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11฀ C H A P T E R฀ •฀I฀ Drama฀Texts฀as฀Theatre฀—฀Participator y฀ Activities฀Draw n฀from฀Theatre฀Practic e฀ Velda฀Harris฀ INTRODUCTION฀ In this chapter it is initially suggeste d tha t particular reading an d response skills are required when approaching a play text and that these can be developed by espousing a range of techniques employed in professional theatre practice. There follows a descriptive account of a drama text lesson in which two short extracts are examined in performance by students working interactively in pairs. Guidance sheets encourage the students to find answers to specific questions about character, motivation and interpretation and the performed extracts are then subjecte d t o cross-examination o f the students in role. In subsequen t sections a range of additional theatrical approaches to text teaching are outlined and a number o f relevant an d related writin g task s suggested . Finally, the benefits of this approach are summarized with particular reference to second language learning. PRE-READING฀QUESTION S฀ Before reading this chapter consider the following questions: 1. Wha t can experience of literature contribute to the professional education of English language teachers? 2. Wha t i s to be gaine d b y the student-teache r o f Englis h languag e by 'engaging in real texts written by real authors'? 150฀Veld a฀Harris฀ ^ = = = = = = ^ = ^ ^ ^ = = = = = = = = = = = =฀ 3. Wha t parallels can be drawn between exploring a drama text in rehearsal and the process of understanding a text in the second language classroom? READING฀A ฀PLA Y฀TEXT฀ Reading a pla y an d readin g a nove l ma y see m t o b e ver y closel y relate d activities. In each case we enter a fiction and accept the existence of the context and character s wit h whic h w e ar e presented. W e probably identif y strongl y with one or more of the characters while simultaneously retaining a detached and critica l judgemen t whic h allow s u s t o thin k independentl y abou t th e unfolding actio n and to appreciate the writer's craft. I n a conventional nove l the voice of the storyteller is almost always at hand directing our attention to a particular event, explaining a character's behaviour, focusing ou r attention on a particular detail and controlling our response. In choosing to unfold a story in dramatic form, the playwright has elected to stand to one side. Context and atmosphere ar e created b y th e stag e setting . Plot an d characte r ar e reveale d through actio n an d dialogue . This has implications fo r th e reader. While th e novelist has a mediating role helping readers to interpret the unfolding action , the playwright leaves readers to make their own deductions from the clues in the text. Consequently, whil e it is possible to read a novel quite quickly, it is essential to read a play text at the speed of speech, paying close attention to set descriptions, stage directions, pauses, adverbs denoting vocal expression, and other aids to interpretation whic h the playwright offers. What the reader of a play ha s t o imagin e i s no t onl y wha t th e se t an d character s loo k lik e bu t inflectional patterns , emphasis, tone of voice, actions, even silenc e — al l of which conve y meaning . I t shoul d b e eviden t fro m th e abov e tha t th e inexperienced reader, whether in a first or second language, needs a great deal of support in reading and understanding a play text. I have been talking so far about reading a play text. But of course, a play is not written to be read silently but to be performed by actors and appreciated by an audience. And it is to the theatre that we should turn for approaches to play text teaching that will help students to interpret and understand the text. It was Konstantin Stanislavski, working with students at the Moscow Arts Theatre School a t the turn o f the century, wh o first broke awa y fro m th e nineteent h century European tradition of 'external ' actin g and developed a methodology which encourage d hi s student s t o explor e th e 'internal ' logi c o f a role...

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