Dear Scenario readers,
This issue opens with an excerpt from Michael Ende’s novel Momo in our series “Texts around Theatre.”
It is followed by three articles that focus on dramatic texts from previous centuries. Everybody who wants to put plays on
stage with students or pupils is faced with the basic question of whether the theatre piece should be left in its original
form or be adapted to the expectations and background knowledge of today’s audiences. The contribution Rewriting ‘The Duchess of Malfi’: Adapting Webster’s Tragedy for an ESL Drama Production co-written by Fiona Dalziel, Anna Santucci and Giampaolo Spedo (Univerisity of Padua) shows how a dramatic text from 1614,
whose language presents a formidable challenge to students today, was successfully adapted by both teachers and students of
English as a Second Language.
This is the first time for SCENARIO to publish an article from an Israeli perspective: Wie Nathan der Weise nach Israel kam – Szenische Interpretation eines klassischen deutschen Dramas. The author, Brigitte Hahn-Michaeli (Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa) describes how she inspired students of science and engineering to become interested in Lessing’s classical “tolerance drama“ (1779/1783). Her successful drama pedagogical approach is also significant since Israel is the country where Lessing’s Nathan takes place and which, to this day, is overshadowed by religious and cultural conflict.
The article Shakespeare and Shareholders by Stefanie Giebert (FH Reutlingen, Germany) outlines an innovative theatre project in the course of which business students developed an interest in literature and theatre and, at the same time, language students got an introduction to business studies. The specifically chosen and adapted play (e.g. Macbeth became Macbiz) is an example of the productive interaction of theatre, foreign language studies, and content courses. The project was awarded the European Language Label in 2010.
These articles are followed by Birgit Oelschläger’s (Goethe Institute Berlin) contribution Ein Schülertheaterprojekt der Partnerschulinitiativen in Mittelosteuropa, focusing on school theatre projects with partner schools in Central and Eastern Europe (see the partner schools’ project homepage: http://www.pasch-net.de/mit/pkt/the/moe/deindex.htm). She points out that school theatre in German as a Foreign Language classes is already in operation at a low level (European Framework of Reference: A2) and explains how German then becomes the central means of communication during rehearsals.
In this issue Bara Dockalova initiates our new series “Window of Practice / Praxisfenster.” The purpose of this series is to present practical examples of “best performative teaching” for information and imitation, and we would like to invite similar reports for inclusion in future issues. SCENARIO readers who feel inspired to try out these activities in their own classrooms are encouraged to get in touch with the respective series authors to share experiences. We are also introducing the new series “Practitioners’ Voices – Stimmen aus der Praxis”. The first SCENARIO-conversation in this series is with the director of Wortspiel-Berlin, Sigrid Unterstab.
From time to time SCENARIO will introduce readers to the historical development and current state of drama and theatre pedagogy in different countries. Gerd Koch (Berlin) makes a start with an overview of Theatre Pedagogy in the Federal Republic of Germany.
This is followed by four reviews.
Manfred Schewe (University College Cork, Ireland) discusses Peter Lutzker’s The Art of Foreign Language Teaching (Tübingen: Francke 2007).
Barbara Schmenk (University of Waterloo, Canada) reviews the anthology Inszenierungen im Fremdsprachenunterricht, edited by Almut Küppers, Torben Schmidt and Maik Walter (Braunschweig: Diesterweg 2010).
Mary Noonan (University College Cork, Ireland) examines Joelle Aden’s An Intercultural Meeting Through Applied Theatre (Berlin: Schibri 2010).
Almut Küppers (University of Frankfurt a.M., Germany / Istanbul, Turkey) reviews the international study DICE which investigates the impact of drama and theatre pedagogy in schools. DICE has been supported by the European Union (Vol. 1: The DICE has been cast, Vol. 2: Making a World of Difference; Belgrade et al.: European Commission, The DICE consortium 2010).
At this point we would like to announce that the next issue of SCENARIO is going to be edited by Almut Küppers and Maik Walter. These two guest editors are the organisers of the working group “Theatre Work and Foreign Language Research” at the 14th annual DGFF conference in Hamburg (Sept. 28 – Oct. 1, 2011). SCENARIO readers should feel encouraged to participate. Please click here for detailed information.
Finally, we are pleased to announce that the look of SCENARIO has changed. The websites now come with a more reader-friendly format that makes referencing easier. We would like to thank Allan Tong and Peter Flynn for their outstanding work.
Wishing you all the best for a relaxing summer,
Susanne Even and Manfred Schewe