8
First Time P res en ter S p o tl i g h t
Perspective: Colleen Horan
We’ve heard a lot in the last two years about
the “bubbles” that the left and right occupy in
our country, and how both sides often preach
to the choir when it comes to voicing concerns.
How can we connect across that difference?
Process drama offers some tools to start the
conversation.
While exploring the world of Last Town as
classmates with Sindy, I became an accidental
villain. We were asked to put ourselves into
role as townspeople. I became “Farmer Edith,”
an established and wealthy merchant in the
town, a mother of 10 young men, an employer
of local farmhands, and a successful market
owner. With the given circumstances that I
had created for myself, I had a position of
importance in the town, and I felt a vested
interest in staying put in this imagined world
where I had both power and roots in the
community. As the drama unfolded, and the
town’s resources came under threat, I also
found myself under threat. We learned about
a plague that was outside of our town, and
we all began to fear that migrants, who might
could possibly carry the disease, could be
on our doorstep at any moment. Quarantine
was instated, and without much deliberation,
many of my classmates began to question
me - would I share what I had with the town
while we blockaded our streets from intruders?
The assumption on the part of many of my
classmates, also “in role,” was that I would not.
I was a wealthy farmer and merchant with
abundant resources and a family to support,
up against a town of citizens who wanted what
I had. In my position of privilege, I found myself
being judged with suspicion before I even
knew how it happened.
If they were this quick to assume that I would
withhold my resources from the town, I knew it
was a matter of time before they would take
from me what they could. I suddenly knew
what it felt like to have to keep the wolves at
bay to protect what was mine, with enough
distance from the real events that the drama
was based on to look at what was happening
with an objective eye.
Through the use of process drama, I had a new
perspective on the paranoia, defensiveness, and
resistance to dialogue that can happen in the
event of a crisis. Not only did I gain insight as to
what might go through the mind of someone in a
much different socioeconomic class than myself,
and an understanding of how quickly those in
power are scrutinized, I started to understand
what it might take to change the minds of the
“Ediths” in the world. Importantly, I certainly
understood what wouldn’t work.
Along with offering a chance to tackle an issue
from a new perspective, process drama leaves
space for participants to practice enacting their
own solutions. As teachers who are concerned
about the world that our students are inheriting,
there can be a sense of despair over the question
of how to “rise up” and take action. When the
news gives us a new cause to champion nearly
every day, where does one even begin? How
can we bring activism into the classroom within
the context of our job descriptions and the
institutions that we work for? For me, at least
for now, finding the moments where my drama
students can practice making their own decisions
and problem solving is where I want to start. I
want my students to know that they have the
tools to effect the change that they want to see.
9
In c it e / In sig h t
Fi r s t T i m e P r e s e n t e r S po t l i gh t
Looking Ahead to AATE Conference 2018
As we are wrapping up our spring semester
of grad school, our process drama session
for AATE is continuing to evolve. We are
asking how to put participants in role with
enough distance to explore the grey areas,
how to challe nge their assumptions and
perspectives. Our group of MA in Applied
Theatre students (Sindy Castro, Colleen
Horan, Nicole Kontolefa, David Melchione
and Julian Pimiento) are excited to delve
into the world of process drama. We want
to bring attention to the form for those
who may not have experience with it, or
to engage with those who already see the
potential it holds for creating moments
of dialogue and understanding. We are
in the midst of devising our process
drama, pulling from our experiences as
participants. What has motivated us
to make decisions within in a drama?
What were the dramatic conventions
that complicated our choices? We
hope to provide a sample of the drama
conventions within process drama that will
prove useful to AATE attendees.
We are planning to showcase a new
process drama as a model for our
participants in hopes of sparking dialogue
about its educational possibilities. We
already see the value in the work, and we
have our own ideas of how it might benefit
curricular or educational goals, but we
want to learn from others. We will provide
space for our participants to brainstorm
how this tool could be used with their own
populations. We invite participants of our
session to share their ideas to expand the
possibilities of using process drama to
explore social justice issues.
We want to learn from other students,
educators, artists, and colleagues in the
field. We’re looking forward to sharing and
learning with our participants during our
session Process Drama: A Theatrical Tool for
Social Justice at AATE. See you there!
Spring 2 018
Sindy Isabel Castro is an actress,
educator, and theatre artist. She is
currently an MA in Applied Thea-
tre student at CUNY’s Schools of
Professional Studies and an ac-
tor teacher with the Creative Arts
Team in NYC. She was previously
a teaching artist/education ad-
ministrator in Chicago for seven
years and worked with Steppenwolf
Theatre, Writers Theatre, Northlight
Theatre, Adventure Stage Chicago,
and Project AIM.
Colleen Horan is an NYC-based
teaching artist with a special focus
on drama in the early childhood
classroom. She is an ensemble
member at Spellbound Theatre in
Brooklyn, and a candidate in the MA
in Applied Theatre program at City
University of New York.