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1
Van, Schalkwyk Mareth. "Using theatre techniques as a tool to enable active learning : searching for a pedagogy to transform spectators into spect-actors." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/2534.
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Thesis (MDram (Drama))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005.In Britain provision is made for students with a low Basic Skills level (literacy and numeracy) to continue with their post-GCSE education in a low level vocational course. These low level courses aim to teach students basic, life and vocational skills necessary to progress to the next level. This study aims to find a pedagogy which is suited to the needs of these marginalised students and transforms them from spectators into spect-actors. Two programmes were designed, implemented, managed and measured by this study in order to find the pedagogy best suited to the needs of these students. Programme 1 was based on ideas by the educationalists Kolb, Petty, Honey and Mumford; and aimed to empower students with the basic and life skills necessary for progression. Programme 1 failed as the mostly narrative pedagogy was associated with a similar pedagogy used in schools. Assessment methods were unsuitable and the course paid more attention to the needs of the group than the needs of the individual. Programme 2 aimed to actively involve students in the learning of skills essential to progression and was based on theatrical techniques. Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed techniques, especially Forum Theatre, formed the basis of the student-centred programme. Boal’s interactive theatre techniques, together with ideas taken from Aristotle, Artaud, Brecht, Heathcote and Freire formed the pedagogy of an interactive course where the focus fell on the needs of the individual student. This study found that Programme 2 was successful. Students took to the taskbased interactive course where all solutions to problems were found by means of active investigation, no theorem was learned without application and no action took place without a purpose. Students changed from spectators into spectactors with a view that the world is not stagnant but transformable. Achievement and success rates back up the findings. The interactive pedagogy using theatre techniques to teach can be applied across the curriculum and it is suggested that such courses should run alongside main stream academic courses to accommodate the learning of all students.
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Chalk, Beryl. "Empowered narratives : drama praxis and the archetype as a means to authentic voice for women." Thesis, Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia, 1997. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/897.
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This thesis contests the status of gender as a social construct by considering how women develop a personal ethnography when engaging in drama and expressive arts practices. There is no known research on drama praxis as a signifier to Australian women's identity, a major focus of this work will be, 'Who has the authority over women's expression and means of expression? Who has the authority to interpret the experience? Who has authority over other people's experience?' This thesis addresses the internalised- oppression which refers to the process by which women internalise the 'fictionalised' reality prescribed to them as women marked by the binary construct of gender duality, i.e., male/female, in which the male as the ascendant partner in the duality has the power to mark those on the descendant as 'other' to the norm. The limits of 'knowing' only through positivist science will be extended into multi modes of knowing and within the drama praxis the reflective processes enabled by personal engagement will be investigated within the personal, universal and analogous modes. This thesis, being written from a postructuralist perspective, is a means of giving the study group authentic voice. It proceeds from an explicit framework engaging archetype as a means to modify consciousness and is an invitation: a "call to action".
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Koekemoer, Kaye. ""... we must not hold our fears..." : a case study exploring the use of group dramatherapy as a therapeutic intervention with children and adolescents living in poverty /." Thesis, Link to the online version, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10019/1758.
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Guli, Laura Ann. "The effects of creative drama-based intervention for children with deficits in social perception." Thesis, Full text, 2004. http://www.lib.utexas.edu/etd/d/2004/gulil33014/gulil33014.pdf#page=3.
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Schiff, Heather. "This ain't a circle : the use of drama and movement therapy in providing containment to adolescents with learning difficulties within a group therapeutic intervention : a case study exploration." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7405.
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Bibliography: leaves 76-92.This dissertation attempts to illustrate by way of clinical material a method of working therapeutically using drama and movement therapy with a group of adolescents with learning difficulties. The study is located within a theoretical context of an understanding of the emotional aspects of learning While many interventions with learning difficulties stress the cognitive dimension of these problems, this study explores their emotional basis and consequences. Bion's theory of thinking and the Container-Contained model of early object relations is used to formulate the idea that the adolescents participating in the study had not yet internalised an object capable of knowing, making it difficult for them to think about themselves and to express verbally their needs and feelings. An important aspect of the therapeutic function, that of providing a container within which to hold feelings and make thoughts thinkable, is thus explicated. It is further noted that the Way in which adolescents communicate their feelings in therapy is frequently beyond words, and ascertained by way of symbolic expression, non-verbal responses and projective-identification processes. This assumption is actively engaged by establishing drama and movement therapy as the primary therapeutic mode in the work. The potential of the creative arts therapies in assisting these young people in negotiating their difficulties is explored. Through an analysis of case material, the dissertation explores how difficult feelings associated with learning problems can be enacted, named and recovered for reflection and expression Both the notion of the therapist as a container for the adolescents' feelings, as well as the potential usefulness of drama and movement as 'concrete' containers for the exploration of internal and external experience, are examined.
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Clifford, Sally Margaret. "Why have you drawn a wolf so badly? : community arts in healthcare." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 1997. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/35893/1/35893_Clifford_1997.pdf.
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Community arts is often criticised for its tendency to be more about welfare than art. This thesis investigates this claim through the environment of a growing number of
arts projects taking place in healthcare settings. Healthcare settings inherently deal with the field of welfare. This research has recognised that many of these projects are participation-based community arts projects. I have termed these projects arts-inhealth
and they form the case studies of this research.
Arts-in-health is not art therapy. Arts-in-health is a community arts-based approach to artmaking which enables people to access art processes and skills which are not part of the treatment or diagnosis of their illness. This thesis recognises that people belong to a communal web of relationships which can often be severed when they
become ill. Because arts-in-health encourages artmaking beyond a treatment framework, it can re-connect people to their communal web. is thesis claims that for community art to have this impact it must be designed and
implemented through artistic processes and not treatment, therapeutic or clinical ones. If community art processes do become distorted by therapeutic processes, they
will become more about welfare and less about art; consequently, they contribute less to the community in which individuals live.
