The dramatist can play a unique role in drama in education. Yet how many schools and colleges involve living dramatists? If one of the main purposes of drama in education is educating pupils in dramatic art then surely this includes exposure to living dramatists. After all it is the dramatist's job of work to transcend and make sense of human experience by rendering it dramatically in a meaningful way. In the public theatre the realisation by actors and directors of the dramatist's vision is communicated to an audience. Public theatre however does not have a monopoly. The field of drama in education can be enriched by the work of living dramatists and by the active presence of dramatists in schools, colleges and adult training centres. However very few playwrights are approached through the Arts Council Writers in Schools Scheme compared to the many poets and prose writers who are asked into schools. Why? Are prose and poetry viewed as proper literature while playwrighting is different? Or is it because drama is the Cinderella of the school curriculum- barely included if indeed it features at all?

An understanding of drama springs from active engagement with the art form. As Michael Fleming states in his book The Art of Drama Teaching "There has been more acceptance of the fact that development in understanding drama (including the use of drama across the curriculum) arises through participation in the art form: education in and through drama complement each other". Yet how many schools and colleges exist where students are being educated in dramatic art?

If we do not want drama to be simply a fashionable extra which pupils must pay for in their spare time then some major changes need to take place. Involving dramatists would be a start and a move that could bring fresh insight and enrichment. Fleming indicates the potential of such insight for drama teaching and mentions several approaches used by dramatists, e.g. 'the play within the play' and the way 'minor characters' are paradoxically brought closer to the original subject by being distanced through time and frame from it. He states "This can be illustrated by the thinking that underpins the 'mantle of the expert' approach also pioneered by Dorothy Heathcote. It has affinities with the notion of 'minor characters' in that it takes an oblique approach to its subject matter".

One reason why drama as an art form is so powerful is that it always takes place in the present. A time shift invariably involves a change in frame. It is always now in drama. Pupils can learn from dramatists to think in a non linear way and can discover that dramas need not conform to "Breakfast-Dinner-& Tea" type sequences of events similar to those in 'real life'. Drama is not real life. However the fact that pupils can adapt to drama very naturally and the capacity they have for creative play may mask the extent to which their skills need to be developed and the degree of structures they require in their work. Fleming tells us that "Some of the early drama in education approaches relied exclusively on 'living through' improvisations. These happened at life pace, had unknown outcomes and the meaning was negotiated during the process. Such experiences when they worked well, provided an extraordinary degree of emotional engagement and excitement through their immediacy. However because there was less explicit emphasis on making drama, the implicit message was to deny drama as an artificial, fictional 'construct' ".

Drama that is carefully crafted and constructed is more likely to have the potential for irony. Yet perhaps due to a huge focus on the importance of process - particularly in the area of Youth drama - much of this potential is lost. Thankfully the false dichotomy between process and product is gone. However it is still a source of bewilderment to some when hugely enjoyable drama workshops lead to commendable performances of mediocre work.

Playwrights may be asked to 'script' plays from workshops where the social interaction and exuberance of the group is the primary aim. Sometimes these playwrights bang their heads against the wall trying to put shape on the violently energetic bursts, or often senseless meanderings that can pass for drama.

Writing a play is a very risky business. At least with bungee jumping you are sure to be attached at some level to someone or something that will ensure your safety. Writers who have tried all forms of writing generally acknowledge playwrighting to be the most arduous. Putting it on the page is one thing but getting it on the stage - now there's the rub! No wonder playwrights welcome commissions where the work will see the light of day in comparison to the lottery of submitting plays to theatres.

Schools in general do not commission new work from playwrights. End of term productions tend to rely on classics and the old favourites. While acknowledging that freedom to choose a particular play rests with teachers it is becoming clear that in schools dead playwrights are more alive than living ones. Yet plays that are specially commissioned can be tailored to the needs of the pupils taking into account such factors as physical mobility, mental agility and literacy skills. Writers are usually helpful if contacted about one of their plays . Obviously permission must be sought from playwrights to perform their work and before rehearsals begin is the time to do this. Apart from matters of copyright and courtesy much useful discussion can take place at this stage. Not only can the teacher who is producing the play gain from this but more importantly the pupils can learn from the writer something about the work of playwrighting itself and this play in particular. Most playwrights will do their best to come to the performance out of respect for the work. It is intriguing to see different productions of the same play and always exciting to see a new play performed.

In a Primary school, where the children who came from a deprived area had no previous experience of drama, a teacher contacted me to ask for a play. I adapted The Sealwoman & The Fisher , one of my one act plays, using narrative alternating with scenes of mime/movement and dance. This enabled the teacher to work within the children's capacity and where possible stretch their potential. The piece was translated into Irish which gave another dimension to the experience. The play sparked off a lively interest in seals that spread throughout the school, leading to art, writing and nature projects. I have since worked with the same teacher and adapted another play for the same age group of children.

