Pouring in or Drawing out: Collective Drama Project on Bullying in Schools with pre-service Teachers

 In the Fall of 2002, eight Education students from the University of Prince Edward Island and myself researched the topic of “bullying in schools,” then we collectively developed and wrote a dramatic piece called Wasn’t Me!  In November and December 2002 we toured the thirty-minute dramatic and musical piece to all grade eight students on Prince Edward Island.  In the first part of this paper I discuss the process of researching and developing the play as a collective.  Playbuilding techniques (Tarlington & Michaels 1995), role drama concepts (Tarlington & Verriour 1991) along with Forum theatre (Boal 1979)  were methods used to approach the development and writing of the piece.  I also discuss how Joan MacLeod’s The Shape of a Girl (2001), a play that deals with teenage bullying, was influential in the development and writing stages.  In the second part I outline the content and form of the script and describe the forty-five minute post-production facilitation/debriefing led by the eight students after each performance.  Several school performances were videotaped during the tour; therefore, I show a few brief scenes to support my analysis of the production.  In the final section I investigate the nature of drawing out skills and ideas from within the group of teachers versus pouring in or imposing my so called expertise of drama.  I examine how my role as guide and facilitator (versus director) allowed the teachers to develop and create the piece themselves. Finally, I examine how the skills of teaching can be transferred to developing and presenting a dramatic script and vice versa.