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Lotter, Marensia. "An ecosystemic approach to psychodrama : aesthetics and pragmatics." Diss., 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/18543.
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This study propagates a move away from the dominant practices of
psychodrama with its emphasis on catharsis and insight as the main components of a therapeutic experience.
It proposes a systemic orientation to psychodrama where protagonists
may encounter the circularity of the systems in which they are embedded and through this process encounter new meaning.
Case studies are presented which exemplify an evolutionary process of
creating what the author refers to as "ecosystemic psychodrama". This
ecosystemic psychodrama is based on second-order cybernetics and what is aimed for is that as a therapy it should present something of the balance between the aesthetic and pragmatic views of therapy that Keeney (1983a) describes as complementary.Psychology
M.A. (Clinical Psychology)
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Lötter, Marensia. "An ecosystemic approach to psychodrama :." 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17236.
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Kersh, Yael Sara. "Inner child, can we play? An ethnographic narrative enquiry of personal play histories." Thesis, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/24433.
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A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Drama Therapy) November 2017The research consists of a practical arts-based research component and a research report that surveys the practice. This document serves as the written element of the research and investigates the key theoretical standpoints, methodologies applied and creative outcomes. The research aimed to explore the dynamics of adults and play within Drama Therapy by investigating the relationship between six adult women and their personal play histories. It questioned what play meant to the individual and invited her to share her most memorable playful moments through various forms of expression in a number of individual interview-discussions. Through a practical arts-based research approach, an ethnographic narrative inquiry unfolded about women, play, childhood memory and present adulthood. The research took these shared narratives and presented them back to the six participants through various playful methods. With the use of methodologies such as inter-subjectivity, playful listening, narrative enquiry and Playback Theatre, the research offered a series of representational reflections of the shared stories. The creative outcomes were presented in a storybook representation which used imagery and poetic rhyme to document each narrative, a stop-motion film that used moving image and voice, and an presentation-installation that invited each woman to engage with her playful inner-self reflected back to her. The report is written with these playful elements which attempt to mirror the creative representational outcomes, inviting the reader to access his or her playful self. Thematically, three key factors presented themselves throughout the five-stage research process. These include the emotional experience associated with play, the notion of an inner-child or childhood and play within context. All three elements are discussed in the research report, with the use of the contextual factor symbolised by road signs to represent the intersectionality of play and its relationship to the individual. The research presents a number of key contributing factors to the discussion of adults and play in Drama Therapy. It attempts to explore alternative ways of delving into therapeutic process while respecting individual perspectives and personal narratives. It highlights the fundamental value of play within a drama therapeutic paradigm and how the notion of play and play memories contribute to the adult self. It also affirms the role of arts-based practice as a powerful tool for validation and witnessing of clients.
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Brooks, Dale Theodore. "The meaning of change through therapeutic enactment in psychodrama." Thesis, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/9835.
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The purpose of this study was to understand the meaning of change through therapeutic
enactment in psychodrama. Existential and hermeneutic phenomenology conducted from the
perspective of a dialectic between storied narrative and thematic analysis was used to investigate
the essential meaning of the experience. Eight co-researchers who had experienced significant
change through therapeutic enactment in psychodrama were interviewed in depth. Transcripts
from these interviews were transposed into narrative form in order to straighten the story of
change through enactment in a before, during, and after sequence. These eight individual
narratives were validated by the co-researchers. An independent reviewer checked each narrative
against the original transcript, video tapes of the enactments, and comments of each co-researcher
for trustworthiness. Each validated narrative provided a rich description of the lived experience
of change through therapeutic enactment.
In addition, fifty-nine (59) essential themes were formulated from the individual narratives:
Fourteen (14) in the planning stage, twenty-four (24) in the enactive stage, and twenty-one (21) in
the reflective, or integrative stage, of the enactment process. These themes were then woven into
a common story representing the pattern and meaning of change through therapeutic enactment
for this group of co-researchers. Finally, notations made during the transposing of the transcripts
into personal narratives, formulation of the essential themes, and construction of the common
story were used to develop a theoretical story of change through therapeutic enactment, as a final
level of hermeneutic interpretation. This theoretical story was then presented in summary form as
a thematic sequence of multi-modal change processes representing a model of change through
therapeutic enactment.
The results of this study suggested numerous theoretical and technical implications.
Foremost among theoretical implications was the suggestion that Tomkins (1992) script theory of
affect may best illuminate the effects and processes of psychodrama and enactment. This study
also had implications for interactional theories of development, contemporary psychoanalytic
theories of interpersonal functioning, theories of moral development, theories of dream
functioning, and ethological theories of myth and ritual.
The results of this study also suggested a number of additional qualitative and comparative
outcome studies for future research.
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Spykerman, Nicolette. "Building self-care practice through drama therapeutic techniques: a case study of the Zakheni Arts Therapy Foundation's wellbeing workshop." Thesis, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/23884.
