves and others.
Dramatic play, as Jennings (1990) points out, is important in that it involves representation and role-play, and provides imaginary situations which are removed from real life consequences.
Learning takes place through a process of imitation, identification and exploration in a non- threatening environment. However, she believes that effective engagement in the dramatic activity requires trust, a non-judgmental attitude, the right to withdraw, emotional support and affinnation, and a respect for diverse responses.
Jennings (1990) describes three developmental stages of play which are: embodiment play, projective play and role play. Embodiment and projective play are important for one's holistic development. I will briefly highlight what these types ofplay entail and will focus more on role- play which I believe provides a starting point for action and a place for spontaneous input (Chesner, 1994) and is essential to consider, as without it drama would not exist (Jennings, 1994).
A. Embodiment Play
This stage of play includes exploration through one's basic senses and other experiences of the immediate sensory world. These experiences become the foundation of one's sense of self and others whom one relates to. Itis my intention to allow the members of my drama group the opportunity to regress to their early childhood experiences ofplay so that they may connect with the child within them. Most ofthe gays that I have already spoken to have expressed a need to be themselves and to get in touch with their inner beings. Regaining their past through embodiment play can help release them in a safe and liberating environment.
B. Projective Play
Projective play usually develops as one explores the world of objects external to oneself. From this, symbolic play arises. Through the exploration and investigation of objects in play, one learns that objects can replicate real things in the real world. This develops from using simple
play such as using stones, shells and sticks to play a game or to create a story. At a later stage, one will be able to use imaginary objects which are not present to mime an activity. One will also be able to use whatever props are available and transform these to suit one's purpose. For example, a chair can become a queen's throne, a broom stick, her sceptre, and a hat or an ordinary piece of fabric, her crown. Through this process, one learns that objects can have symbolic meaning and this world too can thus have more sense and meaning.
C. Role Play
Itis common for children to play pretence games, initially with self-representation and later pretend to be someone else whom they are familiar with. This type ofplay immediately engages one in role-play. Some people who lack imagination and good verbal skills because of negative childhood experiences hardly get a chance to reach this level of dramatic engagement.
Concerning role-playing, the following theorists view it as follows; Grainger (1990) focuses on the absorbed, ecstatic, ritualistic aspects of role, Johnson (1988) considers the nature of role in terms of therapeutic potentials of transformation, Jennings (1987) stresses the importance of developing the [participant's] range of roles, and Landy (1994) views role as the primary component of healing in the dramatic medium.
Role-play uses play and its principles to inform its action. Itcan help in the process of coping with daily experiences and also in creating new learning experiences (Jennings, 1994). In our everyday lives we take on roles, be it a worker, partner, brother or friend. According to Pendzik,
"entering a role means getting out ofmyselfto meet someone else; exiting a role means returning to myself enriched from the meeting" (Jennings 1997: 228). The different roles we take on are ways of coping within the context in which we find ourselves. Role drama uses a particular imaginary context to provide a structure for individual and group exploration. This allows one the freedom to understand certain social situations, or one can experience what it feels like to be in someone else's shoes.
Role-play also encourages creativity, where one is able to create a persona that is not necessarily present in the real world. These personas are imaged through the use ofbody, voice language and thoughts. One is able to bring into existence a "character" which does not need to be acted out as in theatre, but rather takes the form ofthe participant speaking and feeling within a new frame
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of reference.
Taking on a role involves identifying with a particular set ofvalues and attitudes, which may not necessarily be one's own, for example, being the all-embracing god who dwells in this unjust world. One ofthe advantages of using the role-play technique with a group of gay black men is that it can provide a balance between experiencing and reflecting on their experiences. When experiencing different roles as in role-play, participants will be able to distance themselves from self and immerse themselves in the other (O'Neill, 1994).Inthis way, a participant will be able to see how it would be ifhe were his mother or father and how they would handle their gay son's
"coming out." At the same time he may realise that he is not his mother or father. Upon reflection, it may be possible for him to gain a new awareness of what his parents may be going through, thus, he may empathetically seek to understand them from a more sensitive perspective.
Being in role, however, can never allow the one emoled to function exactly as the person one is emoled as. For example, a participant taking the role of his mother, could never be his mother.
He maytryto behave like her, but he will never be exactly like her. Thus, no matter how hard he tries to get into his mother's role, it will not be one hundred percent real. However, he cantry to see things through his mother's eyes and to be like her. Therefore, as Landy (1994) argues, one can achieve aesthetic distance by maintaining a balance between identifying with and believing the role he is playing.
Role-playing does not demand elaborate costumes or props.Itjust needs the simple and honest portrayal of creative individuals who will be willing to commit themselves to the dramatic activity. Within this dramatic improvisational context, one must expect the unexpected, the unpredictable, and be prepared for elements of surprise. Role-play increases one's ability to co- operate and interact with others in the group. Italso encourages self-exploration, co-operation and effective interaction with others (Bernstein, 1971).
If play is a way of making sense of the world, then why not fmd ways of making play happen for people who find it difficult to fathom this world they are living in?