Branching Out by Chrissie Tiller

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Arts education as a catalyst for change

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BRANCHING OUT

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Contents

Written and collated by: Chrissie Tiller

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Design by: Spark Design

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ISBN 0 9519943 36

Printed by: Crowes Printers, Norwich

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Research by: Dainora Eigminiene, Nellie Gueorgieva, Cipriana Petre, Sasa Petrovicka, Dana Sliukova, Tibor Soltenszky, Violeta Tapiniene, Chrissie Tiller

4 Foreword 6 Briefing

mind could and should be flexible

Edited by: Jenny Harris Sharon Nassauer

‘I have realised that the human

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and that everyone has a hidden

8 Sharing Stories 9 What is Branching Out? 11 Why Drama in Education?

creative potential that is worth

12 Selection Process 13 Participants

revealing as it represents the realm of freedom”

15 Structure 16 Stage One: UK Placements and Training 22 Stage Two: UK Teachers in the Region

Slovakian participant

29 Project Director’s Visit to Region(s) 30 Some Lessons Learned 31 Evaluation 32 Appendix 1: Lithuania 34 Appendix 2: Hungary 35 Appendix 3: Bulgaria 36 Appendix 4: Albania 37 Appendix 5: Slovakia 38 Appendix 6: Romania 39 Appendix 7: Outlook 40 Appendix 8: Extending Target Groups 41 Appendix 9: The Branching Out Team 42 Appendix 10: List of Participants 43 Appendix 11: Regional Partners and Coordinators 44 Appendix 12: Funders 3

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FOREWORD To be part of this important and innovative project has been a privilege. Branching Out, recognising that the difficulties faced by the emerging democracies of Central & Eastern Europe cannot be overcome by political measures alone, is based on the understanding that if transformations are to be positive and permanent, they must also be social and educational. In the struggle to overcome the disabling effects of previous years there is real urgency among teachers to develop a pedagogy that is both empowering and democratic. The drama educators I encountered through this project are impressive both in their recognition of this need and their eagerness to acquire innovative drama methodologies that can be adapted to their own circumstances. They understand that drama is a social and inclusive art that encourages a sense of community and the growth of the kind of social imagination though which participants construct alternate realities. The tradition of Drama in Education, as practised in the UK, builds on the expressive traditions of other European cultures and offers something extra. In profoundly altering existing relationships between teachers and students, it helps participants reconstruct and transcend their social and personal contexts. It gives students a voice and validates their contributions. Drama is a voluntary engagement in a form of democracy in action. In this sense Branching Out has applications beyond the classroom in adult and community education, conflict resolution and building bridges between communities riven by racial and cultural divisions. In Bulgaria, for example, I represented the project at a conference on Peace Education. Working with a group of adult Gypsy and Turkish Bulgarians who spoke no English was a challenge but with the help of a young translator

we were able to explore and represent, through Drama, aspects of their past and present history. They gained considerable satisfaction from this opportunity to work together imaginatively and express their concerns in the secure forum that Drama offers. Now there is a real need for Branching Out to build on its successes and move into new areas. Teachers’ organisations in the Czech Republic, for example, who have not yet been part of the project, are hungry for such experience. Although they are able to hire experts to give workshops, what they are missing is precisely what makes Branching Out so valuable – contact not just with experts but with practising teachers. I see this exchange of professional educators, facilitated by the Education Department of the Royal National Theatre, as one of the most valuable aspects of the project. Not only for educators from the region but for the UK teachers themselves. They have been offered an opportunity to share their expertise, to encounter and to learn from other cultures – whilst reconfirming their understanding of the power of the arts as a force in the lives of young people.

‘The arts are a bridge between cultures and Drama, in particular, brings people together for a transformative purpose. and this is what makes Branching Out so educationally, socially and aesthetically significant.’

Branching Out brings together people of the new Europe and provides a cultural space, a forum where dialogue can flourish. It has been said that the greatest distance between people is not space but culture. The arts are a bridge between cultures. Drama in particular, brings people together for a transformative purpose, and this is what makes Branching Out so educationally, socially and aesthetically significant. Cecily O’Neill March 1997 Associate Professor in Drama Ohio State University, distinguished Drama teacher, workshop leader and author of many of the seminal text books on Drama Education.

BRIEFING ‘Theatre is always dependent on the scale of the human body and the scale of the human voice and on human beings talking to each other. that is why it’s important to make sure it is healthy’ Sir Richard Eyre Royal National Theatre, UK

Six years ago, the Education Department at the Royal National Theatre set up a jobshadowing training scheme with colleagues in theatres of Central & Eastern Europe. In retrospect, Seeding a Network was a trailblazing scheme. Since then, in the deepest interests of the region’s young people, calls have steadily mounted for a closer collaboration between theatres and schools. Branching Out is the RNT Education Department’s response: a job-shadowing, training, exchange scheme, offering practical and relevant support to teachers, trainers, artists – those involved in the development of Drama and Theatre in an educational context. Partnership countries in 1996/7 are Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and the UK. ‘This sort of work is vital to our young people.’ Nellie Gueorgieva, Bulgarian Coordinator ‘Drama is a key way in which young people can explore not only a range of human feeling but a whole spectrum of social situations and/or moral dilemmas.’ Report on the National Curriculum by the UK Department for Education & Science ‘We are a society grown from fear.. .. I hope my child will grow up not understanding this fear. That is why Drama is so important. Here. And now.’ Adrian Ignat, Romanian participant

The history and status of Drama in Education throughout the region varies widely. In the UK, the practice has been developed over 25 years and now, it inhabits the whole curriculum. The exchange scheme promised great possibilities of learning and teaching for all 61 who would be taking part. The selection process, developed and carried out over four months, kept the criteria for participants as open as possible. 156 applications were received ranging from 22 from Romania to one from Albania. Interviews with those shortlisted were held in the region at the same time as the UK shortlist were selected here. The need for a range in experience, expertise and regional location, was emphasised during the final selection.

The process, developed over a bare twelve months, contains many informative results which are beneficial for future planning. We need more time – and therefore resources – to allow the work started to develop both strength and depth and to penetrate the bureaucratic structures within each country, to consolidate the training of artists and teachers so that true curriculum enrichment can occur and ensure maximum impact and reach for the work. Branching Out happened in two stages. Stage One – the participants from the region spent three weeks in the UK. Week One was intensive induction – the focus on developing a shared language for Drama in Education and on mastering basic skills. Weeks Two and Three were spent with partners in UK schools, job-shadowing – putting the work into context. At the final debriefing, held in London, the whole group met to share experiences, evaluate – and to make plans for Stage Two – the UK participants’ return visits. The UK group met in London for briefing, then departed to spend ten days in their partner’s workplace in the region. Reports make it clear that this stage was profoundly affecting. The UK Project Director also toured the region during this time. Interviews and lobbying helped to raise the profile of Drama and Theatre in Education in the region. Much media interest in the project was generated. The appendices contain reports of specific results and plans from each country. There are lessons learned and caveats for the future. Detailed evaluation was conducted throughout. We are very excited by the range of results and opportunities arising from this project. We believe that the importance of it speaks eloquently in the feedback we have received – and that this will – must – guarantee its future. Jenny Harris

‘...after the session is finished everyone, pupils, teachers, even the headmaster, want to talk and talk and talk.They eventually finish late in the evening.’ Sharing Stories : 1

Sharing Stories : 2

Scene: School Drama Hut. Belfast, Northern Ireland. Winter.

Scene: Lecture Hall. Bucharest, Romania. Autumn.

Morning.

Afternoon.

Nine young women from a Catholic School are presenting an ‘A’ Level Theatre Studies piece to a preview audience. A moving, funny, challenging and well researched piece of theatre attempting to explain what it means to be a young person growing up in Belfast today. A time which for them has been punctuated by the Troubles, the Ceasefire and the Breakdown of the Ceasefire. Playground rhymes, music hall songs and news bulletins are interwoven with real stories from both sides of the divide. The piece begins with a chant that emphasises the everyday nature of violence in this city: ‘Soldier dead, loaf of bread...’ It ends with an image of reconciliation as the young women link their hands, one over another, whilst echoing the words on a Belfast City mural – peace, freedom, liberty, community, hope. The teacher asks if this is a real expression of what they imagine the future to be. For a moment they hesitate. Then, with one voice, they state firmly: ‘No. Not now. Not here. Not yet.’ As the audience leave, the students begin to rework this final image. Two groups face each other across the room. One chants words of hope and freedom, the other drones ‘Soldier dead, loaf of bread...’ They battle against each other to be heard.

24 students of Romanian Literature and Theatre. Their first Drama lesson; a demonstration of the conventions and strategies of Drama in Education involving the story of Anne Frank. The students are given little information except to be told they are in role as a group of experts – probably a war tribunal. The teacher is in the role of the father of Anne Frank. The students are not told who he is but they each ask one question. As the questions finish the teacher comes out of role and asks them what they think of this man. He is expecting a certain amount of sympathy for the character he has created. But the students are hostile. They feel Mr Frank is not telling the truth. They want to know how he could have survived the camps when the rest of his family died. They question him further. The teacher is surprised but he wants them to own the drama; he agrees to go back into role. As Mr Frank, he experiences, for the first time in his life, the terror of being wrongly accused. He comes out of role and asks the students to show moments from this man’s life in the camps. All the scenes, except one, show Mr Frank protecting his interests, betraying others, surviving by any means.