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A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Drama Therapy) March 2017The aim of this paper is to explore how Drama Therapeutic techniques can be used in self-care practice to reduce stress, burnout and compassion fatigue amongst community healthcare workers in South Africa. This is achieved by studying the case of the Zakheni Arts Therapy Foundation’s Wellbeing Workshop. The tools utilised by the Wellbeing Workshop are identified and explored to ascertain in what ways they can be useful in self-care practice. Semi-structured interviews are used to gain insight into the tools used most often and found to be most useful by both facilitators and participants in their personal self-care practice. The study shows that the care workers who participated in the Wellbeing Workshop did benefit from the training in that they gained an understanding of importance self-care and did begin to include some self-care practices into their daily routines. Participants did reflect that they found the dramatic tools useful but it is clear that care workers utilise the dramatic tools very differently than the facilitators. This raises questions about the relevance of how Drama Therapy is applied in the South African context as well as around whether drama tools are suitable tools for self-care practice amongst care workers in South Africa.
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"The effect of a creative drama experience on the adolescent child." Thesis, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/12838.
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Annandale, Amari. "Exploring embodiment in drama therapy for enhancing intercultural communication." Thesis, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/23792.
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A research report submitted to the Wits School of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts by coursework and research report in the field of Drama Therapy, in the faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
March 2017This qualitative research study examines the ways in which embodiment in drama therapy can be an effective intervention aimed at enhancing intercultural communication amongst South Africans. South Africa is a multicultural society owing to the diverse cultures people belong to. Communication is required in order for multiculturalism to succeed and peaceful coexistence to be stimulated. This study involved six participants who engaged in a series of six drama therapeutic group sessions focused on embodiment. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis the study found that the participants were able to enhance the intercultural communication amongst them as well as develop cross-cultural relationships. This research report consists of an exploration of the South African context. Thereafter embodiment, culture and communication are discussed to understand how these aspects influence the participants and their daily lives. Chapter three is the exploration of both globalisation and intercultural communication. Chapter four gives an explication of embodiment as a drama therapy approach and what embodiment offers the individual, followed by chapter five which demonstrates the methodology applied to investigate the method of embodiment. The main chapter of this study is chapter six and discusses the embodied drama therapy process and how it became a comfort zone for the participants in which they could communicate and develop meaningful relationships with the fellow participants. Chapter seven concludes and discusses the limitations and recommendations for the research. The drama therapy methodologies empowered participants and enabled them to think about themselves, their behaviour and how they communicate in a different way. It further enabled unconscious material to surface to the conscious mind, thereby evoking introspection and reflection.
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Mkhoma, Themba. "Songs and storytelling – a therapeutic theatre-making process as a tool to heal the wounds of the past." Thesis, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/24468.
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A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (Drama Therapy), 2017The main intention of this paper is to share my experiences and discoveries explored through a theatre-making qualitative research process. In this manner, I created and directed my own autobiographical play as a means of revisiting and working through specific traumatic events in my past. The aim is to share how this helped heal the wounds of the past. In this paper, I have included my personal encounters, my observations and my reflections how Therapeutic Theatre and theatre-making methodologies were used in creating, in rehearsing and in the performance of the play to facilitate the healing of my traumatic past. The play, entitled Home Is Where Pap En Vleis Is, deals with a specific event believed to be the source of the trauma I have been dealing with. I used the play as a vehicle to journey into a dark forest to face my demons. As in Psychodrama, or in Robert Landy’s Role Method, the actor who played me took an auxiliary role while I, as the director, took the role of the helper. Together, we journeyed into the dark forest of my psyche to meet the ghosts needing to be laid to rest. Apart from seeking healing, as a training Drama Therapist, I also wanted to learn about the transformative potential of Therapeutic Theatre. As in the mythological Gilgamesh’s quest (Booker 2004:72) or as in the hero’s journey (Campbell 1968: 227), I wanted to come back with the boon. I needed to collect the “valuable prize”, by contributing to the development of Therapeutic Theatre in the South African context. Sharing the play with the audience was also a way of journeying with the larger community.
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Apotieri-Abdulai, Oluwadamilola. "An exploration of aspects of the South African Bill of Rights through applied drama amongst young adults (care givers) at Rena Le Lona Creative Centre for Children, Johannesburg South Africa." Thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/19666.
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A research report submitted to the Drama for Life division of Wits School of Arts, Faculty of Humanities, for the award of the degree of Masters in Applied Drama at University of the Witwatersrand, 2015This research report evaluates an exploration of how Applied Drama methods can aid the pedagogy of Human Rights and encourage an attitude of responsibility towards human rights among young adult caregivers at the Rena la Lona Creative Centre in Soweto, South Africa. Human Rights are basic standards which inform the standard of living among people so that they live in dignity. In the context of this study, Human rights education through Applied Drama methods is the means through which people are empowered and are given a sense for responsibility. The study consisted of the use of Applied Drama methods to articulate the education of equality and Human rights. This was done through a practice-based research framework wherein the research is informed by collective practice and also relies on theoretical findings. The first chapter articulates the background and justification of study. Chapter two focuses on the literature and methodology that inform the study. Chapter three explores the research findings through an analysis of the methods used and the learning derived from the practice. Chapter four concludes with the reflection around the research results. The conclusion asserts that the explored Applied Drama methods can be used as a tool for holistic education of the South African Bill of Rights within an informal education setting such as the Rena la Lona Creative Centre.
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Yarmarkov, Hanna. "The invisible power of the invisibles: A study of the efficacy of Narradrama method in assisting South African domestic workers in shifting their self-identity." Thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/20799.
