The goals of the project
Drama is the act of using the imagination to become someone or something other than yourself.Students are able to learn from different viewpoints and behave as if they were in the imaginary scenario by doing so.”(Mandie Moore,2004) Regarding the partner schools’ needs and Swot analysis,we joined the project ”Playing with the play” to establish international cooperation, gain knowledge and skills, and improve the quality of education in partner schools. This initiative supports the international exchange of groups of students to promote the values of tolerance and social inclusion.
The main goal is to interest the participants in the history and, above all, of the literature of the partner countries. The knowledge of the youth in this area seems poor. This is due to the research carried out among the students of participating schools before starting the project activities. Interest in theater and literature can be an interesting alternative of spending free time. Choosing the topic of the project we were guided by the need to sensitize young people to high culture.
It might seem that theater as a form of entertainment and leisure is gradually declining. It is slowly becoming ”elite” entertainment intended only for the chosen ones. It is associated with the class of intelligence and it was used to think that ”ordinary” or young people do not go to the theater, because they would not be able to understand it anyway. Meanwhile, however, its beauty lies in the fact that it is universal and open to absolutely anyone who wants to come to it. A good theatrical performance is attended by both actors playing particular roles and the audience themselves. Moreover, each element of the performance – light, music, set design – brings with it a separate experience that cannot be forgotten later. Theater is therefore one of the best forms of entertainment that only man has created; in that case, it is worth introducing young people to it from an early age.
Participating in the project will contribute to increasing the cultural awareness of students and teachers, broadening students’ horizons, increasing their motivation to learn and strengthening social skills. Participation in the project enables students, teachers and other employees to get to know European countries. Using drama to create project main result, which is a play ”We dream the same Europe” written and performed by participants, was applied as a method of comprehensive personality development, a method of preparing for life in society, a didactic method supporting school learning, and a method of discovering, developing and educating artistic talents, including acting and literary skills.
Practical knowledge of this method may prove useful as is believed that the current teaching procedures in most educational systems are inappropriate as they uses only 10% of students’ capabilities. Actions should be taken to develop students’ ability to create various, important situations, helping them to unlock their innate flexibility and help them to understand themselves and others. Someone can only fully understand what he has directly experienced. He also remembers the knowledge he has learned best, and drama arranges such situations of self-inquiry. The method also develops the intellectual abilities of participants, not providing knowledge in a ready form, but encouraging them to search for it on their own. Thanks to numerous exercises, it also ensures physical development and the possibility of expression through movement.
The project aims at addressing the needs of development key competences using drama as the non-formal method of teaching. Implemented activities allow to develop self-confidence, self-evaluation and an active attitude of students in a society. It makes learning and teaching more attractive and as a result more effective and motivating which is especially important in the improvement of quality and relevance of skills and co-operation.