Sharing Stories : 3 Out of role, the students argue heatedly about how far any of them would compromise in order to survive. The teacher asks them to go back into the role of the tribunal. As Chairman he tells them they hold the power of life and death over this man but asks them to search their own hearts before they decide what must be done. They must each take on the responsibility of speaking their verdict and sentence; there is almost unanimous agreement about Mr Frank’s guilt. Most want to condemn him to death. The teacher takes them out of role and allows them to reflect on what has happened; in one half day’s work they have explored issues of innocence and guilt, betrayal and survival, complicity with corrupt authority and the power of people to administer justice. Not one of them balks examining the parallels between the drama they have created and their own recent history.

Scene: School Hall. Prienai, Lithuania. Autumn. Afternoon. 30 students, aged 13. All have travelled from Panevezys to take part in a Drama workshop, spending the night sleeping on the floor of the school they are visiting. Now they are working on a piece of image theatre. First they are asked to think of a square in Vilnius; the square which once held a large statue of Lenin. There is nervous whispering round the room as this part of their past is mentioned. They are then asked to imagine themselves entering this square and speaking a word which they feel sums up Lithuania now. One of them gets up from her seat. ‘Murder!’ she begins, the others join in: ‘poverty, theft, crime, selfishness...’ Their teachers are disturbed. Not one note of joy. The workshop leader then asks them to create pieces of sculpture with their bodies; this time their hopes for Lithuania in the future. The images they create are open, full of idealism, full of a sense of trust and community. Finally they are told they have a chance to create their own Sphinx, and to seek the answers to the riddles of Lithuania. In the guise of this monster they are free to ask questions of the adults. They approach their teachers. ‘Tell us why it is necessary to have those who are rich and those who are poor?’ Nobody answers. Some of the teachers are so moved they weep. For many this is the first time they have heard their students’ views on their own country. They are shocked. But after the session is finished everyone – pupils, teachers, even the headmaster – want to talk. They eventually finish late in the evening.

Drama, like theatre, is about stories. In many ways the stories of Branching Out could have stood by themselves. But some questions need to be considered. 8

WHAT IS BRANCHING OUT? Branching Out is a project committed to deepening the understanding of the role of Drama and Theatre in Education in the empowerment of young people in a civil society and to promote intercultural understanding between the countries of Western and Central & Eastern Europe.

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Branching Out works very simply – as a job-shadowing training and exchange scheme – which provides practical and relevant support for teachers, trainers and artists who are developing work in Drama and Theatre in an educational context in Central & Eastern Europe.

The Education Department of the Royal National Theatre in London has been working in partnership with colleagues in Central & Eastern Europe for six years through Seeding A Network, its job-shadowing training scheme for theatre practitioners. Branching Out is a continuation of this partnership set up in response to calls for closer collaborations between theatres and schools in addressing the needs of young people across this region.

The regional partner organisations for 1996/7 include NT Education at Royal National Theatre UK, the Open Education Centre Bulgaria, Brouhaha Hungary, the Romanian Foundation for Democracy and the Slovak National Theatre Centre.

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1996/7 partnership countries include Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and the UK. The first year of the project has been funded by the PHARE Democracy Fund at the European Commission, the European Cultural Foundation, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office UK, the Open Society Institute New York, the British Council Slovakia and Romania, the APEX Fund at the European Cultural Foundation and the Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges UK.

WHY DRAMA IN EDUCATION? The Council of Europe’s recent report on culture, creativity and the young: ‘Arts Education in Europe: a survey’, lists only two countries where Drama is included as a compulsory subject on the curriculum. The UK (as part of the English curriculum) and Greece (as part of Literature). Yet in Europe, theatre has always been at the very heart of cultural identity. Events of the past seven years, in Central & Eastern Europe in particular, have highlighted the pivotal role which theatre and the performing arts play in societies facing the challenges of political and economic change. A pilot Drama in Education project, run in partnership with the Open Society Fund Lithuania, helped to underline the need for the performing arts to engage with the concerns of young people. It also helped to accentuate the significant contribution which Drama and Theatre in Education can make to this dialogue. Why Drama? Because Drama is the most inclusive, socially cohesive of the art forms, dependent upon cooperation, trust and a commitment to others. The process of making theatre offers young people access, not only to their own cultural tradition, but to that of others. It creates a space for psychological and social experimentation, a forum for debate and a rehearsal room for change. By giving young people a voice it offers them opportunities to participate in a dialogue – between their own community and the prevailing culture in which they find themselves, it allows them to tell their own stories, to share their own hopes, fears and dreams. Two significant reports from the UK Department for Education & Science on the National Curriculum agree that: ‘Drama is a key way in which young people can explore not only a range of human feeling but a whole spectrum of social situations and/or moral dilemmas’

And that the involvement of young people in the performing arts in schools: ‘is one of the central ways in which we can help them to create the openness, tolerance and mutual understanding characteristic of a good citizen in a democratic, humane and free society’.

‘Drama is one of the central ways in which we can help them to create the openess, tolerance and mutual understanding characteristic of a good citizen in a democratic,humane and free society’ Curriculum Matters Department for Education and Science UK 1989

‘If we succeed in the sensitisation of youth to culture, a new society, a new mentality and a new way of practising politics will be created’ Melina Mercouri Minister of Culture, Greece 1981-1989 & 1993-1994

The growth of this democratic, humane and free society is dependent on the education of the next generation and those educators seeking to enable and empower. Drama teachers and Theatre in Education workers in the UK have been responsible, over the past twentyfive years, for helping to develop the best practice in this field. Not only in Drama as a discrete subject, but also in integrating Drama strategies – to draw out openness, questioning, trust, mutual respect and the ability to address issues in a creative and constructive way – into the teaching of subjects across the curriculum. 10

‘To find meaning in life is what makes us humane. Often, drama mixes images of things we must accept – our mortality and weakness – with images of what we

Colleagues from Central & Eastern Europe recognise this expertise as being central to meeting new challenges facing those working with young people. Although many teachers and trainers in the region have started to examine new teaching methods, traditional education has often relied on a more didactic approach to learning. The acquisition of these skills has rarely been part of practitioners’ own training. Branching Out is able to offer participants the chance to acquire this training alongside hands on experience of Drama in UK schools. Through this practical exchange of techniques and methodology, participants are able to develop their own practice and acquire new skills.

(drama) that we find our need for justice and not merely for food and clothing – it is our need for a meaning to our life’ Edward Bond Playwright UK

SELECTION PROCESS The status of Drama in Education differs in each country. In Hungary there is a twenty year old tradition of some teachers using Drama, yet this is the first year it has been included in the National Curriculum. In Romania, despite excellent work by individual artists in schools, the methodology is largely unknown. In Lithuania, it is a brand new field. When the regional partners met in London in November 1995 it was agreed that the criteria for participants from Central & Eastern Europe should be kept as open as possible. Essential requirements were that they should: ◆ have an enthusiasm for Drama in Education ◆ have been working in this or a related field for five years ◆ be intending to continue to with and develop this work in the future ◆ have good spoken English

To provide participants in Central & Eastern Europe with effective and sustainable support, UK hosts/trainers should: ◆ be senior full time teachers of drama ◆ have experience of training ◆ have good contacts with local theatres ◆ have the full support of their headteachers and schools

Drama in the classroom is not just pretend, make believe. It is a rehearsal for

◆ the project was widely advertised in all partner countries – in the press, on radio and television

life. In safety.

◆ regional coordinators constructed shortlists for interviews, ensuring each interview panel contained appropriate representatives from independent bodies working in the region

Romanian participant

◆ the UK project manager attended all interviews in the region

need to change – our daily social life. It is precisely here

February 1996 was targeted for advertising the project, distributing application forms, shortlisting and setting up interviews in the region. In keeping with Seeding A Network practice, all partners aimed to guarantee equality of opportunity and open access by ensuring that:

◆ candidates were chosen for their energy, enthusiasm and commitment to the aims of the project.

A shared concern for maximum long term impact of the project led partners to emphasise the need for a range of experience, expertise and regional location, during the final selection process. Regional interviews took place in March 1996. The potential for choosing coordinators from our established network was evident; from the high calibre of applications and the assured running of the interview process. Six promising participants from each country were selected. The Lithuanian group was not selected by formal interview but consisted of five senior, English speaking, members of the pilot project team. One Albanian candidate, interviewed for a place on a previous project, was offered a placement. Simultaneously, selection of 30 UK partners took place: ◆ advertisements for teacher/partners were placed in Times Educational Supplement, with regional Drama Advisors and in NT Education Stagewrite magazine ◆ participants were selected by letter of application, references and the advice of senior colleagues ◆ selection criteria emphasised excellence of practice plus experience of training ◆ candidates were encouraged to apply with a colleague: Central & Eastern European participants could then be placed near a partner from the same region.

