FINDINGS OF THE TWO CYCLES OF ACTION RESEARCH
2) Narratives based on current socio-political issues can engage but also
alienate participants, while narratives based on profound dilemmas of
human life can generate space for participants to bring in their personal
and social interests and concerns.
The Wild Child drama lesson based on a feral child story reworked a classic
theme. Participants explicitly reflected on the intriguing nature of the
narrative. Its protagonist being on the border of human and animal triggered
many questions, thoughts and the imagination of participants. The role offered
to participants gave them a direct stake in dealing with this ambiguous state
of being. These aspects offered the possibility of engaging in profound human
questions and trying to deal with them in situations.
3) Stories or moments can be considered extreme in relation to
the participants’ angle of connection. A situation becomes extreme for
participants because their concerns, fears, interests are reflected in what
has ‘gone wrong’ in the story.
Other aspects of working with an extreme story were also apparent from
the research. One of them was that it triggered questions and story building
from participants. The extremeness defines the story clearly as fiction for
the participants, and surprisingly offers safety as they clearly separate it
from ‘real life’ and handle it as fictional. In some cases extreme stories have
an alienating effect as well.
4) Objects offer a variety of possibilities when used in drama. They can
make space for bringing in participants’ interests and problems, or be
used to create gaps in meaning, or help in changing perspectives of
participants. The awareness of reference points in drama can enhance
the participants’ conscious use of objects and their understanding of
the art form.
There are a number of issues to be investigated further in the use of objects.
Among many others there is a rich territory to be investigated about
the difference in using actual objects or iconic representations and what their
relationship is to the everyday culture of the participants.
5) Contemporary social problems and issues are recognised easily in
the fictional world by the participants, but they can only be investigated
in depth if the underlying problems are manifested in the story in
striking images, situations, roles and objects that participants can
connect to or manipulate in situations.