[“Do young people actively engage with issue based plays”]

By

Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

Contents

INTRODUCTION1

RESEARCH DESIGN2

LITERATURE SEARCH2

LITERATURE REVIEW3

Random3

Synergy5

Citizenship/ Pshe6

Issue Based Plays7

Images Of Learning7

What Is Critical Thinking?8

On The Move: Play + Learn = Grow9

Impact of Plays on Teenagers and Children10

Influence of Media12

The Necessity of Dramatic Activities to Create Awareness14

Theatre for Children15

CONCLUSION16

BIBLIOGRAPHY18

Introduction

Watching Random ignited thought and feeling inside me, when I walked into the performance space for the play 'Random', I wondered what to expect, just a little space boxed in by chairs surrounding it. How many actors, would there be, where the props were as there was nothing-on stage awaiting its actor? I had heard of synergy before and been to the indication of their play, 'Every coin has two sides'; I knew they worked closely with prisoners. However, this was different, and then as the lights dimmed I sat there, patiently waiting. A young woman walked in and, a spotlight lit her up, shortly into the performance, I felt myself attached to this young woman, as she described her day-to-day routine, I could immediately relate. By the end of the play I was in tears, I looked around the room, and I was not the only person upset by this play. After coming away from the theatre, I kept thinking over the play, thinking of the effects of knife crime and after investigating it, I discovered that it had been touring schools, PRUs, YOIs, and other organizations where youths were at risk. I have always had an enormous interest in how actively learning influences children, as the theatre always made me more incline to pay attention. This made me ponder on how synergy was adapting their skills of working with prisoners to then, taking a play and a workshop and touring, yet keeping in line with the curriculum, and somehow showing the after effects of such a horrific crime. Did this play have a lasting effect on its audience, the way it did me I wondered. Did it actively engage its audience? Is their other companies trying to have the same objective and is theatre in education an avenue one could go down, in order for 'issues' happening in society to be noticed.

I will be looking at how synergy has commissioned a play around the effects knife crime has on a family. I will be looking at what is an 'issue play', does it touch on citizenship. Thus, I will be investigating drama as an effective learning medium. In addition, is drama the very reason young people actively engage with issues that affect them and those around them?

Research Design ...