Page 170 [170]
CHAPTER FIVE: DATA ANALYSIS
———<~o»—___
My action research project investigates how the drama theory and practice of
Edward Bond can be combined with a Living Through Drama (LTD) approach
to drama in education. I have explored the two fields in the first and second
chapters and then investigated the connection between the two practices
in the third. Following the presentation of my research methodology I will
now engage in the examination of data collected over two cycles of action
research.
As I have specified in the previous chapter the data was collected in
19 drama lessons conducted with 10 different groups, in a variety of
educational situations, investigating distinct issues. The central research
question remained the same for all lessons conducted: Can Drama Events
be created in Living Through Drama?
The concept of Drama Event (DE) has a complex theory. A short summary
of what I was looking for would be the following: Can a gap in meaning
be created in the narrative that participants, from within the fictional world,
need to fill with their own understanding of the incident, that is independent
of dominant social narratives? The ‘from within the narrative’ part of this long
sentence refers to one of the main connecting points of the Bondian drama
and LTD as both aim for ‘being’ in the fiction, an experiential, imaginative
response to the problems rather than a distanced solely rational reflection.
This also explains why 1am relying on those re-interpretations of Heathcote’s
living through mode that emphasize ‘being’ in the fiction and experiencing
the unfolding problem without a distancing frame in the fiction. I refer to
these approaches, represented primarily by Gavin Bolton and David Davis
and investigated in chapter one, under the term Living Through Drama.
There was a major difference between the two cycles of the action research
I conducted, as I decided to explore the integration of Bondian concepts
from theatre into LTD in two stages. In the first cycle I studied key Bondian
concepts without necessarily focussing on the gap, so I can understand how
they relate, what they can offer and what problems they can create when
used in classroom drama. Based on the findings of this cycle Imade a major
step towards creating DEs in the second cycle by introducing a frame that
induced an artistic awareness of the process and helped the conscious use
+ 169 +