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Research report submitted to the Wits School of Arts
University of the Witwatersrand,
Faculty of Humanities
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
Degree of Master of Arts in the field of Drama therapy
April 2016The aim of this research was to evaluate Narradrama as a drama therapy method in assisting South African domestic workers to shift their identity towards a more positive one, so they will be able to better deal with their current socially oppressive issues. I postulated, based on research done by sociologists and anthropologists, that domestic workers still feel oppressed marginalised and differentiated even to date, twenty years after the apartheid era; the racial discrimination that was perpetuated by the doctrine of the apartheid regime and cemented the master-servant relationship as the only possible relationship between domestic worker and employer was normalised within the harsh realities of minimum wages, long working hours and appalling living conditions; oppression of women by women, sexism and racism. Moreover, the domestic workers legal rights that were established after 1994 in the Bill of Rights have not changed their lives and working conditions. These working conditions continue to affect them and are a risk to their physical and mental health. (Mohutsioa-Makhudud, 1989; Williams, 2008; Ally, 2009). The risk that is inherent in chronic perceived discrimination to one’s mental health (Mohutsioa- Makhudu ,1989:40) and the risk of developing a negative identity and self hatred by internalising the negative views of a dominant society(Phinney, 1989:34) has influenced the decision to do this research. The method of Narradrama chosen for this study was researched by Dunne (as cited in Leveton 2010) and found to be effective in working with marginalised groups but has not yet been researched with a marginalised stratum within the South African context. Narradrama, became the preferred method as it is centred on story (Dunne and Rand, 2013:7) which led to the thought it would be effective when working with a group of African women who are considered to be story tellers in the African culture. (Scheub, 1970: 119-120). Thematic data analysis was used in analysing the results. Identity shift was measured by comparing the change between the initial negative themed stories, that substantiated the hypothesis that participants do feel oppressed and marginalised, with the new, positive themes that appeared later in the research processes The Narradrama processes were analysed through the theoretical lens of Landy’s role theory, who proposes that for a person to have a healthier identity he needs to take on a variety on new roles, and to be able to play them proficiently. The playing of new roles assists participants to enlarge their perspectives, discover new identity descriptions and experience what it would feel like to move forward in life in preferred ways towards a more manageable, hopeful future. (Landy, 1994:93-97) This parallels the Narradrama notion which claims that by re-storying a client’s narrative, the client opens up to new preferred choices; a new landscape of identity and action (Johnson and Emunah, 2009:182). The research results show the start of a shift, in the participants’ re-authored stories and their assumed choices of new roles- these changes signify that the group has benefited from processes. As the researcher, I therefore recommend that these processes be resumed in order to allow these identity shifts inclusive of the suggested roles to become more substantial, and more integrated in the participants’ identity within their current living and working context. However, though Narradrama proved to be a method that can assist this group, the results of this research cannot be generalised, and further research with different groups of domestic workers will need to be done in order to be able to generalise to the wider context of the stratum of South African domestic workers.
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De, Beer Welma. "Honouring the life stage of the Crone: self-revelatory performance as rite of passage." Thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/21995.
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A research report submitted
Welma de Beer, student number 1296294,
to Drama for Life, Wits School of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirement of a Master of Arts in drama therapy degree by course work and research report.This study gave expression to my initiatory journey into the last life-cycle of my life, as archetypally represented by the Crone (Prétat, 1994:7–11). It is a personal journey that engages with a specific research question: In what ways can Drama Therapy facilitate the contemplation and initiation of the “Crone” as life stage through self-revelatory performance? Two essential questions frame this study: How can Drama Therapy help us to create a process that contains the inherent destruction that forms part of transformation? If so, what would be the elements and methods that can help facilitate such a process? These questions will be investigated through a creative project, using the method of Performance as Research and the form of self-revelatory performance. The self-revelatory performance engaged with autobiographical moments from my own life and focussed on the theme of transformation. This research report seeks to extrapolate and evaluate the process for the purposes of defining the role and function of drama therapy as self-revelatory performance. The work of Rene Emunah (2009) on the self-revelatory play as a tool for Drama Therapy serves as foundation for this research. Other writings which influenced the study were the work of Victor Turner (Schechner,1993) on liminality, Richard Schechner (1976) on ritual and performance, anthropology of performance and environmental space, Kabi Thulo (2009) on shamanism, Willmar Sauter (2000) on the Theatrical Event and Jacob Moreno’s idea of the Encounter (Kristofferson, 2014). Key concepts that will be investigated are: Jung’s concept of transformation and how it expresses itself through rites of passage, initiation and ritual, myth and storytelling, the crone archetype and self-revelatory theatre. The study’s research findings were derived from the processes of devising, performance and post-performance “insights” which form a part of this creative project. Essentially, this study suggests possible processes that can be used effectively in drama therapy to create a “rite of passage”, “honouring” a new life stage that can “reprogram” or transform us. The study posits that transformation is contained and facilitated when we are able to self-reflect on our history, thoughts, beliefs and cultural coding. Self-revelatory playmaking can be a valuable tool in drama therapy which holds the potential to assist cathartic self-reflection in a safe space (Emunah, 1994:225). This study provides a qualitative description of the phenomena of self-revelatory v playmaking and performance and grapples with how it creates a “rite of passage” to facilitate the transitioning into the last phase of life.
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"Utilising sociodrama as therapeutic intervention to address the sensory integration development of adolescents who present with intellectual impairment." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10210/14118.
