Waldorf Matters … (Don´t) Stop Being so Dramatic!
Mrs Kelly Underwood is our Drama teacher at Elmfield as well as teaching English. In our weekly blog series about key aspects of Steiner Waldorf education, Kelly discusses the importance of the dramatic arts.
I was often told as a child to “Stop being so dramatic!” I found this to be very annoying. Unsurprisingly, as a Drama teacher, I think it’s very important for us to be able to be ´dramatic´ sometimes!
Theatre allows us to express ourselves in so many ways and encourages us to let our imaginations run wild. It helps to develop self awareness, confidence, and social skills. There is so much to explore when you´re being ´dramatic´!
As a performer myself, I am aware that we are mostly judged on one evening; one performance, the culmination of a lot of work to which the audience is not privy. Drama in a Waldorf School is never about exhibitionism and while talent is fostered, it is not the focus of our activities. While the presentation of the work is often shared with others, the emphasis is for me, always on the pedagogical process and not solely on a polished production. When you watch a class play, very few people will have witnessed the journey each pupil has gone through on their way to this final performance, and this is where the magic happens actually!
My most vivid memories of my own drama lessons at school involved our English teacher taking us into the studio once a week and giving us some kind of scenario to act out. What then ensued every week, was that the boys in my class would take off their ties, fix them around their heads like Karate kid, and fight! I would tut and roll my eyes, but what I see now was that our teacher gave us the gift of some much needed freedom in those lessons. In a school that focused heavily on results, we had no end goal in this lesson!
We could enjoy the activity for its own sake. And we did! We acted out our made-up stories, which usually involved some sort of argument. We balanced dangerously on equipment, built forts, jumped off stuff, shouted, stamped, laughed and pretended to be old people (hunched over stance, croaky voice and walking stick, because let´s face it, how else do you play an old person?!) We received no grade and we didn´t want one!
Through drama, pupils can be archaeologists, journalists, detectives and poets; lions, astronauts, gods and monsters; Tudors, Vikings, robots and evacuees. Being able to imagine what it is like to be someone else, and to communicate effectively is how people can move from one step to another in their life. This is why I think it’s important for children to develop this skill from a young age as it will make life slightly easier.
The arts teach us what it is to be human. Theatre teaches us sympathy, empathy, patience and to understand and seek out connections with our enemies. And heaven knows, everyone in the world right now should be seeking out some common ground. If we truly want to impact the world for the better I suggest.....more theatre, and no – I´ll never stop being so dramatic!
