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CHAPTER Two: WHAT Is A DRAMA EVENT
structures analysed here are also possible tools to use. With a drama lesson
there are also several other considerations to take into account concerning
the engagement and the ownership of the participants.
Creating DEs in Performance
I look at questions related to creating DEs through the example of working on
a production of The Children. I aim to identify those questions that need to
be addressed in performance rather than offer techniques that create DE.
Even though there are many stage directions the situation from
The Children analysed above offers a legion of questions that need to be
addressed. Why does the Man sit down among the children and for how
long does he walk among them? When is he talking to them and when is
he talking to himself? When does he start cradling and stroking the brick
and how does he do it? What does the ‘hgn’ sound like? What is that sound?
There can be many different answers to these questions and finding how they
are performed is a long creative process, but for the performance to remain
coherent the artistic team needs to decide on what they are exploring through
the play, they need to define a Centre.
It is apparent from reading the play that it is concerned with the adult
world’s attitude to children and with how the children need to deal with
this. But through further practical exploration, when working on the play
with a group of young people and two actors,??* we identified a more specific
Centre that offered a framework for making further decisions for allinvolved.
We decided that within the subject of reacting to the adult world it was the
problem of responsibility towards each other, the adults and towards oneself
that is the most relevant for us in the social context the play was being
produced in.
This problem is reflected in the situation discussed as well, the Man reflects
on his responsibility as an adult towards all the kids: “If it was different we’d
be friends. Take care of you. Treat you as mine”.*?° However, this clashes with
his perceived responsibility towards his dead son. The latter obviously wins
and is expressed in the killing of Donna. The Man starts cradling the brick
before he says “my son”, it is almost as if the brick reminds him of his perceived
responsibility. The creative task for the actor playing the role was to find a way
to enact that the brick demands to be cradled. Doing this without explaining
what the underlying process is to the audience or without the object losing
its brick quality is important, because if the actions explain themselves then
484 | directed the play together with Julia Neudold working with the youth group and two
professional actors of the Orkény Theatre, Budapest in 2014.
435 Bond: The Children, 48.
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