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D.Ed. (Educational Psychology)This research was done in response to the need of educational psychologists to intervene on a sensory integration level as it affects learning and behaviour, which falls within the scope of practice of educational psychologists in South Africa. The research study aimed to explore the research question: how sociodrama could be used as a therapeutic intervention to address the sensory integration of adolescents who present with mild intellectual impairment. The study is situated in the interpretivist-constructivist paradigm, using sociocultural theory as theoretical framework. I therefore commenced with the research with the assumption that the six participants each had their own cultural stories and background within which they functioned, and that they could learn from one another in the sociodramatic group setting. The sociodrama sessions were conducted at a school for learners who presented with mild learning impairments. The participants of the research study attended the bridging class of the school, where the focus is on basic literacy and mathematical skills. Thirteen sociodrama sessions were conducted, where the focus was on the development of sensory integration skills. A qualitative research approach was followed and a case study design was chosen for the inquiry. Data collection included the use of sensory profiles, a background questionnaire, context observation, participant observation, visual journals, reflections, video-recordings and an interview with the educator. I utilised the steps suggested by Braun and Clarke (2006) to thematically analyse the qualitative data and to identify themes. The aim of the research study was to firstly be of benefit to the research participants, creating sociodramatic opportunities through which their sensory integration skills could be developed. The research inquiry furthermore aimed to contribute to the field of educational psychology as it allowed for the development of knowledge on sensory integration and provides a unique therapeutic approach to develop sensory integration skills in adolescents who present with mild intellectual impairment.
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Diemont, Alix. "Changing minds : Training educators to use drama as an alternative method for life orientation teaching." Thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/5835.
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South Africa’s education system has undergone substantial changes in the last
ten years. The shift to Inclusive Education attempts to provide all learners,
regardless of their disability, learning difficulty, or disadvantage with access to
education (Department of Education1, 2001). Curriculum 2005, in the context of
an Outcomes Based Education (OBE) philosophy was an attempt by the
Education Department to address the inadequate ‘Bantu’ education of the past.
OBE was intended to replace teacher-centred approaches by encouraging
children to become actively involved in the learning process, to gain knowledge
as well as skills, and to think independently and creatively (DoE, 1998b). School
‘subjects’ of the past were changed to ‘Learning Areas’ some undergoing
dramatic shifts in content and teaching strategies. These new Learning Areas
also emerged with alternative assessment practices. Life Orientation (LO) is one
such learning area. Many educators were suddenly required to teach these new
Learning Areas, despite having little or no training in them. As a result many
educators experienced frustration with the demands now placed upon them, and
some felt unable to teach effectively. This study used a qualitative actionresearch
design to obtain an in-depth understanding of the educators’ capacities
to change their teaching practices in their Life Orientation classrooms. Six
educators in a public primary school setting participated in a series of workshops
aimed to introduce them to drama methods to be used in their Life Orientation
teaching. The workshops were highly experiential in nature and were designed
with the specific personalities and needs of each educator in mind. The results of
the research indicate that educators are highly responsive to training, provided
that they feel acknowledged as individuals and provided that the training builds
upon their current expertise rather than attempting to change their practices
altogether. Another key finding from the training was the opportunity for the
educators to engage in the training as human beings with their own difficulties
and frustrations being openly acknowledged. Many of the educators experienced
the workshops as therapeutic and reported that this made the training both useful
and personally fulfilling.
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Meiring, Leané. "'Giving birth to my breath': an an exploration of self-revelatory performance in facilitating a process of confronting and transforming a negative self-concept of afrikaner identity = 'Ek gee geboorte aan my asem': die gebruik van self-onthullingsteater om die negatiewe self-begrip van afrikaneridentiteit te konfronteer en transformeer." Thesis, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/24553.
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A Multi-Lingual Performance-as-research project submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Arts in Drama Therapy at Drama for Life, A division of the Wits School of Arts Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, March 2017This multi-lingual autobiographical performance-as-research (PAR) project critically analyses self-revelatory performance as a drama therapy method that can be used to effectively mitigate the lingering effects of a negative self-concept of Afrikaner identity brought on by the collective trauma of our past in South Africa. The research enquires and demonstrates; in what ways the method of self-revelatory performance is effective in mitigating the effects of collective trauma both on intra-psychic and interpersonal levels through the lived experience of the researcher, training drama therapist and client-performer who underwent a process of devising, scripting, rehearsing, and performing a piece of autobiographical theatre in front of an invited audience. The methodology is firmly located within, and founded on the core principles of art-based research and more specifically, PAR; this choice of method of enquiry is as a result of the performative and embodied nature of the method of self-revelatory performance. The findings of the research are a collaborative process of practice (performance), self-reflexivity and theory working together to answer the research question. The research demonstrates the need for performative methods of drama therapy, such as self-revelatory performance, to be explored within our South African context. The research illuminated the need to adapt the methodology when working with collective trauma in our South African context and the need to clearly define the role of the audience, and the conditions of collective witnessing that determine psychological safety and containment, in the method of self-revelatory performance within our socio-cultural context.
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Seleme, Bandile. "Using umgidi wokulingisa (dramatic stamping ritual) within drama therapy to provide an accessible therapeutic space for cultural beings with an African worldview." Thesis, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/25213.
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A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Drama Therapy, 2017This mixed case study used a traditional umgidi (stamping ritual) as a dramatic re-enactment within drama therapy to provide a therapeutic space for fostering wellbeing of cultural beings with an African worldview (CBsAW). Culture is considered as a critical resource because it guides individuals in how to achieve wellbeing by using resources from their context. The praxis of umgidi wokulingisa was used in sessions as per guidelines offered through interviews with izinyanga (traditional healers). One session was conducted with two participants in Moutse East. The data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Anyalysis (IPA) to discern emerging themes. Two superordinate themes emerged: experiences of a contextual self; and creative and flexible self-regulation. Experiences of a contextual self represents the participants’ cultural context and value system. Creative and flexible self-regulation is the developmental process of musicking in the therapeutic space that allows a participant to be self-conscious. By experiencing umgidi wokulingisa, the two participants appeared to shift their perspective on the accessibility of drama therapy within their cultures. The study was not able to explore the act of ukugiya due to a reluctance of community members to participate in the study. As a result of reluctance to participate in the study, I recommend a community intervention to ascertain how umgidi wokulingisa within drama therapy can manage expectations and concerns of the community within their cultural context and value system.
