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A TiE RevivalDateline: 14th April, 2002 For much of the eighties and nineties Theatre in Education had a bit of a tough time. In its cost-cutting frenzy, the Conservative government slashed the money available to schools. In the lates eighties one English department I know had £1,200 per annum to spend on books, stationery, equipment and other necessities: by the mid-nineties it had shrunk to £800, and of course rampant inflation had diminished its value enormously. There were horror stories - absolutely true horror stories! - of three children having to share one textbook and of file paper being doled out in single sheets to GCSE students. Ring binders and wallet files were used and re-used until they fell apart. Many teachers were actually subsidising schools by paying for paper and other stationery themselves. It is hardly surprising, then, that Theatre in Education suffered a very lean time. That is survived at all is a tribute to the resilience of the companies and the dedication of their actors - and the ingenuity of teaching staff who, somehow, managed to find money from somewhere. Money is still tight in schools, but things are a lot better than they were, and there has been a resurgence of TiE in recent years. My own company, KG Productions, has had two TiE commissions this academic year and, where not long ago a school felt itself lucky if it could afford one visit a year, now two a term is not unusual. What is particularly interesting is the range of subjects covered by TiE projects: sex education, citizenship, careers, foreign languages, science, Shakespeare. Our two projects were built around saving water and recycling! But the reason for the resurgence is more than the availability of money. More and more people are becoming aware of the potential impact of theatre in education work on the children. Our water saving project, for instance, was paid for jointly by the local authority and the regional water company. But it is the schools which are most convinced of the value of this kind of work. Sex education - or, at least, that aspect of sex education which deals with relationships and responsibilities - is difficult for schools to deliver, because, of course, youngsters believe that they discovered sex and teachers cannot possibly understand the problems they face in their relationships. They are much too old! A theatre piece which deals with these problems is far more effective than anything the schools can do on their own in engaging students and in debunking myths. It is amazing how many kids still believe that it is impossible to get pregant the first time you have sex! TiE projects are just that - projects. They are not plays which are performed and then the company departs. Often they involve the students, getting them to influence the outcome of the story or sit in judgement on the characters, thus making them think about the problems and, hopefully, make decisions which they will apply to their own lives in the future. They can also be motivational. Théâtre sans Frontières' latest project, The Tour de France, really makes primary children want to learn French - and, incidentally, teaches them some at the same time. Theatre is a powerful tool and it's good to see that it's now firmly back on the agenda in schools. Articles Indices: |
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