Remedial drama is an aspect of drama in education that requires skilful leaders to make it work. However drama is used remarkably little with remedial groups in ordinary schools or in special schools. There can be an understandable reluctance for those working in this area to engage in drama. As Sue Jennings points out "Harm has been done in the past where drama was used with disturbed/maladjusted groups without sufficient forethought". While improvisations can encourage spontaneous engagement in drama there is a real risk by working in this way of blurring the distinction between the reality and the fiction. However she stresses that in remedial drama "Attitude of the drama leader is what matters. The difficulty facing the leader is to strike a balance between working freely within a structure that is flexible but secure, and doing drama to a rigid formula. The temptation to create structures is great but a session is more rewarding when we are able to provide the stimulus and then step back to encourage and develop what spontaneously occurs. The leader must be able to tune in to the changing needs of the group".

Drama activities help children and adults with special needs to make sense of their lives and to develop self esteem. Most especially in drama for people with special needs is it necessary for the leader to make it safe for the group to be creative so that the drama process can be worked through. As Ann Cattanach states "Too much structure, no stimulation, means no interaction between group and leader, just going through the motions. Too much stimulation and no clear structure means high levels of anxiety and a desire by the group to discharge tension as quickly as possible so that response is fight or flight and the work is set aside". The leader needs to find ways of working that will ensure a measure of self affirmation for group members through their creative efforts.

For some reason - probably due to a lack of imagination- it has been felt 'helpful' in the past to foist special issue games/short dramas on people with special needs e. g. a 'blindness play' for the blind etc. Thankfully things have moved on. However in this country it was not until 1990 that for the first time a play that did not deal with deafness was performed before a theatre audience of deaf people and hearing people with a teacher for the Deaf interpreting beside the stage.

Too often in schools the study of dramatic texts is a sedentary process confined to the English department. Action and improvisation, which can exclude the exploration of texts, are considered to belong to drama. A false divide is introduced .This need not be so. Ruth Foster points out in Knowing In My Bones " The exploration of a text by a dramatist of quality can be an enlarging and exhilarating experience, especially if it emerges naturally from all that has gone before, so that the children are not flattened by the encounter with the written word but can get if off the page, mastering its rhythms, responding to its images and penetrating its meaning. Above all the readiness to respond to another's text must be such that the inner impulse is not quenched, but emerges as the word in action. This means that the children not only make the dramatist's words their own, but they have to receive and respond to his words spoken by others" .

Access is a buzzword for the arts. There is great focus at present on the need for everyone to have access to and participation in the arts. Several vigorous initiatives have been set up to fulfil this objective including CAFE (creative activity for everyone) at the City Arts Centre. Indeed the centre is to be praised for plunging in and tackling arts matters head on. However it may be found that here as elsewhere the promotion of self expression is to the fore. Where drama is concerned this can produce a tendency to consider making a play as pure self expression. "After all" this school of thought goes "a play is just conversation between real people so all you have to do is jot down what people say and Bob's your uncle!". Another fallacy that can cause havoc is the conviction that "If it happens/happened it's true. If it's true (real life) it's art". What is often forgotten is the fact that while art cannot exist without self expression, not all self expression leads to art.

With the present exposure to so much film and tv, it is hardly surprising if the replication of real life is considered to be the purpose of drama as an art form. Many dramatists however do not have naturalistic representation as a main aim. By using various methods, such as taking a step out of 'real time' features characterising real life encounters can be set aside in order to show aspects of behaviour in relief and to explore life experiences in more depth. As Fleming puts it " Reality comes under conscious control in drama. It works paradoxically by revealing complexities through simplification. The fact that drama is 'unreal' is essential to the way it works as art and the full implications of this have not always been appreciated in drama teaching".

Drama in education can extend to the whole community. There access to and participation in drama can be greatly fostered by the commissioning of a play by a living dramatist. To quote Ann Jellicoe "The play is the structure that allows everything else to happen". In communities where under the banner of a 'real' play professional and amateur theatre practitioners unite with members of the community who may have little or no experience of stagecraft the process can be most enriching. Through a sharing in the creative activity generated by the commissioned play people come together to celebrate a sense of place. In such a set up there is respect for the writer and the text. As Ann Jellicoe states "The play is a totality which begins with the writer, a creative artist, and the work must not be altered without the writer's consent. A play is a compass and every artistic decision is taken with reference to it. If you monkey about with the text you destroy your faith in the compass and the play may begin to drift. A fine skilful writer composes exactly to the smallest preposition and the most insignificant comma and everything leads to the final dramatic statement". Part of the benefit that comes from a community play is the celebratory nature of the enterprise. However there is a misconception that as long as members of the community get an opportunity to perform in front of their neighbours then that is the highest level of achievement possible. I reject this goal as unimaginative, patronising and not reaching far enough to stretch the potential of the participants. It is to equate the community play with a Kindergarten Christmas play attended by proud parents. (I do not intend here to decry the value of the latter.) It is important for the community play to set standards of Artistic merit and that involves the play itself as well as the production. As Ann Jellicoe writes "If you have a poor play it is still possible to end up with a success in community terms, but not in artistic terms. A great deal of self congratulations will tell you that you have done well but this is to descend to the lowest level of amateur dramatics- it is a form of self indulgence and self-display".

