The following study explores the importance of the role that a drama leader plays throughout the youth theatre production. Therefore, this paper focuses on explaining the theoretical background to reveal and examines the meaning and value by analyzing...
The following study explores the importance of the role that a drama leader plays throughout the youth theatre production. Therefore, this paper focuses on explaining the theoretical background to reveal and examines the meaning and value by analyzing a case study.
Children and Youth could feel the fun and pleasure of making plays through creative drama. Youth theater has a goal of performing in front of the audience, it could give tension and burden to the children and youth as the participants. However, when I first participated in the creating process of youth theater, my perception of youth theater changed through the appearance of children and youth who face their limitations. I think that it is very important for youth theater to communicate with the audience through the play that children and youth freely challenge, experiment and make as the subject of creation. For this, I thought that children and youth should be located at the center of the creating process in youth theatre. Based on this recognition, I participated as a drama leader in the youth theater ‘Twin with a lump in their faces’ which is centered on Changgeuk.
A youth theater production, much like creative drama, is process orientated. However, unlike creative drama, youth theater production presents more complexities because it involves an audience, and accordingly needs to consider the experiences of both the participants and the audience. The essence of the youth theatre production process is to find a balance between the progress and outcome, and the leader is a critical artist who can guide the participants to achieve this. Bearing these in mind, I have taken part in a youth theatre production ‘Twins with lumps on their faces’ of National Theatre of Korea’s <Changgeuk Academy>.
The theatrical thinking and behaviour based on if and make-believe, the basis of creative drama, are significant factors in youth theatre. The leader plays a vital role in youth theatre by encouraging young people to continue to make creative progress. The leader motivates the participants to develop creative drama into playmaking, and then into a full-scale play. The outcome, the full-scale play, reflects the experiences and improvements that the participants made throughout the process.
The most crucial part of the youth theatre-making is the rehearsal process, where all the work and developments made earlier in the process brought together to make it presentable for the stage, and only after this process, can youth theatre productions constitute an intricate art. The leader needs to ensure the participants understand that the transition from the participant-focused process to the audience-focused process is to improve the quality of the production and that they should not feel left out. The role of the leader expands here to guide the participants to produce a full-scale play.
The leader’s involvement in youth theatre urges the other participating artists to have a fresh perspective over the entire production process. These artists offer various opportunities for the participants to challenge further and experiment more throughout the production process, and this amplifies the artistic experiences of the participants. Being on the stage facing the audience is also a challenging moment for the participants. This series of challenges makes youth theatre productions original. Considering this context, the participation of leaders is essential in youth theater, and the unique value and meaning of youth theater is highlighted through the role of leader.