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Mdena, Linda. "Mapping the past, present and future: an analysis of how integration through the body can "speak" to the issue of bullying." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/19394.
Full textAbstract:
University of the Witwatersrand Department of Humanities Wits School of the Arts Drama for Life: (MADT) Master of Arts in Drama TherapyThe body has always fascinated me! As a classically trained dancer with a Physical Theatre background, I learnt to use my body as a means of expressing myself. I saw the body as a means to performance, but I believed there was more to the body than just being put on show. In University I learnt about and came to understand the mind-body connection (Plamer, 2009). This interested me and I began to search deeper, with the question that if the body and mind are connected, where are our human memories stored? I have always wondered what moves me and what moves the people around me… This research was a platform for me to look into the notion of the mind, body connection and memory. Through the use of story and movement, I began to consider bullying as a memory which the body and mind both experience. Through the research I focused on where the body had stored this experience and what were the effects of this stored memory (the aftermath). The rest of this paper unpacks my research and my findings working with a client centred approach. In this paper I speak back to the approach I took during the research process, using Laban’s 8 Effort actions, Lahad’s 6 Part Story Method and Whitehouse’s Authentic Movement as part of the integration process speaking back to bullying.
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Jaaniste, Joanna. "Pulled through a hedge backwards : improving the quality of life of people with dementia through dramatherapy." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1959.7/uws:22075.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis links my interest in the area of dramatherapy with existing and new research in the fields of dramatherapy and dementia. It has been written as a result of invitations by individuals and organisations interested in Kitwood's (1997) person-centred approach, to work with and write about people with dementia and the effects of dramatherapy upon them. In the light of public awareness of the ageing of our population and since, in the area of dramatherapy for people with dementia, the body of published research is small, I wanted to use a mixed method approach to find out if a small study of sessional work would improve their quality of life (QoL). Qualitatively, the ontological concepts of being-in-the-world put forward by the phenomenologists, held in tension with Steiner's understanding of consciousness, underpin this study. It was important to hear the stories of people with dementia, help them connect consciously with end of life issues, and to respond to existential difficulties with dementia which might impede their QoL. A literature search was conducted for neuropsychological scales and measures which would effectively assess certain areas of QoL: namely, mood, cognition, language and QoL itself. These measures were selected to access levels of potential improvement in these four areas. In order that research findings could be compared, a two-arm study was set up. Volunteers with dementia diagnoses were invited to participate in sixteen sessions of dramatherapy in Sydney, Australia or film-watching as a diversional activity in Newcastle, New South Wales. The two venues for the research were located at branches of Alzheimer's Australia, NSW. The main qualitative epistemological method of inquiry chosen was a phenomenological approach, including an investigation of embodiment phenomena. Qualitative methods also applied to the investigation were narrative, metaphor and ethnographic procedures. Rather than looking for a "neat solution", a meta-analysis of reflexive inquiry was conducted and findings of the mixed methods of exploration were triangulated using pragmatic abductive means. Statistical change score data for individuals were also examined, triangulating findings with the heuristic research. Narrative descriptions of dramatherapy sessions were completed in the form of a playscript. Individual narratives of four of the dramatherapy participants were written for the thesis. An ethnographic drama dealing with tensions in the mixed method approach I had taken was also prepared. Results of the quantitative research were not found to be statistically significant, possibly because of low numbers or the lack of ability to match variables of gender, diagnosis, educational level and age between the two groups at baseline. Bearing this in mind however, the QoL-AD measure (Logsdon, Gibbons, McCurry & Teri, 1996) did show an improvement in the dramatherapy group. The qualitative research demonstrated a robust ability on the part of participants to engage with group activities, psychotherapeutic intervention and reflective practices. QoL levels were observed to improve substantially and higher levels of body awareness and interaction were indicated. The enquiry suggests that dramatherapy is indeed a promising modality for people with dementia and can and does improve their QoL. It indicates that dramatherapy, with its person-centred approach and engagement of creativity can reveal consciousness and inspiring soul qualities that are often missed by the biomedical model. It has shown that personal issues from childhood can be healed through drama psychotherapy. Recommendations for its cost-effective introduction into facilities for the elderly are identified in the thesis, as well as further research in this important area.
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Mangenda, Hannah. "(Per)forming answers : using applied theatre techniques as a tool for qualitative research." Thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/7786.
Full textAbstract:
From the 1970s onwards Applied Theatre (AT) has become an ever more popular tool for communication in fields as varied as education, development, therapy, social action, business and others (see for example Blatner (ed.), 2007; Prentki & Preston (eds.), 2009). Over the same time period there has been a continuous questioning amongst academics not only of the most effective research methods but increasingly also of the philosophy underlying research efforts (Narayan & Srinivasan, 1994; Parks et al, 2005; Wilkins, 2000).
There are therefore more and more researchers who, in their attempts to 'democratise‘ the research process, are beginning to use arts-based inquiry methods (Sanders, 2006). These generally allow a more inclusive, creative and in-depth approach to research, allowing the participants (the researched‘) more control over the process and the issues discussed and often benefiting them by imparting skills through the process (Belliveau, 2006; Peseta, 2007). Applied Theatre based research is part of this relatively new development (Conrad, 2004; Nelson, 2009) and it is at this junction of academic inquiry and AT where this research is situated.