The Romanian Soros Foundation offered funding for one additional placement: a candidate doing excellent work but having poor spoken English. Branching Out was able to secure a place with Scott Johnson at West Lothian Youth Theatre who speaks Romanian and has experience of working in the region.

PARTICIPANTS

STRUCTURE

62 teachers, artists and trainers from the UK and Central & Eastern Europe took part in the programme, consisting of:

All partners are committed to using the Seeding A Network model framework. Central to this is the opportunity for participants to job-shadow colleagues in the UK. However, Drama in Education is less universal than theatre. To provide a firm basis for the learning and to ensure the widest possible dissemination of expertise and skills we added:

‘What impressed me was

◆ the opportunity for participants to take part in a joint training programme at the Royal National Theatre in London

observe others and to be

REGIONAL PARTICIPANTS

UK TEACHER/TRAINERS

5 Lithuania

2 Wales

6 Hungary

3 + 1 Scotland

6 Slovakia

2 Northern Ireland

6 Bulgaria

22 England

6 + 1 Romania 1 Albania

Central & Eastern European profiles ALBANIA – 1 arts centre workshop leader/teacher LITHUANIA – 5 teachers from 3 main regions of Lithuania, 2 nationally responsible for

setting up the drama curriculum in schools HUNGARY – 3 teachers from 3 cities, 1 senior trainer of teachers/leading theatre critic, 1

head teacher responsible for setting up drama in the curriculum and the first comprehensive school in Hungary, 1 theatre worker using drama with young people BULGARIA – 1 psychologist and trainer in conflict resolution, 1 youth theatre leader, 1

actor/teacher, 1 primary teacher, 1 secondary teacher, 1 worker in orphanages/schools SLOVAKIA – 4 teachers/trainers, 1 university lecturer/trainer, 1 youth theatre

worker/teacher – from 4 regions ROMANIA – 1 university lecturer/trainer, 1 actor working with street children, 2 teachers, 1 teacher at school for blind, 1 theatre worker working with schools/youth theatres – from 3 regions

◆ a follow up support visit by UK trainers to their partner’s workplace.

The project therefore took place in two separate stages.

the pupils’ ability to evaluate throughout. To

critical but constructive – it’s so important. The children really understood what they

Job-shadowing The concept of job-shadowing is central to Seeding A Network and Branching Out. It offers participants a unique opportunity to work alongside colleagues; to see what happens in practice and to take from the experience only what they feel is relevant and useful. It is a meeting of equals.

were doing.’ Lithuanian participant

‘We’re here because this is where Drama in Education was born but it is an exchange of ideas between us and our British colleagues. We get ideas from each other.’ Bulgarian participant

The central difference between the UK and the other countries is that where Drama in Education exists elsewhere it is usually an after school activity, rather than part of the curriculum. This engenders a different approach: ‘Drama in Education is so much more than just playing.’ Slovakian participant

The need for continual clarity and flexibility demanded of the Drama teacher provoked a good deal of admiration: ‘The children kept coming. Lesson after lesson. Everything has to be fitted into forty minutes. Everything has to be so clear, so structured.’ Romanian participant

All participants were impressed by the seriousness with which Drama is regarded in schools, ‘the professionalism of both teacher and students’ and the emphasis this placed on the shared responsibility of both the group and the individual pupil: ‘They asked questions all the time. Of themselves and others. It’s what our young people need.’ Bulgarian participant

STAGE ONE – UK PLACEMENTS AND TRAINING Programme

‘They asked questions all

Participants from Central & Eastern Europe spent three weeks in the UK.

the time. Of themselves

Week 1

and others. It’s what our

Intensive induction. Working with Chrissie Tiller and Suzy Graham-Adriani from NT Education plus leading practitioners such as Cecily O’Neill and David Hornbrook, the group focused on developing a shared language for Drama in Education and on mastering basic skills.

young people need.’ Bulgarian participant

Week 1 feedback ‘The most important things for me were group exercises where we worked in cross cultural groups; astounding similarities of feeling and thought surfaced during these tasks..’

‘The arts have far more to teach us about wisdom, morality and social skills than any narrower concept of “citizenship training”’ Mark Fisher, Minister for the Arts UK

One of the strengths of this first stage of the project proved to be the bringing together of participants from six different Central & Eastern European countries. All thirty took part in the initial training in London in May 1996 before spending time with colleagues in UK schools. This cross cultural and transborder exchange of ideas was not only a rich and rewarding experience in itself; it also enabled the setting up of an extensive support network which is active east-east as well as east-west.

A personal record of one particular session: ‘....we were working in pairs, with someone we didn’t know, doing a story telling exercise. I was working with a Lithuanian, Violeta, who began to tell me experiences from her childhood – of how, when she was very young, her family was forced to separate by Soviet officials. She and her mother were exiled to Siberia. She told me how they travelled back to Lithuania, how she was ill, her mother was desperate and had no money for the train; so they were obliged to walk all the way home. Thousands of miles. For months and months they walked, begging for food and somewhere to sleep. And she told me of the first meeting, after seventeen years, with her father, who had somehow managed to escape to Canada during this period. There had been no letters from him in all that time. Then, in my turn, I found myself, for the first time, talking of all the things that had confronted me as a political prisoner’s child in Romania. I want to record this session in detail – to show just how drama works.’ Romanian participant.

‘I found myself reassessing the value of Drama in Education. This experience has reawakened my appreciation of this unique art form’s place in the curriculum. It is something we must not take for granted.’ UK host

Week 2 & 3 With partners in UK schools – observing and participating in drama sessions with pupils, putting the work into the context of the school and the development of the young person. Linking theory to practice. Week 2 & 3 feedback ‘The workshops in London were wonderful. What we did was very useful and important. But there was something missing – the children. Being in the schools put everything into context for me.’ Romanian participant

During Weeks 2 & 3 participants worked with their partners in UK schools. To provide them with contact with speakers of their own language they were placed, as far as possible, in pairs. Placements covered the UK, from Truro to Edinburgh, from Belfast to Scarborough. Not only were they welcomed in schools but they were given opportunities to spend time with youth groups, theatre companies, regional arts boards and young people’s theatre festivals.

Participants were asked, as part of this sharing of skills, to present a drama telling young people something they should know about the history of their country. The range and power of 16

the work was daunting. Through theatrical metaphor, Slovaks examined their long struggle to forge links with the Czech Republic and the pain of their present loss. Lithuanians fearlessly examined their history during the Holocaust. Romanians recreated the surreal lives of a people living under dictatorship. The real power of Drama in Education, in providing young people with a safe context in which they can tackle major issues, needed no further demonstration.

Branching Out is a joint initiative of theatre practitioners and teachers, partners working together towards the same ends. Many theatre companies who have been involved with Seeding A Network are enthusiastic about hosting these visits and seize the opportunity to strengthen their network and deepen connections with colleagues from the region: Romanian teachers in training workshop May 1996

We should try to cement the relationships between different areas – the links between theatres, Education Departments and schools. We should all work together.’ Lithuanian participant

Week 3 Final Day – Debriefing and evaluation ‘If you have good guides, people coming from different countries having different ideas and even standards you can, through Drama in Education, step forward to work, to think and to create together.’ Hungarian participant

At the end of this intense period of sharing, participants from the UK and Central & Eastern Europe came together to talk about their experiences. All reported they had grown professionally and personally; had acquired new skills, new strategies, new ways of working. Perhaps, more importantly, they had developed a depth in the understanding of different cultures; one they would not have reached in any other form of exchange or in any other way of working: ‘How effective this way is, to get close to people you never met before, who were total strangers till then, who came from different countries with different cultural backgrounds.. ..I am astonished at how quickly the links between us are growing.’ Romanian participant

For many, the three weeks provided ‘an open door to a whole new approach to education.’ Their final reports spoke of discovering ‘how universal the drama method is. It is not simply teaching and learning. It is collaborating and sharing, learning to see through the eyes of someone other than yourself. Finding ways to understand each other better and find the best solutions to the problems of society.’ The discovery that the drama teacher need no longer be the ‘figure of authority but the fuel which drives the students to think, learn and look further’ was important for one Romanian actor/teacher. The Hungarian Head Teacher was excited by exploring the ‘ways in which Drama supports the work in so many other subjects’. While some participants focused on the practical ‘the training it offers young people in communication and social skills’, others were most enthusiastic about ‘the power of group work’ and the possibilities which Drama presents of ‘provoking young people to know what it means to be free’. Even those who have some experience of Drama in Education remarked on the wealth of new ideas and approaches :

‘We should try to cement the relationships between different areas – the links between theatres, Education Departments and schools. We should all work together’ Lithuanian participant

‘It has been a wonderful, useful and comprehensive survey of problems and learning of skills.’ Hungarian participant ‘This first stage was a success at both an informative and performative level. An excellent opportunity for me to open myself to other cultural and professional perspectives.’ Romanian participant

All looked forward to the return visit of their UK partners, recognising that: ‘It is difficult to be a prophet in your own country. We know it will be important to have the partnership of the UK teachers – having them there will add weight to our argument.’ Romanian participant

Some reports included acknowledgement of the funders: Dear Funders, You might not have imagined how important Drama in Education is for us or how important it is to feel you are able to work with people from different countries. We often feel isolated. We do not meet people who want to do the same job – to change things – we had this opportunity here. I wrote a paper about the role theatre could play in education and I thought my ideas were original and wonderful. When I came here I found these ideas had been realised here for almost thirty years. So I think you can realise how important this stage of the project is to us. Everything has been really useful. Thank you.

