Workshops I participated in and observed

Workshop- Bullying

On 9th January 2017 the workshop myself and the group took part in was about bullying. There was good parts of the workshop which myself and my group will take on board. However there was areas of the workshop that needed to be worked on further. For example, overall the facilitators in the workshop gave us all plenty of opportunities to feedback on what we learnt and found interesting in the activities we participated in. It was very good to have those opportunities for reflection so this will be something that my group and I will put into our final workshop. Another good part of the workshop was the activity where we all wrote down good and bad names people can be called. This was really good to do as it got everyone thinking what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour in a school environment and in life generally. What was good about this activity was the fact that the facilitators linked it back to the theme of bullying and explained to us all that calling people negative names seriously or as part of banter can have a negative effect on other people.

However at times the instructions the facilitators gave was not clear enough which meant that members of the group misunderstood the activity set out to them. This was especially evident in the activity where we all had to move to a part of the room if we agreed or disagreed with a statement. There was a lot of confusion on which part of the room was the 'agree' and which part of the room was the 'disagree'. It is very important for facilitators to give clear and concise instructions because if they don't, the participants will not be focused on what they need to do and they will not get a lot out of the workshop. Also, it is not good if a facilitator does not give clear and concise instructions because this will tell participants that the facilitator does not know what they are doing, so this will result in the participants not trusting the facilitator.  

On 16th January 2017 I participated in two workshops. One of the workshops was about why reading is good for us. The other workshop was about identity and stereotypes. I will again talk about what went well in each workshop and what could be improved on.

Workshop- Why reading is good?

One good part of this workshop was the activity where we had to run around and do a freeze frame, I was unable to run in this activity as I was worried that I would bump into someone. The facilitators adapted the activity and said to me that I can stand still and do a freeze frame when Iv been asked to. It was very good that they tried to adapt the activity for me. In my group adapting activities for the Misfits is something that we would like to do as some of them are limited in their mobility. For example, if my group and I still want to keep some of the activities that involves walking around the space, we could let the participants know that they can sit down if they needed to and take part in the activity in the sitting position. 

Another good part of this workshop was when the general theme of why reading is good for us. At one point in the workshop the facilitators gave us participants the opportunity to feedback on what we learnt on the session or anything else we had to say. Also overall the facilitators were really enthusiastic and kept the energy going throughout the workshop.

However, in future the facilitators need to address each person by their name as this is more polite. Also as a visually impaired person, I was unable to tell if I was addressed or not. In addition to this,

if us participants need to be somewhere in an activity then the facilitators should give clear instructions on where we need to be instead of saying ‘go there’ as that is unclear to me where there is (This actually applied to everyone’s workshop I took part- not just this group) (this would benefit the likes of myself who is visually impaired).

Things to think about

Perhaps the facilitators could have explored with the participants the different forms of reading i.e. through audio, text, email etc as there are some readers that are unable to read just text.

Workshop- Identity and stereotypes

One good part of the workshop was when the facilitators gave out clear instructions to the participants i.e. asking us to create a scene of a stereotype and a counter-stereotype of a character. When the participants were stuck, the facilitator in each group gave us some ideas on the kinds of words to put down for each character. Also throughout the workshop, the facilitators always made sure that we all understood the activity before we got into the activity. This is something that my group and I want to include in our Seasons workshop. Another good part of the workshop was when the facilitators gave us time to reflect on our own experiences of being stereotyped. They also gave us the opportunity to feedback on what we felt went well in the workshop and what we felt needed to be improved on.

 

However t one point in the workshop it seemed as if  one of the facilitators did not know what to say before an activity. This definitely showed, even though one of the facilitators came in with what to say.  

Part 2: Seasons Workshop overview and final Evaluation in preperation for the real workshop with the Misfits

Workshop Overview
Introduction

For the second half of the Applied Theatre module, I will document and evaluate my own and my groups progress in creating and adapting our Seasons Workshop for the Misfits. I will also discuss what went well in the other groups workshops and how we can take into consideration those good points and put it into the Seasons Workshop.
 

Description of the workshop's client group, structure and intended journey- What is the Seasons Workshop?