The major objective of this dissertation is to investigate the possible usage and value of Applied Theatre techniques as a tool for qualitative research, specifically when working with participants not familiar with drama and theatre exercises over a short period of time (a few hours). In partnership with the student society Students Against Rape And Hate (S.A.R.A.H.), a once-off Applied Theatre workshop was conducted in a UKZN residence in September 2009. The aim of this workshop was to establish some answers to the questions provided by S.A.R.A.H. about students‘ views of relationships in general and in residences specifically and the society‘s possible work there.
To be able to compare the outcome of the workshop with the outcome of a more common research tool, a questionnaire asking the same questions was given out among other students in the same residence. Research subjects from both groups as well as S.A.R.A.H. members were later interviewed about their experiences and impressions.
Comparing the data obtained through the different research methods described above, this dissertation not only evaluates whether the data collected with AT was useful and whether the process was practical for the researchers, but it also looks at the benefits the process itself had for all stakeholders involved. Indeed, it is this comparison of the 'product outcomes‘ and the 'process outcomes‘ that forms the backbone of the conclusions drawn.Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.
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Mwalwanda, Basimenye Nabatile. "Towards the use of drama as a therapeutic tool to enhance emotional rehabilitation for people living with HIV/Aids: a case study of Paradiso HIV/Aids support organisation." Thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/7801.
Full textAbstract:
ABSTRACT
This study explores ways to address the emotional needs of people living with HIV/Aids, with specific focus on Paradiso group therapy in Lilongwe, Malawi. The study recognises that people living with HIV/Aids deal with physical as well as psychological challenges. Based on this premise, this study investigates whether the use of drama and theatre processes can enhance emotional rehabilitation for people living with HIV/Aids, and seeks to explore what drama and theatre methods would contribute towards their emotional health.
The study examines Theatre for Development (TFD), a methodology that has played a critical role in addressing various HIV/Aids issues in Malawi. In the assessment, it is argued that TFD remains a relevant model but only as an awareness building strategy about HIV/Aids. This study concludes that TFD is, however, unable to help people explore, confront and express the personal traumatic experiences of living with HIV/Aids. Likewise, the investigation finds the traditional method of teaching utilised by the Paradiso group therapy inadequate in the sense that it does not acknowledge the lived experiences of people living with HIV/Aids.
To this end, an integrated process-orientated drama methodology; drawing on the educational elements of process drama and the healing aspects of drama therapy is developed. The methodology was tested in a series of workshops with Paradiso group therapy members. The outcomes reveal that the approach is effective in providing a clear structure through which people can examine the trauma of stigma as a result of living with HIV/Aids. The study further reveals that an integrated process-orientated drama methodology is effective in enabling people to deconstruct negative HIV/Aids beliefs and narratives and in facilitating the reconstruction of new and functional ones that allow them to experience healing and emotional growth.
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Pather, Vasintha. "Enrich the narrative, empower the leader: the role of narradrama in enriching the narratives of women in corporate leadership." Thesis, 2017. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/24764.
Full textAbstract:
Research report submitted to the Wits School of Arts University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the field of Drama Therapy, August 2017This research aimed to explore problem-saturated narratives about self-efficacy in leadership amongst a group of women leaders from corporate organisations in Johannesburg, and the effectiveness of narradrama (Dunne, 2009) a drama therapy method, in enriching these narratives. Analysis points to the pervasiveness of gendered notions of men and women in society and how this plays out in the contexts of corporate organisations. The rationale for this study was that if corporate leadership is an historically socio-culturally male-dominated and gender-stereotyped domain from which women have been excluded, and in which traits stereotypically associated with women were undervalued, then dominant narratives embedded in this domain could be that women are not effective leaders, and that they do not belong. This could negatively affect perceived self-efficacy in leadership among women, and indirectly, efforts to address gender disparity in the context of corporate leadership. Sociocultural development theory (Vygotsky, 1978), and empowerment theory (Rappaport, 1987, Zimmerman, 2000), both of which assert the primacy of the sociocultural context in learning and development, theoretically informed the research. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes. The research showed that problem-saturated narratives about leadership self-efficacy did exist and that narradrama proved effective in fostering enriched narrative possibilities amongst participants.
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Kisten, Kesavan. "Drama, spirituality and healing : towards a contextual exploration of dramatic methodologies for healing black gay men in the greater Pietermaritzburg area." Thesis, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/3366.
Full textAbstract:
This study explores the interconnectedness of drama, spirituality and healing among an established group of black gay males in the Pietermaritzburg area who agreed to work with me towards self-empowerment through drama. It examines, through a synthesis of educational drama methodology, community theatre methodology and drama therapy methodology, an appropriate and contextual way to use drama as a means of educating (educational drama methodology), conscientising (community theatre methodology) and therapy (drama therapy methodology) to some of the dis-ease reported by members of this group. Drama and therapy are closely interwoven (Moreno, 1970) and it is possible to create a dramatic context within which both individual and community development can be enhanced. Boal (1995) observes that our personal and corporate identities are ordered by a variety of oppressive social
systems. Similarly, Graham (1992) argues that these social systems organise our psyches and our behaviours into patterns of domination and subordination.