Lithuanian teachers in training workshop May 1996

Postscript Predicted, but beyond the greatest expectations, is the impressive effect of Branching Out Stage One on the UK teachers and schools. The introduction of a more constrictive national curriculum has left many Drama teachers in the UK with a growing sense of isolation. The unexpected opportunity of a context in which to reexamine and affirm their own work has been a universal discovery on the project: ‘I found myself reassessing the value of Drama in Education. This experience has reawakened my appreciation of this unique art form’s place in the curriculum. It is something we must not take for granted.’ UK host

Links have been made between the teachers of Drama and between whole schools. Further exchanges are being set up. Teachers sent by the Hungarian Ministry of Education to examine the UK comprehensive system, were led by a Hungarian participant and were taken to a school involved in the project. It is interesting to note that Drama has already won its place on their pilot curriculum and she hopes she has set up what will become:

‘I feel really privileged to have taken part.. ..it is very difficult to find words which do not seem trite, in order to communicate how deeply I was affected by the return visit.’ UK Host

‘....the beginning of a long lasting exchange that will provide mutual understanding and can have a real effect on the cross-pollination of ideas.’

Bulgarian teachers in training workshop May 1996

STAGE TWO – UK TEACHERS IN THE REGION Branching Out was never intended to be a one way dialogue. In ensuring funding for Stage Two we aimed to give further support to the artists/teachers in the region and to develop long term partnerships for future East-West exchanges of skills and ideas. ‘This project was excellent because we can and must work together – East and West – both learning from each other.’ Lithuanian participant

Briefing The visit of the UK teachers to Central & Eastern Europe in October 1996 enabled them to share in the work of their colleagues in schools, universities and youth centres across the region. The structure was inevitably more open; regional co-ordinators responded to the most pressing needs of their country. UK teachers, meeting for a briefing before they left, were a little nervous about a resulting lack of cohesion but most eagerly seized opportunities to contribute to training and to explore a different culture.

All regional coordinators organised programmes which included opportunities for public and shared dissemination of information, alongside the chance to work in the school, theatre education department or training centre where their partner was based. The opportunity for UK trainers to attend National Teachers’ Conferences in Slovakia, Bulgaria, Hungary and Lithuania provided opportunities for the widest possible exchange of ideas. A seminar in Romania, held in one of the former Ceaucescu apartments, offered participants a unique opportunity to speak to interested parents, school governors, pupils and theatre workers as well as fellow practitioners.

Programme for Sally Griffin – Slovakia Sat 19 October – Bratislava Round Table Discussion with Slovakian trainers and specialists. Martin. Young People’s Theatre performance in former tank factory.

CESTA ddoo TTAA R U RU

Sun 20 October Video discussion with YPT. Children’s Theatre Festival. Museum of Slovakian Ethnography to gather material for workshops. Mon 21 October – Zilina. Gymnasium Hlinska Drama sessions with pupils. Drama Across the Curriculum workshop for 45 teachers. Belgian bilingual school to discuss Drama in Education. Tues 22 October Interviews with radio and television. Drama in Language workshop for 40 teachers. School of Extra-Curricular Dramatic Arts – Discussion. Talk to students from the English Club

Regional Programmes

UK teacher and Hungarian teacher

A programme from Slovakia indicates the comprehensive use made of UK trainers’ return visits:

Wed 23 October Improvisation Techniques workshop for 35 teachers. Showcase students’ Drama in Education workshop: National Heroes Thurs 24 October British Council Centre in Banska Bystrica. Drama in Education workshop for 20 teachers. Fri 25 October Travel to High Tatras. Sat 26 October – Poprad. Drama as a Learning Medium workshop at National Teacher’s Conference for 40 teachers. Seminar on role of Drama in Education.

Martin, Slovakia Oct 1996 Cesta do Taru

Sun 27 October – Bratislava. Exhibition at Bibiana, Arts Centre for Children, Slovak National Theatre Performance.

School pupils in Piatra Neamt October 1996

The reports which followed these visits were inspiring testimony to the significance of this second stage of the project: ‘I gained much more than I felt I was able to give and my work, in the classroom and production, will be influenced and enriched by the events of that week.’

Some were recharged and refired in ways they had never expected: ‘I came back to school with a renewed belief in the subject and its benefits. Drama is about cooperation, communal effort and involvement.. ..that community spirit and respect for others will remain my overriding memory of Hungary.’

They recognised the different quality of life which is still open to young people from these countries: ‘they were able to rework their present troubles through drama and theatre which is heavily rooted in folklore and tradition.. ..the young have a cultural identity/heritage: this is something which our children lack.’

As teachers of Drama and Theatre they were especially impressed by the wealth of unfamiliar theatrical tradition to which they were suddenly given access: ‘The work we saw was so imaginative and visually exciting.’ ‘I was completely thunderstruck by the first performance, the piano suddenly turned into a nurse with the three children fastened like puppets to her apron strings.’

And by the instinctive resonance this gave to the work of those who were not even trained Drama teachers: ‘The level of individual imaginative response was astonishingly high.. ..it is hard to imagine a group of British primary maths and science teachers, new to Drama, battling to share their improvisation work.’ Lithuania – teacher’s performance

The following report, despite being grounded in particular personal experience, is typical:

Romania Youth Theatre Performance

REPORT TO ROYAL NATIONAL THEATRE ‘As a Romanian I am afraid to look deep into my heart. I am afraid of what I will find there. We are a society grown from fear, a fear that is still there deep in all of us. I hope my child will grow up not understanding this fear. That is why Drama is so important. Here. And now.’

Debrief Slovakia and Bulgaria

The words of Adrian, the actor with whom I worked on the Branching Out project in Iasi, Romania. I saw examples of how this fear had affected so many people I met. Luci, a conscripted soldier in Timisoara at the time of the revolution, was ordered to shoot into the crowd and told me, ‘It was the first time in my life I realised that freedom is worth dying for.’ Or Cristina who described how as a child she had seen the Securitat surround 25

and kill an old woman in the street and how her father never dared to be open, even with her, about his contempt for Ceaucescu. So many of the adults told me how hard they find it to trust, to cooperate, to be honest and open. And then I worked with students on basic trust exercises, making statues, using body language, voice circles, freeze frames. The response of those children! Children who said their schoolwork consisted of listening to teachers, of writing notes, learning them and regurgitating them in tests. Children who were able to express so vividly the difference between taking part in a drama session and the stress, the tension and the lack of selfvalue they normally experienced at school: Debrief Slovakia and Albania

‘We were feeling alive. Not just puppets, pushed into our desks, listening but not speaking, repeating automatically the things we had learned by heart for homework.’

were the hope. Given the freedom though Drama, to work, to express and share their feelings, they had shown such depth, such honesty, so much painful understanding. This is why I and my Romanian partners believe that we have got to get Drama into schools to help that process happen. When I worked with the adults they responded brilliantly but in a much more safe, less exposing way. The teachers told me: ‘We liked the lessons but we wouldn’t work with such serious issues – they are too sad. Romanians want to talk about happy things.’ But this was never the response I got from the children. The other thing that struck me forcibly during my visit, was the depth of resources of the Romanians. Their passion for theatre, for poetry, for philosophy. I think this is why the metaphors and images they created in the sessions were so powerful. It is a sensibility which seems rare in our own society. But it must be free, as Adrian said, to be expressed without fear. Gill Ruffles November 1996 Slovakia, boy girl amplifier

‘We learnt to express ideas freely, without any reserve. We learnt about fear and hope, kindness and malice, smiles and tears. That’s what our world needs – people who care.’

The level of response from younger students gave me the courage to move on with the older ones. From problems of relationships and decision making, we began to deal with politics and the bigger issues. I asked them to create freeze frames to show something of life under Ceaucescu. In one group a peasant at the bottom was screaming, above her another, pressing down but suffering too, above her a third looking over their heads and ignoring the pain, above them a fourth, the highest, gloating in his power over those who suffered beneath him. Then they created images for the future in which they were released to fly, to be themselves. I asked them to show me what they saw in Romania today that gave them hope for this future. And some of them said “No.” They couldn’t see anything. These were young people of 17, 18, 19. I told them, for me, they Hungary Deak Diak School

Youth Theatre in Rimnicu Vilcea

PROJECT DIRECTOR’S VISIT TO REGION ‘We all tried to work as a

During the visits of the UK teachers, I toured the regional programmes together with a senior member of the NT Education team.

team, understanding each other’s problems, wishes

This enabled us to observe the results first hand, and also gave us opportunities to cement partnerships with our Central & Eastern European colleagues. We were able to place the work in context and to respond with understanding to our partners’ ideas for next stage developments. As practitioners and managers, we were also able to extend dissemination of practice by running additional training sessions and raise the profile by taking part in many radio, television and newspaper interviews.

desires and hopes’ Bulgarian participant

‘This first stage was an open door to a whole new approach to education’ Bulgarian participant

We also met and exchanged ideas with policy makers and funders. In Hungary we made presentations to a member of the Cabinet of the Ministry of Culture & Education. We held planning meetings with British Council and Soros officials in all the countries. In Slovakia the current political climate forced us to find new partners as international projects were no longer welcomed. UNICEF Slovakia, having already helped with the interview process, were happy to take on the partnership, ensuring continuity in Branching Out. The tour was exhausting but rewarding. It was thrilling to meet so many UK teachers who reported that their ‘lives had been changed’ by the experience and to hear about plans their regional partners were developing. It also enabled us to make an accurate evaluation of what worked and what problems were encountered. Chrissie Tiller

Bulgaria – Children’s Drama Group

SOME LESSONS LEARNED

EVALUATION

No project on this scale is without its difficulties or unforeseen problems. The partners intend to learn from these experiences and to build on what has been learned for future programmes.

