An a/r/tographic exploration of engagement in theatrical performance: What does this mean for the student/teacher relationship?

Abstract

IntroductionIn this particular study, the focus illuminates the creative process of two teachers devising and performing a piece of theatre that was filmed and witnessed by theatre based students, looking at the impact of this on student learning. Both authors of this paper are teachers in a Higher Education Institution (HEI) as well as researchers and theatre practitioners. The premise of this paper is to illustrate how to encounter and potentially deepen one's understanding of teaching practice through the research methodology known as a/r/tography. A/r/tography is an arts based methodology used to explore teaching practice (Siegesmund, 2012) by engaging in the researcher's art form to generate new perspectives on teaching practice.The rationale for the research was to explore a new way of communicating with students to help with their learning and development for their final year project, a solo performance informed by autobiographic material. As teachers, researchers and theatre practitioners we wanted to experiment with our teaching practice using theatre arts. We wondered whether a solo performance by one of their teachers might communicate in new ways to help students develop their skills as performers. Presented here through an a/r/tographic lens are our reflections and findings from this process which we have arranged in terms of two relationships; that of the performer/director and also the student/teacher.A solo performance was developed, utilising the teachers' interests and skills as performer and director. Initially the performance took place in front of a fee paying public audience that was also filmed. The film was shown to students on the theatre based course to inform research and teacher development eight weeks later. Students were able to access and watch the recording individually before the focus group that was facilitated by both researchers. Following the focus group students completed a questionnaire that was anonymised. After the collection of the data from the focus group, questionnaire and researchers' written reflections, thematic analysis was carried out that fell into two categories, performer/director dynamics and student/teacher dynamics. Performance OverviewThe performance was a one man show with a running time of around seventy minutes. In terms of stagecraft, a 'poor theatre' (Grotowski, 1991) approach was used as there was very little on stage except the performer. No props were used and the stage itself was left completely bare. The rationale for adopting this minimalist style is that leaving things blank, visually, helps the audience to engage their imagination and project their own ideas into the space about what each scene 'looks like'. The style of theatre perhaps also mirrors the authors' teaching approach as audience members, like students, are invited to construct and develop their own meaning and understanding.The costume was formal with a loose, plain looking suit with a black t-shirt underneath and smart black shoes. The main character, a game show host, attempts t...

Students’ Multilevel Artistic and Pedagogical Communication Mastering

“…British researchers Bird and Tozer (2018), within a research paper, have argued for the effectiveness of their teaching practice using theatre tools, which reveal new professional facets of teachers. The authors argued that the art of theatre in the educational process allows us to broaden our understanding of the role of the teacher and his influence on students.…”