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SECOND CYCLE
Most of the participants were in role as carers of the child but they too needed
to understand what it is like to be that child, as the following quote shows.
How does she feel about her own existence? What is it like to be her? I find it
impossible to tell from outside. Of course, I tried to approach her in the situation,
but I had no idea of what she might think of herself. But I really can’t tell. What is
it like to live as a nonhuman? Because I only know what it is like to live as a human
being. She grew up in a completely different world and I can’t imagine what it’s like
for her, I don’t understand how come she doesn’t go mad. I would surely go mad.°*?
The dichotomy of the sentiments of this participant are telling, she says she
“can't imagine what its’s like for her [the feral child]” but also seems to really
try to imagine it, and even succeeds to some extent as she says “I would
surely go mad”. The problem the participants faced in their roles as NGO
staff was philosophical and practical at the same time. They had to decide on
a conceptual level what is important to teach to make someone human again,
but they faced the practical difficulty of it in the scenes and improvisations.
Participants created scenes, reworked them using the dramaturgical
structures and devices, and also had to find ways of dealing with this problem
in improvisations as well. The scenes participants made were in some cases
about trying to teach basic things like sitting on a chair to the feral child,°*
other examples were of the feral child digressing after much development, for
example when a dog barks at her in a park.‘®° The lesson ended in each case
with a final group improvisation, where the wild child was asked to receive
the large donation on behalf of the NGO. The scene was played as a glitzy
award ceremony, with participants playing journalists, politicians and rich
donors. The situation was seen as extreme by some participants: “I think that
was really exaggerated, but at the same time it was very real. I can really
imagine it happening”.556
The interest and the questions generated made this narrative the most useful
framework for including Bondian concepts and dramaturgical structures.
What is clear from the responses is that the challenge this situation posed
to their roles was engaging and also that the relationship to the feral child
was both distant “I can’t imagine what it’s like for her”“®” but on another level
also similar to their positions, “I think secondary school students are also
on the border”®® and “there are lots of expectations on this little girl. But
683 F Wb.
681 V Wa.
685 V Wd.
686 F Wb.
687 Tbid.
688 F Wa.
+213 +