In addition to the UK manager’s visit to the region detailed evaluation of the project was conducted at every stage. Information was gathered:

Some of the main concerns: ◆ time spent in London was so intensive that participants were exhausted by constantly having to think and work in another language. We need to allow longer periods of free time in future ◆ it was difficult to find an ideal time for all UK schools. Some participants regretted that coming to the UK in May meant that many exam classes were not available ◆ despite the briefing given to UK teachers some found differences between cultures too difficult to cope with. Three participants returned to the UK early. This was upsetting for the regional coordinators and we would want to ensure that all participants understand fully the commitment they are making when they agree to participate. ◆ teachers in Central & Eastern Europe are now very badly paid and often highly skilled. This meant that, despite contracts, we lost three of them to better paid jobs in radio and television. Although we could not have foreseen this, any future participants will undergo even more rigorous questioning about their future career plans

◆ in debriefing sessions held in London ◆ in a questionnaire completed by each participant before they left the UK ◆ in reports written after participants had returned to the region

‘The children have become more open, more confident and more free.’ Lithuanian parent

◆ in reports by each regional coordinator ◆ in reports from each UK host/trainer ◆ in reports from the project manager’s visits to the region ◆ in questionnaires to participants in workshops in the region ◆ in questionnaires to young people taking part in lessons in the region ◆ by a number of rapporteurs from the field of Drama in Education ◆ by the project manager, her assistant, the partners and coordinators from the region.

For reports on each country see:

◆ the resulting extra work for some local coordinators meant that they were not able to spend as much time lobbying the Ministries of Education & Culture as they wanted and so missed opportunities to widen the project’s profile

Appendix I

Lithuania

Appendix 2

Hungary

Appendix 3

Bulgaria

Appendix 4

Albania

◆ two artist/teachers found it impossible to commit themselves fully to the return visit which meant the skills of the UK teachers were not fully utilised. Local coordinators need to ensure they are aware of this in future

Appendix 5

Slovakia

Appendix 6

Romania

◆ some UK teachers found it difficult to spend long periods where only their partner spoke English. Regular meetings between participants might be a future solution

Lithuania teachers working in school.

◆ although most East-West partners felt themselves ideally matched, there were differences of age range in teaching experience, mainly because of a different structuring of school systems. UK Primary schools cover 4-11, European 6-14. UK Primary teachers should be included in future. ◆ some teacher/trainers felt that a concern for the sensibility of others meant they often avoided pushing the work as far as they would have done at home. Teachers new to Drama are often afraid of tackling ‘difficult’ subjects. Yet the work with the young people showed they wanted to tackle real concerns and issues. This is something to take on board in future.

A P P E N D I X

L I T H U A N I A History of the pilot project: Drama in Schools

Pilot project update

UK teachers visit Lithuania 23-30 October 1996

Future plans

1994

Seminar for teachers, led by Suzy Graham-Adriani.

Workshops with students from the Lithuanian Musical Academy.

1995

Sharing of work – Drama used in folklore and literature courses, Drama within Ethics, Drama across the curriculum.

The return visit of the UK teachers to Lithuania was especially effective and productive. The seminar was split into several parts to maximise its effect. The UK teachers read papers, took open lessons with Lithuanian pupils and workshops with teachers in Vilnius, Klaipeda and Prienai. Teachers interested in Drama also came from other towns in Lithuania. The 40 Lithuanian teachers who had already worked with Chrissie Tiller and Suzy GrahamAdriani were given the opportunity to see the work of other experienced UK colleagues whose lessons enchanted teachers and pupils. The audience admired the professionalism of the Drama teachers, the different and special atmosphere created during Drama lessons and their ability to develop simple exercises into strategies for young people to explore ideas through theatrical expression.

Set in motion and targeted over several years these include:

The Experience of Drama Teaching in UK Schools

Vilnius Pedagogical University 4th year students offered Drama course as an option.

The Possibilities of Drama Teaching in Lithuanian Schools Seminar courses for 20 teacher/artists Drama in Schools – Discussion forum of experimental programme

Drama lessons used as a foundation for activities in schools including: ◆ performances: theatre and opera

1995

◆ story telling – improvisations on Lithuanian fairy tales

Drama Teaching – Practical Methods

◆ theatrical events

Seminar workshops for 20 teacher/artists, led by Suzy GrahamAdriani and Chrissie Tiller.

◆ national competition for young Lithuanian playwrights

1996 Branching Out job-shadowing & training visit to UK by 5 senior Lithuanian teacher/trainers. Workshops for 20 new teachers partly led by the Lithuanian pilot team. The Experience of Drama teaching in Lithuanian Schools Seminar workshops for 20 teacher/artists, led by Chrissie Tiller and Suzy Graham-Adriani Secrets of My Study Seminar workshops led by UK teachers from Branching Out for 40 teachers from the pilot project plus 32 additional teacher/trainers in Vilnius, 35 in Prienai (from 200 applications for places) and 30 in Klaipeda. 1997 Final seminar and awarding of accreditation to first 20 teacher/trainers from pilot project in Lithuania (planned.)

Joint projects by seminar participants including: ◆ experimental performance by Panecvczys J,Miltinis, Prienai 3rd and Gargzdai Vaivorykste Secondary Schools ◆ open Drama lessons at Vilnius 56th and Vilnius 64th Schools ◆ international project – Dante’s Inferno with students from the Musical Academy, pupils of Vilnius 9th Secondary School and young people from Orchard Youth Theatre UK – shown in Vilnius, Barnstaple and at the Royal National Theatre UK.

Seminars for teachers plus open lessons with pupils, from schools interested in Drama work run by Lithuanian teams in Panevezys, Prienai, Klaipeda, Vilnius. Seminar for young people interested in Drama organised at Vilnius Lizupis Secondary School. The project excited much interest with over 50 articles in the Lithuanian press; national & local television coverage on Drama, the UK visits, the UK teachers’ return visits and related projects.

This seminar was observed by the Ministry of Education plus many Head teachers and ensured that Drama secured its roots in the Lithuanian Educational system. Lithuanian teachers were able to reflect on the way Drama can start from problems their students face every day. Lesson plans and schemes of work enabled Lithuanian teachers to understand the systematic nature of drama activity in UK schools, targeted at the age and experience of pupils. They saw the possibilities of realising Drama in schools as a separate arts subject. We hope in future this vision will develop and sustain a reality matched in practice. Lack of training for Drama teachers is the main problem slowing progress. Because of this it is important not to underestimate the meaning and importance of joint partnership projects such as Branching Out.

◆ development of a Drama Teachers’ Association ◆ annual seminar led by the Lithuanian participants from Drama in Schools ◆ open demonstration lessons for those wishing to teach Drama in schools ◆ preparation of material for School magazine devoted to Drama – the first issue has already appeared ◆ preparation of a handbook for Drama teachers consisting of translated lesson plans, programmes of work, practical exercises, articles written by both Lithuanian and UK colleagues. ◆ the expansion of the number of Lithuanian schools which offer Drama as a subject.

Finally we include data from the Prienai Secondary School where Drama has been an optional subject for three years:

SCHOOL YEAR

NUMBER OF PUPILS CHOOSING DRAMA

1994-95

1995-96

1996-97

142

and a comment from parents at the school who asked if their children could be allowed to continue Drama lessons because they had become: ‘more open, more confident and more free.’

