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THE CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT AND A CRITIQUE OF LIVING THROUGH DRAMA
It is impossible to determine what the impact of the event described by
Fleming was, but the question raised by him is important to consider. There is
an emphasis in LTD on facilitating ‘being’ in the situation rather than acting
roles, something to explore is whether the participants are protected into
the situations. Fleming raises another question connected to the relationship
on the real person and the role.
The other problem that I have with it is that it relies on blurring the boundaries
between the real person and the role. [...] If I act in this way in the drama I have to
think about would I have done the same thing. So if I kill you in a living through
drama it makes me think about myself killing you. In the theatre I wouldn’t have
208
that worry.
The relationship of fiction and reality are central to all drama. The question
is whether it is having a role, or being in the fiction that provides safety and
space to explore. As LTD is exploring extreme stories it is important to clarify
issues relating to this question. The structures analysed in the examples for
LTD lessons all offered different models for creating the safety of the fiction.
Davis offers a story from the past and explores it as theatre. Bolton stressed
the fictional nature of the context, O’Neill shifted the situations and roles
so participants did not remain in one role for a long time, while Heathcote
offered choices and checks on how the participants were coping by stopping
the drama on numerous occasions.
I explore this issue further in my research, especially in relation to
the relationship of safety of fiction and the extreme. The findings are offered
as part of the data analysis in chapter five.
LTD: Is It Child or Teacher Centred?
In the classic form of LTD Heathcote started from the ideas of the participants
and left many choices and decisions to them concerning the direction of
the narrative. This placed great demands on the teacher, who became central
in structuring the ideas into a drama that reached for something significant.
Fleming reflects on this in the following way:
I think the danger is, paradoxically, because it is in some ways the ultimate pupil
centred drama, that it can become too teacher centred. I think it can bring too
much emphasis on structure; again this is paradoxical, because I juxtapose
208 Ibid.
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