My group and I came up with the idea of creating a 2 hour workshop which explores all the seasons throughout the year. We wanted to cater it to the Misfits, who has learning and additional disabilities. They are a lively bunch who likes to express themselves and perform, so we wanted to put these qualities into good use. In order to do this our initial ideas was to include a lot of games such as tickle murder (adapted from wink murder), walking around the room and represent the seasons through movement, create movement pieces of each season, the opposite game, soundscapes and a final performance to show to the rest of the group. We thought of these games as we would like each participant from the Misfits to enjoy themselves, think about different traditions and events that happens in each season, the environment and weather of each season and generally to go on their own personal journey of discovery.

 

Where this workshop fits within the wider world of applied theatre practice
Applied theatre is a broad term for different kinds of theatre that is performed in non traditional settings. Applied theatre challenges and questions social and political issues through performances and workshops in order to hopefully promote some form of positive change to the world. Our Seasons workshop fits within the wider world of applied theatre practice as we are going to work with the Misfits and help them to express their ideas of the seasons in different ways through speech, sounds and movements which will then hopefully empower them to create and participate in more performances. This will then hopefully challenge societies views on people with learning and multiple disabilities and make them think about this more differently. Drama in general is a great tool in helping people to gain and increase their confidence, communication and other life skills. It is also a gateway to different subject areas and information so my group and I will be promoting these areas in the Seasons workshop   

Key theories that informed the development of your workshop (e.g. Freire, Boal, Mantle of the Expert etc) Explain the theory, with references, and how it specifically connects with your workshop
The key theory that partly informed the development of our workshop was Boal's 'Theatre of the Oppressed' because our target audience which is adults with learning and multiple disabilities are classed as the minority of people who are oppressed from society. For the workshop my group and I want to facilitate, we want to give this target audience the opportunity to discuss and perform their ideas in a safe space where they feel they are listened to. We as a group are not planning to guide the target audience to rehearse their skills and ideas to directly change societies views, instead we want to promote and enhance their confidence, communication, team building and other essential life skills so then they can go out into the world and no longer be those that are oppressed as people will not view them as this.

It is not just societies responsibility to change their views and make active decision to ensure those minorities are not oppressed, it is also the responsibility for those minorities to make changes so they no longer be the oppressed.  

This theory will be discussed in my later post on the rehearsal diary as it makes more sense to be discussed there.

Analysis of your own practice as a facilitator in the workshop (final practise with peers) 
Personal Evaluation of Workshop- Peer and personal observations

Overall I was very enthusiastic and bouncy as a facilitator. This was evident when I facilitated the patting up and down warm up. I used different words like 'clapping' to show everyone what to do. Another good part of this workshop was that when it came to the exercise of creating movements of our chosen season, I reminded the group I worked with to not be inappropriate in the workshop as one participant used inappropriate language. During this exercise I also reminded my small group that everyone has different views and experiences of different seasons and that this is okay.

However, at times the group I was working with on this particular activity was not focused on the task of creating 4 images of the season. In the future I need to be able to identify when participants are going off focus and then quickly bring back the focus and remind them to keep focused on the task and the workshop. To achieve this I need to use my sense of hearing more as I am unable to identify the visual side of things due to my visual impairment. Also I need to pay attention on when my group and I move on to the next activity and I need to be clear in myself what the activity involves, as I was unclear on what the movement of the seasons exercise involved, so I was not professional as a facilitator at this point. In future, this situation can be prevented if my group and I had more rehearsal time and meetings. Also this situation can be prevented if I use my hearing more and concentrate on what I can hear around me.

As I have a visual impairment, my job as a facilitator is more challenging than everyone else as I do not have enough sight to be able to pick up on visual cues. I have to work harder than everyone else as I have to use my listening skills more. If I use my listening skills more, I will know instantly when my group and I move on to the next activity, if participants are struggling with a particular task, if participants are not focused on a task or if anyone requires my help. As a partially sighted person, I have the tendency to try and use the sight I have to try and see what is going on around me. However, by doing this, I make myself and my eyes get tired as I try to concentrate on the visual side of things constantly. instead of focusing on the hearing side of things. I need to put all of my concentration and energy into what I can hear around me. I will be a better facilitator if I use the senses I have, rather than the senses I don't have.