A P P E N D I X

B U L G A R I A

H U N G A RY Drama in Education started in Hungary some twenty years ago. A small group of enthusiastic teachers of Hungarian Literature and English Language with some experience of acting or directing read about Drama being used in teaching in the UK. It is one of their great achievements that Drama is to become part of the National Curriculum to be implemented in 1998. The Society of Hungarian Drama Teachers (preferred title Drama Pedagogy) is facing a historical challenge; to prepare schools and themselves to meet the possibilities this decision involves at a critical moment in Hungarian Drama education. Both the Society itself, including those groups and individuals who work within and alongside it, and the cultural administration, need help. They need to acquire knowledge about structures, teacher training and about new methodologies and ideas. Branching Out arrived in Hungary at exactly the right moment. Senior Drama teachers, professors and newly qualified students applied to the programme for placements. Those who were chosen represented an excellent cross section of skills and experience. They all returned home loaded with new ideas. Their visits to the UK and the return visit of their hosts increased their self confidence; in many cases, as some of the comments from their interim reports show, finding their ideas validated and confirmed was as important as learning new ones: ‘The title of the project Branching Out expresses the idea of the organisers. The experience in Britain has given us a strong common trunk. Now we are all growing new branches from this solid bole. With my host I am now planning how we can give even more of our experience and each other’s culture to our students.’ Andrea Szekely ‘The Branching Out project gave us an opportunity to discover how Drama in Education works in British schools and a chance to form new international relationships too, which is indispensable to our development.’ Agnes Vincze

‘I collected tremendous links in both the educational and the theatre field. I was given enormous inspiration to renew my armament and equip myself with a lot of techniques which help me to reach my goals’ Zsuzsa H Koncz ‘One of my greatest pleasures was working together with the teachers and students in an active way’ Balazs Levai ‘I appreciate the way the whole educational system in the UK responds to young people’s talent. I had to rediscover the rule that democracy needs time and much, much energy’ Katalin Gabnai It was not through dead brochures that I learned about the new criteria for the examinations but I was there with my partner as she fought for them, prepared for them, sought my advice about them. This personal involvement will ensure a long lasting relationship and intensive cooperation’ Zsuzsa Varnai

The experiences gained through the three weeks in the UK were shared with colleagues throughout the country in discussion groups and workshops. The Annual Congress of the Society of Drama Pedagogy formed a discussion group for those who wanted to share the UK experience and the periodical of the society is about to publish the reports. One of the leading theatre monthlies has already published a detailed article by Katalin Gabnai on the project. The UK Drama teachers were introduced to many different institutions, communities and gatherings of experts on their return visit to Hungary in October. They ran workshops and took part in sessions all over the country. Some of the UK teachers will continue the exchange by bringing their new partners back to the UK to conduct training there in things like puppetry. So I see not only branches but also the leaves, fruit and flowers of Branching Out. I see the next generation – today’s school pupils – who will know each other’s cultures, who will be more creative, confident, stronger and therefore more tolerant. On both sides. Tibor Soltenszky Hungarian Coordinator

Branching Out is organised in partnership with the Open Education Centre Foundation Sofia. Rumen Valchev, the executive director has a great deal of experience in conflict resolution work with young people and is therefore an important link in the introduction of Drama in Education in the region. The six participants in the first stage of the project included teachers, artists working in schools, and a psychologist from the Open Education Centre. They represented all regions of Bulgaria, not only Sofia. Two were placed with teachers in Northern Ireland and saw at first hand the rich contribution Drama in Education makes to work in conflict resolution. ‘We were lucky to have the chance to take part with friends who share the same problems and the same struggle to provide better education for our young people during these conditions of political and social change.’ Bulgarian participant

First results of our collaboration: June 1996: Nellie Gueorgieva (coordinator & participant), ran a 3 day workshop for university lecturers and research workers from Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Macedonia at the First Balkan CIVITAS Conference. This met with a very positive response. ‘Drama is a wonderful means of training in the field of human rights.’ Turkish participant at the CIVITAS conference.

September 1996: Cecily O’Neill, a leading UK expert ran two workshops on the theme ‘Drama as a means towards intercultural understanding, civic education and conflict resolution’ at the Regional Conference for Civic Education & the Culture of Peace. One workshop, with a group of Christian, Muslim and Gypsy participants, examined the skills which Drama offers in overcoming cultural differences and promoting intercultural understanding. The workshops were presented to UNESCO representatives and were extremely well received.

‘Bulgarian students showed us that interactive educational methods like Drama can very well be included in school curricula.’ UNESCO representative at the Civic Education and Culture for Peace Regional Conference.

A third workshop run by Joseph Woods, from Belfast, at the Third European Conference on Peacemaking & Conflict Resolution in Varna helped further popularise the use of Drama in Education skills among mediation specialists from ten countries. October 1996: UK hosts visited Bulgaria. They ran a 2 day workshop Developing Drama Skills and Techniques for 32 teachers and psychologists from 18 different towns, organised with support from 25 OECF Youth Clubs. (Many attending have gone on to explore Drama with the young people they work with.) They went on to lead workshops with teachers and students during the Children of the Rhodopi meeting in Smolyan which resulted in a valuable exchange and development of skills. Nellie Gueorgieva also took part in Branching Out meetings in Bucharest and made excellent contacts in Romania. One youth group will visit Bulgaria in the summer of 1997 to take part in a youth drama festival. There is a great deal of media interest in the project in Bulgaria from both national press and radio. St. Paisli Hilendarsky School where Suzy Graham-Adriani and Chrissie Tiller ran a workshop has set up its own Drama group – one of the first in the country. Drama is an excellent way of solving conflicts and creating tolerance. This kind of work is vital for our young people. The Open Education Centre will set up the first Drama Centre for the Balkans. We have already a great deal of interest from other Balkan countries and from those working in both theatre and Drama in our own country. Our first meeting will be in June 1997. We hope this will be the beginning of an important movement for the future of Open Education in Bulgaria. Nellie Gueorgieva Bulgarian Coordinator

A P P E N D I X

S L O VA K I A

A L B A N I A As there was only one exchange partnership with Albania this was quite a different experience from the others. Drama in Education does not exist in any form in Albania, although there are some classes at arts centres and after school. The Albanian participant worked at one such Drama Centre and was working to encourage artists and teachers to come together to set up a programme. What particularly struck her during her visit to a multicultural UK school were the possibilities: ‘that Drama gave young people from very different cultural and racial backgrounds the opportunity to work together’

In order to make the impact of the return visit of the UK host as effective as possible much of his time was taken up with raising the profile of the work with the Ministries of Culture and Education. The Albanian government are trying to establish a curriculum which will both enrich the children socially and develop basic education. Their main problems are the infrastructure because so many schools are still in a state of very bad repair. There are however opportunities for Drama to be developed and the Ministry are considering the possibility of one UK drama teacher helping them to set up a pilot project. The Ministry of Culture are keen to consider a joint theatrical and educational project which would link with the National Theatre of Tirana. They would like to work more with young people and

would also like to consider the possibility of an Albanian practitioner taking part in training in the UK and then setting up a pilot course at the Academy of Drama. Everyone who heard about the project was very positive about the benefits of Drama in Education in a country where young people are having to learn to be more open and trusting and to work in cooperation. In her concluding report Enkelaida Fergali expresses a conviction that: ‘we can use Drama in our countries to provide something that the old regimes stifled – a sense of sharing, a willingness to listen and learn from others, the ability to trust’

Both Enkelaida and her partner in the project Kevin Kelly, are convinced that, if further training and support is possible, Drama can and will make a very important contribution to a new Albanian school curriculum. Recent events in Albania may have made the likelihood of this happening seem remote and yet these very events and the role which young people have been playing on the streets and in the armed struggle suggest that the role of this work may prove even more crucial in the future.

Drama education as part of personal and social education appeared in Slovakia for the first time in the 1960’s, although the first inklings of the idea might be said to have occurred in the 17th century in the teachings of the pedagogue, Jan Amos Kennedy, whose credo was ‘learning through experience’. Drama education was organised as an extracurricular activity supervised by cultural centres and special elementary schools where children could develop their talent for theatre. Drama education served primarily as a non-authoritarian method of communication with a theatre production as its climax. In this respect the performances were often interesting, ambitious and innovative from both a thematic and theatrical point of view. During the last 30 years, a relatively strong infrastructure of centres developed outside the framework of the official school system. The first attempts to integrate drama into the curriculum appeared recently as an experiment in certain schools. As a result Drama education activities had become a closed circuit. The people with information were not always able to motivate change and development. The timing of Branching Out is therefore exactly right, coming at a time when its ideas and experience can be fully utilised. The most important fact is that via Branching Out, Drama Education has penetrated both schools and school classes. The participants in the project represent all kinds of schools – comprehensive, elementary, secondary, universities and tertiary teacher’s training colleges. Participants come from the whole of Slovakia. Because some funding comes from the Soros Foundation, representatives from the official school system and the Ministry of Culture sources felt unable to be involved. In some ways the work might therefore be seen to be an act of ‘positive sabotage’. The project succeeded in spreading not from the top downwards through state institutions, but nationwide from the grass roots upwards through the enthusiasm and commitment of those

involved. There is no longer any possibility of the work being ignored. Some recent outcomes: ◆ a series of workshops at a range of schools from across Slovakia ◆ lectures and workshops run by UK and Slovak colleagues at the National Conference of Teachers of English ◆ strong media coverage – radio, publication of articles, particularly in the teachers’ press ◆ realisation of a youth Drama in Education project for the International Amateur Drama Festival at Martin ◆ specific future projects between UK partners and Slovak colleagues ◆ student and teacher exchanges between Slovak and UK schools – already started April 1997 ◆ funding obtained for a Slovak-English Drama in Education publication, including lesson plans from the project ◆ the Slovak Branching Out Network is being set up will support the development of Drama in Education in Slovakia and networking between professional theatres, children and youth

Branching Out brought to Slovakia an inspiring and motivating enchantment with Drama in Education. It also brought a need to slice through stereotypes and to set up strong, progressive personal and professional contacts, the best guarantee, given the current situation, of the continuation of the aims of Branching Out.

