The Sunday News
Raisedon Baya
DRAMA in schools should not always be about competition. I have said this before, in many platforms, and shall say it again today on this platform.
In all honesty drama in schools should be about having fun, giving platforms for students to tell their own stories, about identifying and nurturing acting and storytelling skills. It should be about fun, fun and more fun.
It should be about the holistic development of the student. Always. If all things were equal schools should be producing plays on a regular basis, almost every term, just for the general consumption by students, parents and the immediate communities that feed into the schools.
I have seen something like this with schools like Falcon, Girls High, Reps, and others. These have put up some brilliant shows at the theatre for parents and the public — though the stories are still Eurocentric and old English or American classics. My only wish is that the shows be local and on a regular basis.
While competitions are not and should not be the alpha and omega of art activities and participation in schools the reality on the ground is that the ultimate survival and the development of drama in schools is largely a result of the many competitions that take place in and outside schools.
Nash competition. Isiphiwo Sami Talent Search. Intwasa High Schools Drama Competition. There has been a few others competitions organised by civil society organisations with the sole aim of uplifting students and helping them make good choices. Like them or not, competitions must be credited for the vibrancy of drama in schools.
The major reason for the success of competitions in schools is the nature of our education system. The system is nothing but a competition. It is about passing examinations, always about doing better than the next student.
This culture of competing pervades the whole education system — every subject and at every level. So in other words competitions are here to stay — unless, of course, there are drastic changes in our education system which, fortunately, the new curriculum is trying to effect.
Only politics will bring in the desired results.
While the goal of every school is always to come out tops in every competition teachers should always be able to see beyond competitions — they must always push and have activities outside competitions.
Gifford High School have been trying this approach. They have put a couple of plays at Bulawayo Theatre outside any competition. Teachers must always remember that art is a crucial part of the social, emotional, and cognitive development of the child.
They should see to it that whatever they are taking into competitions is relevant and aids to this holistic development of the child. Teachers must never forget that children continuously reorganise and integrate their experience through art, to form their sense of self and worldview.
This means that students must be left at the centre of the whole creative process. Students must be allowed to tell their own stories.
Let most of these platforms be children’s platforms where the world of the child is dominant.
As drama teachers when we work with the students lets always remember that children tend to find ways to help themselves through their inherent struggles.
They often do this through aesthetic productions such as art and drawing, music, storytelling, poetry, dance and movement. Through these creative expressive arts, they find a way to release their emotions, divert themselves from their problems, relax their minds and bodies, and get in touch with themselves and others. Let them explore and experiment.
The big prize is not in winning competitions but discovering themselves and being able to tell their own stories using their own voices.
More importantly children should be offered equal opportunities to participate, progress and develop into full-fledged thespians if they wish to. That is why artistes must take every opportunity to sing praises to the new curriculum.
