The next book I invested in was The young audience exploring and enhancing children's experiences of theatre written by Matthew Reason. The book as a whole is provides a wealth of information surrounding my chosen field but I am have looking closely at and will review Part 3 - Enhancing engagement.
Reason's writing is of particular interest to me because of his passion for quality driven theatre for children that is enriching and engaging - a passion that is similar to my own. Within this part of his book he looks to explore different techniques surrounding how a child's engagement in theatre can be enhanced. Talking of how theatre can exist on an immediate level Reason says 'We could legitimately argue that this is fair enough. But that would neglect the richness and playfulness of the responses that emerged when people do take the narratives or characters or techniques forward for themselves. It would also be to neglect how such increased engagement makes a deepening and extending of the children's knowledge and ownership - creative, imaginative, emotional and technical - of the performance.' This a great summary of why I think it is important to go beyond the performance and offer more. Aptly Reason's words are the reasoning behind my inquiry. During the chapter Reason questions some techniques and tools in a way I had never thought of before. Talking of resource packs that are often given to teachers to extend the production into a classroom setting Reason says '- they can make watching resemble a decoding exercise of spotting themes and responding accordingly. Anecdotally, I find that such resources tend to flatten and homogenise the experiences and responses produced.' This will be an important factor to consider in my inquiry, where does the extension of a live performance have to stop so it does not take away from the magic of a theatrical performance? To be honest this also got me thinking about my own personal perceptions. As I am new to this area and very positive about any tools that set out to enhance and enrich a child's experience I am maybe a little naive and had not stopped to think that some of these tools may hinder their experience not help. This has highlighted where the critical analysis will come into my inquiry, it will be important for me to analyse my perception of the tools in question and draw from reports they have surrounding their success. Although Reason does not believe that resource packs are the way forward he does have a passion for other tools in this field.
Quoting Peter Brook 'theatre 'is an event for that moment in time, for that audience in that place - and it's gone. Gone without a trace' (cited in Melzer, 1995:148) like me Reason does not want the experience to be 'gone' and looks to explore how. I admire the way in which Reason does not look to assess memory or what a child has gained in his research he looks to see how we can 'develop reflection, play, transformation and knowledge.' Reason explores the tools of drawing and discussion in great detail. He concludes that the playful, reflective and creative nature of drawing can evolve a child's relationship with the performance. There is no right or wrong answer with drawing but it encourages taking time to stop and think, recalling thoughts and feelings that the production may or may not have set out to provoke. It is inspiring to see the power of drawing without the adult fear of 'I can't draw'. It is clear that this tool encourages a child's ever so precious imagination in a safe format.
Regarding talking about theatre Reason sees this as a fundamental tool as do I. Even as an adult we have the urge to talk about our perceptions and interpretations so I believe it is important to instill this thought process in children too encouraging expression and opinion formulating. Reason explores different techniques and models for discussion and then goes on to create his own resource for asking the right questions. It was enlightening to read about P4C - Philosophy for children that looks to 'enhance thinking skills, including the ability to think for oneself, weigh up evidence and challenge received opinions through scrutiny and reasoning' and how Reason has developed this into a model for post theatre discussion. 'Talking about Theatre' focuses on 'description, analysis, interpretation and evaluation'. These are resources that I did not know were out there and as I move forward with my inquiry I intend to really get my head around and grasp. It is invaluable information that will stand me in better stead for my inquiry and in turn my career development.
Reading back over this review I realise I have quoted Reason's work quite a lot, this is because the words he writes resound with me and inspire me! His writing has got me thinking about how much scope there is to take theatre further for young people, the positive effects it can have and the fact that there is so many resources and research out there to help me understand how. I can draw a lot from Reason's research and it will be interesting to see if theatre companies are putting his theories and others into practice and if the theory works in practice. One more!
'The way children use, play with and transform their cultural experiences in their imaginative lives reveals how the passive consumer is in reality an active participant. Acquiring knowledge, and skills of reflection and critically enables the powerless child to become enfranchised and empowered by their own cultural experiences. That is why the relationship between young audiences and theatre should never be conceptualised merely in terms of access, of getting bums on seats and of cultural rights equating simply to exposure to rich cultural experiences. Cultural rights must encompass art form knowledge and critically as essential elements in the empowerment of young audiences.'
Hollie xx
Also take a look at these photos of children watching theatre at the Unicorn they are really cool!
http://lisabarnard.co.uk/projects/unicorn-theatre/lookingattheatre/
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