Scenario: A Journal for Performative Teaching, Learning, Research. Vol. VIII Issue 01
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Item Foreword(Department of German, University College Cork, 2014) Schewe, Manfred; Even, Susanne; Schewe, Manfred; Even, SusanneItem The Gottfried Children(Department of German, University College Cork, 2014) Peter Ammann, Max; Schewe, Manfred; Even, SusanneIn this rubric we present various perspectives on theatre – historical and contemporary, intercultural and culture-specific, unexpectedly weird, unusually suspenseful, disturbedly gripping, fascinatingly enigmatic … With a sound reminiscent of military barracks, the desk lids fired upwards in salute as Gold Specs introduced Marc. The cisalpine school spirit already had a hold over the young Southerners. Three times, the principal gave exactly the same speech and ended with a compulsory suggestion: “I know, none of you will disappoint the new teacher.” Marc stood in front of his first students, his throat tight, and found himself unable to utter a word. He felt sorry for the boys and girls. Instead of a room with a big table, where talents and interests would emerge, where age levels would mingle, where students would assist each other, there were only oak benches, crammed closely together and bolted to the floor, the kind which force one to step in sideways. Everything was aligned towards the teacher; it was impossible to create a space free of hierarchy here. From his coat pocket, Marc pulled Peter Petersen’s “Jena Plan,”1 as he had presented it to the New Education Fellowship in Locarno in 1927. He pressed it into ...Item Drama: Threat or opportunity? Managing the ‘dual affect’ in process drama(Department of German, University College Cork, 2014) Piazzoli, Erika; Kennedy, Claire; Schewe, Manfred; Even, SusanneIn this paper we discuss the construct of ‘dual affect’ and its relevance to drama pedagogy in a foreign language teaching context. We draw on a research project involving a group of advanced learners of Italian using drama-based strategies. We begin with a theoretical discussion of dual affect, aesthetic distance, and protection mechanisms in the drama/language classroom. Next, we contextualise the research study and analyse student-participants’ responses in selected moments of the drama. The analysis suggests that, while some student-participants experienced the dual affect of drama as a threat, others found it a stimulus for reflection and a challenge. We argue that this may have had an impact on their perceived learning outcomes and on their willingness to communicate in the target language. We take this opportunity to reflect on the importance of managing dual affect in the process drama classroom, especially when working with advanced language students who have no prior experience in drama-based pedagogy.Item International Youth Theatre Festival at Volksbühne, Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, Berlin(Department of German, University College Cork, 2014) Roth-Lange, Friedhelm; Schewe, Manfred; Even, SusanneA dense wall of black bodies is moving across the dimly lit stage. Three faces appear and disappear between the heads and feet of the human chain. They belong to a pregnant woman, her husband and their daughter. They try to find a loophole in this chain to make the breakthrough, sometimes by strategic moves, sometimes by force. Although the intruders eventually succeed and find a provisional place to live, the battle is still on. While looking for an apartment and a job, they are confronted with ever-changing forms of discrimination and xenophobia. Impressive and space-filling images by Dolný Kubin’s Slovakian pupils depict the experience of a family emigrating to an unknown country and who, after having traversed the border, are soon faced with tricky German language barriers: a soup doesn´t “stink“, it rather “smells.“ What is special about this performance is its very strong imagery and spirited acting, strikingly stimulated by special settings. For example, a large, sliced-open box that serves as an emergency shelter for the refugees. The intuition of the actors for minimalist linguistic jokes („ein Gehweg ist kein Stehweg“1) and their courageous associative narration is also remarkable in this play. The students from Rennes are quite ...Item Drama in Sprachpraxis at a German university English department: Practical solutions to pedagogical challenges(Department of German, University College Cork, 2014) Sharp, Jonathan; Schewe, Manfred; Even, SusanneThis article describes the initial phase of incorporating drama-in-education classes into the practical language curriculum of a German university English department. It offers a brief overview of drama in (higher) education, before focusing on some recent developments in Germany and the UK: specifically the current increase of interest in Theaterpädagogik in Germany, and the incorporation of performative pedagogy in UK higher education, with the example of an initiative at the University of Warwick. The practical language curriculum of the University of Tübingen English Department, within which the drama classes are being run, is introduced. A report on one of the classes is provided, with a short example of a student-led presentation session. After investigating some student feedback from the class, the article concludes by suggesting that a drama approach offers solutions to some challenges posed by the curriculum, and explains a brief rationale for its further development in this context.