Workshop for drama teachers
Theme: The Phenomenon of Control; duration: 4 days. Created in collaboration with Sanita Duka.
In the process of workshop, the participants had a chance to deepen their knowledge on performance art itself, phenomenon of control and methods of performance teaching that they are able to use in their work with pupils.
While working with the field professionals, teachers also worked in teams preparing their own performances that were presented to the public at the open session “Nekārtības miera ielā” (“Turbulence on Miera street”).
The main learning approaches used were learning by doing, knowledge construction, connectivism and systematic feedback.
This workshop is considered to be a part of support activities for teachers of high schools that are going to be influenced by changes in a nationwide education standard system. In 2020 all high schools in Latvia will have a mandatory drama course including performance art as a part of it.
Rīga, 2019
Photos: Monta Tīģere
Quotes form the participants
“All in all, this was a very valuable experience. It was effective and mind-opening. I observed the development of the deeper meaning of my creative expression. It happened through multiple layers – through body movement, through the mental field, through language and delicate plan of communication. I learnt a lot of useful practical exercises and procesual structures how to reach an awareness of a personal performance on a specific topic. I got to meet new friends and colleagues as well, I gained an experience, impressions, revelations, a possibility to share my views, skills and methods. I gained an understanding of what it means to move in the direction of performance art. During this process I stumbled upon many important ideas – performance art lets one look inside themselves while offering the opportunity to research such questions as “who am I”, “what is my relationship with myself, with others and the world in general?”, “what are the limits of my self-expression?”, “what are the values that are important to me?”, “what do I believe in?”, “what do I want to offer to the world?”, “what do I give from myself?”, “what is my world like?”, “what is my fantasy like?”, “how far am I ready to delve into the world of my fantasy, into my soul?”.”
“Performance for me is an aware formation of the creative energy. Form is a recursively eternal totality of reality fragments. Therefore the very process of formation can be called a performance, as well as the result of this process. The result can be defined as an object or the process itself. The creative energy manifests itself in every new moment through each individual in a unique way. That is why any specific performance will always be unique. The person who defines each performance is the artist.”
“I will definitely transform and use everything I experienced during this workshop in my personal work. I will transform this knowledge to specific educational purposes and goals while working in a group and individually. The exercises and techniques of the performance art let me get more familiar with myself, they helped me discover my creative potential in a similar way that meditation does. That is why the skills and knowledge learnt in this workshop help in developing of a personality, in shaping an understanding of society and life in general. I will structure this experience in such a way that it is possible to share with it in the most effective way.”
ILZE MAZPANE 