National Curriculum in the Arts: MPA Companies 2010
This is “a position paper submitted by the education network of the Australian Major Performing Arts companies to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) during the shaping phase of the National Arts Curriculum” (MPA Companies, online). What a great find!
The authors argue that drama (along with dance and music) should be offered to students K-12, and that by providing access to professional productions on at least a yearly basis, several curricular needs will be met. Embedded in a comprehensive statement of the outcomes, they specifically mention the value of seeing multi-media theatre, which addresses the ICT curricular requirement (MPA Companies, online). They offer their partnership in bringing school audiences to the theatre and developing pedagogy. This is welcome news to me—that ICT literacy outcomes can be built into taking students to a theatre production. Brilliant! That’s something I know how to do, or at least feel confident I can figure out. I’m reminded of a New York Theatre Workshop production of a Moliere play that projected live video of the action onstage on a screen overhead throughout the play, and then when the actors ran offstage fighting, the camera followed them into the alley behind the theatre, taking the action of the play into a completely transformed notion of space—was the audience with them in the alley? Had the screen itself suddenly usurped the “stage”? Unlike some of the more contrived attempts to reconcile a purist conception of theatre with the imperatives of integrating new technologies, this kind of use of ICT creates possibilities for very deep and interesting discussions of the conventions of the art form itself.
Further discussion of the relevance of ICT’s in drama suggests that ICT’s legitimize the art form in a new way, or may introduce more measurable, academic standards: “No longer is drama in high school simply about ‘putting on plays’. Students are now budgeting, marketing and lighting their own work. Students that shine in the technical side now have the opportunity to excel at this subject which was once performance based. Drama is now recognised as an examinable subject for university entrance examinations.” (MPA Companies, online). Drama has long been an “examinable subject;” students have written papers, auditioned, interviewed and been admitted to Bachelor’s and Master’s programs in Acting, Stage Management, Directing, Dramaturgy and other theatrical disciplines for decades. Nevertheless, I take the point that the use of technology can expand the application of theatrical knowledge and skills, and in fact make Drama a broader subject that reaches more students in different ways: “Students can use technology to expand, record, manipulate and demonstrate their understanding and skills in drama” (MPA Companies, online).
The authors of this paper have deep knowledge in drama education, and represent the education programs some of the finest professional companies in Australia (Sydney Theatre Company and Bell Shakespeare among others); they would be where I would look as a teacher for the most innovative, developed drama pedagogy in the country. Top theatre companies’ education programs are likely to be well funded, and staffed with very strong teaching artists. In my experiences as both a school teacher and a working actor, I would expect the MPA Companies to have higher standards and deeper knowledge of the art form and the industry than ACARA, and a record of high-quality drama education. I wonder how much of this has been incorporated into the National Curriculum? My understanding is that the Drama framework hasn’t yet been published. I know I’m taking the MPA Companies’ advice…will ACARA?
Reference:
Major Performing Arts Education Network, 2010.
Accessed on 18-4-2011 at:
No comments:
Post a Comment