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FOR WHOM ARE SCHOOL PLAYS CREATED
Summary
Who is the target audience at school plays? Who are these plays created for? What
would student actors’ replies be if asked who they want to perform for? School
events and competitions are the only opportunities for these plays to be performed,
but the spontaneity and freedom of expression remain questionable. Furthermore,
the educating responsibility of drama section teachers is immense; both in the part
of influencing audience members, as well as in working with performers who are
self-aware, expressive, and socially sensitive. "eatre in education offers benefits to
student performers, as well as to student audience, and this paper shall
demonstrate those benefits. "e research was conducted in four elementary schools
and in two high schools with the objective to show the students' perspective of the
targeted and preferable audience, as well as of themselves as the audience. "e
collected results raise numerous questions, thus showing the need for the evaluation
of active drama sections in schools, as well as the examination of their objectives
and outcomes. "e final question remains – is the students' role in drama sections
to be their subjects, or merely puppets, while the strings are being pulled by the
grown-up directors (teachers) and the audience?
Keywords: child audience, child performers, child performance audience, drama
group, school performance