As one of the Slovak participants wrote: ‘Thanks to Branching Out I realise how difficult and important is the partnership between a teacher and a pupil. Exactly the kind of partnership that does not exist at present in our school systems. There can be no real solution of any situation or problem when there is an authoritarian system which imposes only one truth – the teacher’s. This is the most important message of Branching Out in Slovakia – because the road towards a dialogue of partners is the road towards democracy.’ Dana Sliukova and Sasa Petrovicka. Slovakian Coordinators

A P P E N D I X

OUTLOOK

R O M A N I A Romania has witnessed remarkable developments in the field of education in the last few years. Drama in Education has been one of them although theatre practitioners do not necessarily use these terms. At present much of the work is considered ‘amateur’ and is not recognised by the Ministries of Education or Youth. But since the 1996 elections things have changed and the Ministry of Education has become much more flexible. Following the enthusiastic response created by Branching Out, there is a real possibility for Drama to be introduced into the Romanian curriculum. With good timing the seed which was sown last year could lead to self sustained activity – one of the long term aims of Branching Out. Not all the Romanian partners in the first stage could afford to remain in education – teachers are poorly paid and Drama is not yet recognised as a subject. This meant that the return visits of their partners had to be organised differently. Although this had some disadvantages for continuity it also led to some very positive results. Instead of being placed with one partner each UK teacher worked in a number of centres – 7 towns were covered in all. They also worked with students and teachers from all parts of the system and with actors from local theatres. In all, 3 theatres, 11 high schools, 3 universities, 1 kindergarten and 1 primary school hosted workshops – in which over 200 teachers, local authority representatives and students were involved. This spread of the word proved more efficient than any other means. Although Ministry attendance at the Planning Conference in October was affected by the elections, what emerged clearly from this meeting was the overwhelming support for Drama in Education from young people themselves and their parents. A number of young teachers, practitioners and students set up a support group aimed at lobbying educationalists and policy makers of the new government.

Continued training will be needed for Romanian professionals if Drama in Education is to succeed in the long term. An awareness of the dimensions, the importance and the quality of the work has now been created. The credit the project gave to those already working in this field has given them confidence and motivation. A further priority is for formal recognition – from a university or the Royal National Theatre UK, for those who have been trained and are working in the field. To be employed as professionals, professional accreditation is necessary. Concrete results include: ◆ an MA in Drama in Education at the University of Bucharest ◆ commitment from the Soros Foundation to award travel grants to the UK for Romanian trainers ◆ a PHARE micro project proposal for training the trainers workshops in Iasi, North Romania ◆ return visit by one UK teacher to lead workshops at the University in Galati ◆ training for trainers workshop in May 1997 hosted by the theatre in Piatra Neamt

Just as a small group of enthusiastic teachers in the UK once got together to develop the initial ideas of Drama in Education so we hope the participants in Branching Out will support each other and begin to set up means to share expertise and skills with colleagues in their own countries. This is already happening in many different ways. The most public and important results of the project are contained within the reports of each country. The range and diversity of the project outcomes has more than fulfilled expectations. Some of them are specific and personal; others are large scale and long term. So far they have included: ◆ a ‘Freedom’ day at Westfield Community High School where UK students exchanged questions by fax with their Romanian counterparts, learned Romanian songs, heard Romanian stories and found something out about life under Ceaucescu ◆ a planned overland bus tour, with their own devised play, by the Sixth Form of the Huddersfield school - performing in each of the countries involved in this year’s project on the way ◆ 3 students from the Slovakian/UK schools exchange which has been set up in Cornwall, taking part in BT Connections - a festival of young people’s theatre at the Royal National Theatre

Of course these plans are dependent upon funding. But as one participant from Bulgaria wrote:

◆ a summer exchange between a Yorkshire school and a Lithuanian school sharing their own performances of folk tales from each other’s country

AND

◆ the visit of one a UK school to Athens as part of the Festival of European School Theatre, working with students from Romania, Serbia and the Ukraine in addition to schools from other Western European countries. This biennial invitation will be extended to Branching Out schools from Central & Eastern Europe in 1999

‘Ceaucescu’ s regime could only be supported because of oppression. We didn’t trust each other. We don’t trust each other still. But we have to change our mentality. We need to start with the children. We must build up the need to talk – to express our thoughts.’ Romanian participant

All partners have been delighted by the many different dimensions developed by the project. Branching Out has acted as a catalyst for many individuals and organisations already beginning to search for new paths of education for the new democracies. Drama is an interactive method of teaching so provides not only a tool for addressing the concerns of young people but also an art form through which they can share their hopes and aspirations with others.

◆ a visit of the Romanian Young People’s Theatre company who took part in Branching Out to a young people’s festival in Bulgaria 1997

◆ new possibilities for actors to work in schools and develop projects in partnership with universities – an exciting move as such cooperation has rarely been possible in the past

◆ the publication of a Branching Out Drama in Education manual

Branching Out, like Seeding A Network, is a partnership programme. None of this work could have happened without the commitment and enthusiasm of our regional partners and coordinators.

◆ summer 1997 visit of Hungarian school to Yorkshire to share ideas through theatre and puppeteering

◆ a return visit of a UK teacher to Romania to lead workshops focusing on Shakespeare in Schools in 1997

In a country where the printed word has been the rule for so long, we are pleased that the funding has now been secured for:

◆ a joint project between Knee-High Theatre, Cornwall UK, (Seeding A Network partner) and the schools from Cornwall, who exchanged partners with Slovakia, for students from Central & Eastern Europe to work together on a project with professional practitioners from both countries

Branching Out Stage One is only the beginning. In the next years we aim to expand the partnerships by introducing new partner countries from within the region and by developing and deepening the skills of those participants now working in this field. There have already been meetings with teachers from Poland where they have set up a working party to address the question of Drama in schools; with colleagues from Bosnia, from Serbia, from the Czech Republic and Estonia. There is also a great deal of interest in the work of the project from colleagues in other Western European countries – Sweden, Denmark. Greece, France, Spain and Italy all of whom are doing exciting work with young people but none of whom yet have Drama as part of the school curriculum.

◆ development of work with pupils in kindergartens in Iasi

Cipriana Petre. Romanian Coordinator

◆ students from Hungary attending a Schools Performing Arts Festival in Kent in October 1997

‘The first step was the establishment of the network and the sowing of the seeds. The second must be the reaping of the harvest. We are the ones who will make it happen.’

A P P E N D I X

EXTENDING TARGET GROUPS – FACTS & FIGURES

THE BRANCHING OUT TEAM

In addition to the 61 participants, 5 regional coordinators and the UK Team, Branching Out worked with the following groups and individuals:

Branching Out is run under the umbrella of the Education Department at the Royal National Theatre.

UK Teachers/Trainers Schools (primary/secondary/ FE Colleges/Universities) Theatres, Arts Centres and local artists Youth Theatres/Youth clubs Students/student teachers/ drama students Organisations/government bodies and experts

115

900

including 2 Kindergartens

including 36 European experts on language teaching

including 5 regional arts boards

Bulgaria

Hungary 105

Lithuania 60

180

Romania

178

Project Director: Chrissie Tiller Project Associate: Suzy Graham-Adriani Project Assistant: Helen Prosser

Albania

UK Branching Out Team:

400

including senior members of Ministries of Culture and Education

146

180

142

208

including 42 UNESCO international experts on Civic Education and Peace 30 European experts on Peace and conflict Resolution 20 Adult representatives of ethnic minorities

including senior members of Ministries of Culture and Education

Head of Education and Training: Jenny Harris Regional coordinators: HUNGARY Judit Cziraki Tibor Soltenszky ROMANIA Cipriana Petre Zoe Petre SLOVAKIA Dana Sliukova PhD Alexandra Petrovicka BULGARIA Roumen Valtchev Nellie Gueorguieva LITHUANIA Violeta Tapiniene Dainora Eigminiene

Chrissie Tiller

Freelance arts consultant, working particularly with education, training and art as a catalyst for change. Since 1991, when she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to examine theatre in Poland, Russia and Czechoslovakia, she has increasingly been involved in projects in the region. She is also Project Director for Seeding A Network. Judit Cziráki

Dramaturgist, formerly of the Childrens Theatre, at present of the Puppet Theatre of Budapest. Secretary of Hungarian ASSITEJ, involved with international projects. Tibor Solténszky

Dramaturgist, playwright, editor, manager of several international projects including festivals, workshops, conferences, symposia. Chairman of Brouhaha Hungary. Cipriana Petre

Freelance arts consultant and translator, currently junior assistant at The University of

Bucharest. Extensive work in Central and Eastern europe coordinating programmes for the Royal NationalTheatre London, Theatr Instituut Nederland and NOROC. Editor of the first Romanian theatre album: The Trilogy of the Double, three productions by Mihai Maniutiu.

on Radio Twist, author of several screenplays for TV and art exhibitions for children. Roumen Valtchev

Associate Professor, PhD in Social Sciences. Currently Vice Minister of Education and Science, responsible for High School Education.

