THE POWER OF PROCESS DRAMA
The day begins with a statement.
Thirty-five students from four grade levels gather, much as they have for the past six weeks. They include a diverse group of beginners, returners, actors, technicians and they range from those who want a career in the performing arts to those who are just happy to be in the room. The statement discloses that what will follow over the next several days requires a willingness to participate, the acceptance of given circumstances, an active imagination, and an open mind. The director stands before them in the role of director and explains to them in a clear, balanced tone, that they are all about to take on a role that will allow them to explore another world, from another time, as a group, together. This all sounds similar to conversations on all of the days before, but something is about to change, and the change will be dramatic, compelling, and impactful.
For the past six weeks they have been exposed to the expectations and requirements of the director. They have collaborated to create a classroom culture through a myriad of silly theatre games, group investigations, and creative projects. As a community they have been surveyed about their interests and been mixed until all members know something about all the other members of the group. Some have been assigned monologues for auditions and others have taken a deep dive into learning the basics of technical theatre skills. As a group, they have been prepared and now it has come to this moment where they will, over the course of a week in just under five hours of time, invent and inhabit a world created under the instructor’s suggestion. This is the world of process drama.
Unlike many activities in the world of theatre arts, most are dictated by a script to provide the context of who, what, where, and when? The script is used by both the actor and the technicians to create a plan to execute a vision from another imagination. In the world of process drama the universe is created by the director. The parameters of existence, the interactions, the choices, are all made by the actors. The director proceeds to guide students into this world by creating opportunities to investigate, interpret, and create a reality that is unique to the situation. The objective is not a performance. Rather, it is the participation of all of the creatives to react to the given situation using their skills of improvisation and imagination.
This is the strategy that was developed by theatre educator Cecily O’Neill, a founding member of the process drama movement. As she explains, the teacher creates the world and develops “a task to be undertaken, a decision to be made, or a place to be explored.” The performance is segmented, targeted, diverse, and extended over a period of several meetings over several days. All this without any set being created, costumes used, or scripts to direct the intentions of the student artists. It is a unique activity where the teacher plays a role in the creation of the universe, and the universe constantly evolves over the course of the experience.
I look forward to sharing with you the results of our process. It is one of the most powerful results I have ever witnessed as a theatre educator.