There are many theorists and practitioners in the field of drama (educational drama, community theatre and drama therapy) who have researched, implemented and published dramatic techniques and methodologies, some of which are taught at various institutions and implemented with various groups of people. However, according to my knowledge, there are no drama practitioners who have focussed on using the medium of drama to bring about social change in the lives of black gay males in the Pietermaritzburg area. It is against this background that I undertook this experiential study which is primarily aimed at assisting black gay males to move away from personal and social alienation towards individual and communal integration. This study is structured into two parts. Part I develops a theoretical overview of sexuality, spirituality and drama. It argues, in Chapter One that the Church has had a history of intolerance and judgement towards gays and continues to repress them from a traditional, negative stance on homosexuality. In Chapter Two, the issue of femininity and masculinity is examined, arguing that traditional patriarchal, and heterosexual masculinity [and femininity] is a socially constructed behaviour which is similar to the way in which gay masculinity [and femininity] is constructed. Chapter Three investigates the educational, conscientising and therapeutic origins of drama, with an aim of implementing some of these dramatic methodologies with the drama group. Part II concentrates on the application of the theory discussed in Part I to the practice of drama as an educational, conscientising and therapeutic means with a black gay drama group. It provides an analysis of the exercises and improvisations in practice; observations, evaluations
and conclusions based on the drama practise with this particular group. Chapter Four provides a detailed summary of thirty black gay male's profiles in the Pietermaritzburg area. This portrait of black gay males provides one with a clearer contextual understanding of these gays, especially in the areas of culture, spirituality, identity and sexuality. Chapter Five provides a detailed
outline of a sequence of exercises and improvisations for each of the nine sessions, which were tailored to engage the drama group in productive educational, conscientising and therapeutic activities. These activities may also have applicability to other groups of gays (i.e. Indians, Coloureds, Whites and multi-racial / multi-cultural groups), and/or black, and/or male persons
in other localities. Chapters Five, Six and Seven, focus respectively on my experiences of planning, implementing and evaluating the drama workshops and the various drama methodologies that were introduced in Chapter Three and employed by the participants. These chapters, especially Chapter 6, focus specifically on the participants' evaluation of the actual workshops. In conclusion, this study argues that drama, if contextrialised, can offer a unique educational, conscientising and therapeutic potential among black gay males that I worked with in the Pietermaritzburg area.Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2000.
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Samuel, Gerard Manley. "The emergence of intercultural dialogues : children, disability and dance in KwaZulu-Natal : case studies of three dance projects held at The Playhouse Company (1997-1999)." Thesis, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/5897.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis examines the emerging intercultural dialogues around disability,
performance dance and children in the multicultural context of KwaZulu-Natal.
It focuses on creative dance (or modem educational dance), as it has emerged in
KwaZulu-Natal schools post-1994. The intervention of the arts and a holistic
approach to education is examined by appropriating Rudolf Laban (1948), Smith-Autard
(1992) and other guiding principles for dance education. The thesis presents an
analysis of how creative dance has come to influence notions of contemporary
performance dance. This has provided a framework to argue in favour of dance
making by untrained (sic) dance teachers and children with and without disabilities.
The period under investigation post-1994 coincided with fundamental transformations
within the South African cultural landscape, including the following: restructuring of
performing arts council, the merging of former separate education departments and
the strengthening of disability consciousness within human rights culture. These
topics are briefly discussed.
The transformation of the arts at The Playhouse Company in KwaZulu-Natal
contributed to changes within dance development programmes. These dance
development works addressed previously marginalized communities, including the
disabled. The potential shifts to mainstream notions of performance dance by
children with disabilities have provided an opportunity to theorise the practice of
dance in special education and its relation to performance dance in the multicultural
KwaZulu-Natal setting.
Chapter one begins by firstly problematising disability, which it argues is an
occurrence constructed by medical, social, political, historical, cultural and gender
identities. Chapter one goes onto explore the changing concepts of dance for children
with disabilities by offering a critique of existing notions of performance dance for
children with disabilities. Distinctions between social dance. performance dance,
dance therapy and educational dance are clarified and the practice of children's dance
is contextualised.
Chapter two argues that 'disability' within a context of multiculturalism in South
Africa could be seen as a culture in and of itself. It does this by accessing the critical
writings of Schechner (1991), Pavis (1992), Brustein (1991) and others. Definitions of
'culture' are problematised and the debates: high art vs culture, fusion, multi-, intra-,
and inter-culturalism in the South African context are explored.
Chapter three looks at three specific dance projects, which emanated from The
Playhouse Company. The case studies explore how children between the ages of 8 -
18, who are defined as disabled, have engaged with dance and have had little or no
interaction with the performing arts particularly as performers. It critiques and
evaluates these projects in order to make conclusions around the following: the need
for training of dancers and choreographers with disabilities and to underscore the role
of the media in the disabled's plea for access to the performing arts. The idea of
integrated 'enablers'(children and adults) with disabled children in the same
performance dance work was innovative. Such inclusion and re-dress, as also
expressed by The White Paper 6 on Special Education are supported by this thesis.
Many children and their teachers have, through these creative movement and dance
projects, begun to challenge notions of disability and of performance dance within the
'mainstream' performing dance environment as they emerge as potential artists in
their own space.
The thesis concludes by offering suggestions for how dance by those defined as
'disabled' is understood, critiqued and reported by reviewers and researchers of
dance. It is hoped that these suggestions would strengthen the wider acceptance of
notions of dance that emerge from a range of previously marginalised groups.Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.
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De, Abreu Evaristo. "Adaptation of Mapiko elements to educative theatre." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/20803.
Full textAbstract:
A research report presented to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters Degree in Arts, February 2013Mapiko is a dance that is practiced in northern Mozambique. This dance is usually associated with the rites of passage from youth to adulthood. Over time Mapiko has undergone several mutations according to the social, cultural and economic changes in the community. The adaptation described in this paper came out of many years of theatrical practice and research into the traditional values of Mozambique. The aim was o produce a theatre experience which has cultural elements that could be recognized by Mozambicans and which would link them to modern, contemporary and perhaps post-modern theatre techniques. the resulting play made use of elements of Mapiko dance, playback theatre and the text "We killed Mangy-Dog" written by Luis Bernardo Honwana. [Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version]