Zoe Petre

Nellie Gueorguieva

Leading Romanian historian and academic. Now responsible for Foreign Affairs in the Romanian government.

Psychologist specialising in Social Pedagogy & Psychology, Psychology, Education & Culture. Currently Drama and Civic Education Program Coordinator at Open Education Centre - Bulgaria.

Dana Sliuková PhD

Theatre critic, 1991-1995 director of Slovak International Festival Theatre for Children; International Manager for International Theatre Festival Divadelná Nitra 97; author of several screenplays for TV; translator of theatre plays from English and German. Alexandra Petrovická

Freelance, professionally active in interactive communication with children through all kinds of arts. Creator of a popular weekly programme for children

Violeta Tapiniene

Finished Vilnius University and Theatre Studio in 1967, and from 1966 has been working as a teacher of literature and drama. Leads School Theatre Studio “Taip”. Dainora Eigminiene

Since finishing Vilnius Pedagogical Institute in 1986, she has been working as a teacher of literature and drama.

A P P E N D I X

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REGIONAL PARTNERS AND COORDINATORS

PARTICIPANTS UK

Yvonne Joyce

Colette Wrigley

SLOVAKIA

BULGARIA

Mike Andrews

Hardenhuish School, Chippenham, Wiltshire

Fallibroome High School, Macclesfield, Cheshire

Darina Hozdikova

Petya Rousseva

Kevin Kelly

Joseph Woods

Gymnazium, 01180 Zilina, Slovakia

American College, Sofia, Bulgaria

Lampton School, Hounslow, Middlesex

Belfast Education & Library Board, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Anna Gamanova

Ilia Lassin

ZUS, 905 01 Senica, Slovakia

National Academy of Theatre & Film Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria

Paul Whitfield

Gymnasium, 08001 Presov, Slovakia

Lewes Tertiary College, East Sussex Mary Board

Hextable School, Hextable, Kent Andrea Clarke

St. Wilfrid’s Catholic High School, North Featherstone, West Yorkshire Wendy Comerford

The John of Gaunt School, Towbridge, Wiltshire Liz Curry

Pindar School, Eastfield, Scarborough, North Yorkshire Lucy Dalgliesh

St. Thomas of Aquin’s High School, Edinburgh Steven Downs

Shelley High School, Shelly, nr. Huddersfield, Yorkshire Tom Dunbar

Westfield Community School, Yeovil, Somerset

William Lonsdale

Sandbach School, Sandbach, Cheshire Karen McKay

Bishop Heber High School , Hanbridge, Cheshire John Mackey

The Beauchamp College, Oadby, Leicester Joe McColgan

Lagan College, Belfast, Northern Ireland Peter Rowlands

Minsthorpe Community College, South Elmsall, West Yorkshire Mhairi McKee

TAG Theatre Company, Glasgow, Scotland Gillian Ruffles

Alison Dures

Ralph Allen School, Bath, Avon

Brannel School , St Stephen, St Austell, Cornwall

Melanie Siddall

Lyndon Evans

St. Julians School, Newport, South Wales Debbie Hewett

Coulsdon Sixth Form College, Old Coulsdon, Surrey Sophie Ward

Kent College, Pembury, Kent 42

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Aston Comprehensive School, Sheffield, South Yorkshire Debbie Wilcox

Hawthorn High School, Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan, South Wales Peter Wild

The Blue School, Wells, Somerset

Hasland Hill Community School, Chesterfield Annie Wood

MacRobert Arts Centre, University of Stirling, Scotland Sally Griffin

Penrice School, St. Austell, Cornwall

Lubica Bekeniova

Miriam Krajciova

Zakladna Skola, 033 01 Liptovsky Hradok, Slovakia Eva Prsova

Skola Zakladna, Nitrianska Rudno, Slovakia Dagmar Krokanova

Lilia Mircheva

Drama Theatre, Shoumen, Bulgaria Tzvetomir Borissov

Youth House, Vratsa 3400, Bulgaria Nellie Gueorgieva

Open Education Centre, Sofia, Bulgaria

Department of English, University of Bratislava, Slovakia

Vessela Rangelova

ROMANIA

LITHUANIA

Cristina-Victoria Chert

Zsuzsa Varnai

Violeta Tapiniene

Bucharest, Romania

School no.9, Vilnius Lithuania

Deak Diak School, 1089 Budapest, Hungary

Doina Lupu

Dainora Eigminiene

Andrea Szdkely

Dramatic Theatre Galati, 6200 Galati, Romania

School no.9, Vilnius, Lithuania

Kolibri Theatre, Budapest, Hungary

Adrian Ignat

Kzstiucio 45, Priena, Lithuania

HUNGARY Agnes Vincze

English Department, University of Mikskolc, 3515 Mikskolc, Hungary

Katalin Gabnai

Drama & Film Academy, 1088 Budapest, Hungary Zsuzsa Koncz

vacim u. 5, Batonyterenye 3078, Hungary Levai Balazs

Bajza u. 49-51, Budapest, Hungary

Bucharest, Romania Bogdan Stefanescu

University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania Cristina Rusiecki

Liceul Ion Creanga, Sector IV Bucharest, Romania

Yanev School, Simeonovo, Sofia, Bulgaria

BULGARIA Rumen Valchev & Nellie Gueorgieva Open Education Centre 31 Dobromir Hriz Str. 1124 Sofia Bulgaria Tel: 00 359 2 9433715 Fax: 00 359 2 9461083 HUNGARY Tibor Soltensky & Judith Cziraki Brouhaha International Luther u. 1/b 1087 Budapest Hungary Tel: 00 36 1 3343597 Fax: 00 36 1 3343597 LITHUANIA - Pilot Project Violeta Tapiniene & Dainora Eigminiene Open Society Fund – Lithuania Basanaviciaus 5 2683 Vilnius Lithuania Tel: 00 370 2 622410 Fax: 00 370 2 220027

ROMANIA Zoe Petre & Cipriana Petre Romanian Foundation for Democracy Splaiul Independentei no. 7 Bucharest Romania Tel: 00 401 777 4786 Fax: c/o CENTRAS 00 401 312 34 14 SLOVAKIA Dana Sliukova & Sasa Petrovicka UNICEF Grosslingova 6 P.O. Box 52 810 00 Bratislava Slovak Republic Tel: 00 421 7 365 082 Fax: 00 42 7 365 084

Our original partner in Slovakia was the National Theatre Centre but new government policies meant that this was no longer viable. UNICEF, who had already been helping us with the project, took over. We would like to regard them as our present partners. Our coordinators remain the same.

Irena Drizilauskiene Dalia Butavicuite

School of S Dach, Klaipeda, Lithuania Loreta Rusiene

School no. 7, Klaipeda, Lithuania

Cristina Plescan

ALBANIA

Bucharest, Romania

Enkelaida Fergali

Arts Centre, Tirana, Albania

OU T

L BU

ANCHI .

Charlotte Gill, Samantha Todd, other members of the Education Department at the Royal National Theatre, the Royal National Theatre, UK hosts and their schools and colleges, the many theatres, schools, universities and arts centres who hosted workshops during the return visit of the UK teachers, Cecily O’Neill, David Hornbrook, Childerek Schaapveld at the European Human Rights Foundation, Alexander Ivanov & Virginia Valova, Bulgaria, Irena Versaite, Lithuania.

Then he stops and corrects

14 Calea Dorobantilor Bucharest Romania Tel: 00 401 210 5347/0314 Fax: 00 401 210 0310

getting out of prison’

‘Yes,’ he begins, ‘it’s like

HUNG A

British Council Romania

Thanks to all our colleagues in Central & Eastern Europe and the UK including in particular:

we asked one of the students.

NIA

Apex Fund Jan van Goyenkade 5 Ni-1075 Amsterdam The Netherlands Tel: 00 31 20 676 0222 Fax: 00 31 20 675 2231

liberated since 1989?’

European Cultural Foundation

10 Spring Gardens London SW1A 2BN Tel: 0171 389 4004 Fax: 0171 389 4426

New York 888 Seventh Avenue New York 101 06 USA Tel: 00 1 212 757 2323 Fax: 00 1 212 974 0367

‘Do young people feel

NIA . UK . LI

Open Society Institute

Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges

European Human Rights Foundation Avenue Michel-Ange 70 1040 Bruxelles Belgium Tel/Fax: 00 32 2 736 8405

. SLOVAKIA

PHARE Democracy Fund

FUNDERS

GARIA . A LB

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A P P E N D I X

himself, ‘No. It’s like being in prison after all the guards have been chased away.’ Romanian participant.

SOUTH BANK LONDON SE1 9PX UK Tel:++44 (0) 171 928 2033 Fax:++44 (0) 171 928 2868

British Council Slovakia

Panska 17 P O Box 68 814 99 Bratislava Tel: 00 421 7 5331074/1185/1261 Fax: 00 421 7 5334705

Ce projet est co-financé par le programme Phare et Tacis pour la Démocratie, une initiative de l’Union Européenne pour promouvoir la démocratie dans les pays d’Europe centrale et orientale, les Nouveaux Etats Indépendants et la Mongolie.

The Open Society Institute