The following examples from my experience may help illustrate the dramatist's role in drama in education projects. In both examples a commissioned play was the central focus and sustaining force of the project. A fully written script was available at the first rehearsal. Naturally the work of directors, workshop tutors, cast and crew was central to the realisation of the text into performance. No dramatist can claim that a script simply produces itself. In one case prisoners were given the opportunity to experience dramatic art in and through drama outside the prison. In the community project children and adults joined with theatre professionals to celebrate their locality from 1209 -1988.

When I was commissioned to write a play for EXIT (Prisoners' Theatre), I had no preconceived ideas about the script beyond a determination not to write a docudrama about prison life. I knew something of this life as previously I had worked as a drama and writing tutor in Mountjoy and Arbour Hill Prisons. In both prisons I had also performed with prisoners in O'Casey's plays including his first play, A Pound On Demand, which was the first production at Arbour Hill.

The commissioned play was to be performed for 1983 Dublin Theatre Festival at Focus Theatre and directed by Claire Wilson who had formed EXIT. It would be the first time in the history of the state that prisoners were allowed out to perform in public. The performers were inexperienced and the script would be required in six weeks time when rehearsals started. The project excited me but time was in short supply. I would have to start immediately on the first draft. About what? It was easier to find what to eliminate than what to include. Naturalistic scenes of the usual prison antics with the prisoners "playing themselves" were out. That kind of thing is the stuff of reportage. Sensational exposés aimed to shock were also out. And no I would not write a play that would reinforce their lives as prisoners. But what would I write about? The first image that sprang to mind was that of a lone boxer in sunrise yellow shorts practising punches, feinting, brimful of energy. When an image followed of another lone boxer, his opponent, in shorts of royal purple, I sensed a dramatic situation between a King of the Ring and a Young Pretender. I visualised both boxers highlighted in their separate worlds, isolated until the Big Fight. There would be no set. The Ring itself would be conjured up by the boxing referee who would inscribe the outline with chalk. Larry, trainer to Tornado Tom, would tamper with the outline which could be transfigured into a fluorescent strip for the fight. A boxing theme would suit the energy of the actors and if the fight was stylised hopefully no one would be injured on stage. The rhythms of the Ring would drive the play, with the fight as a dance, in its own way symbolic of the dance of life. The play could start with a song "King of the Ring" to set the scene and bring the inexperienced actors on stage at once and all together. If needed the song could be played on tape or the words recited in unison but live singing would be better. I discussed my ideas and the script's progress with Claire who was enthusiastic and also keen to start casting. The fact that some of the actors had reading problems provoked me to find a punchy language for the script which I wrote as comic strip cartoon e.g. "Zap! Pow! " & " Fight fight! Get it right! To the left and to the right! Who's the champion of the night?". After six weeks the script was completed and when it had been read by the actors and rehearsals were underway I was invited to come in to Mountjoy. At rehearsals there was an exuberance and sense of purpose allied to hard work. The actors liked the play and at one rehearsal I drummed out the tune of "King of the Ring" on the piano while they sang the words. Soon the project began to take on a life of its own and walking along corridors I would come across prisoners washing the floor who were chanting " Fight fight! Get it right! To the left and to the right! ".

Using boxing as a metaphor for Life, Fancy Footwork explores the savage manipulations of the Ring. The play's four male characters are Tornado Tom, Larry his trainer, Billy the referee and Joe, the young challenger. Marguerite, girlfriend to Joe and sister to Billy, is the only female character, and this role was played by Fidelma O'Dowda. The rhythms of the Ring drive the play and a key speech is spoken by the Billy the ref when he is alone on the stage.

(EXTRACT from Fancy Footwork)

BILLY

(alone on stage) Practice makes perfect and may the best man win! (pauses, then confidentially) Winning isn't everything. I know that now. The fight is all. And the crowd. It's magic! Your feet no longer on the ground. You're lifted up, up in the air, flying high. When the crowd is with you you're a king! - How to satisfy and excite them, give them a good hard fight - that's what makes it for me. Oh yes! There's more to it than winning. I used to think that was all (pace becomes urgent) Beat the other guy into a pulp - not know when to stop - the sound of cheers - mingled with the blood - pounding in your ears - the roars of the crowd- mixed with your heartbeat - ears full of sound - mouth tasting blood - so you couldn't see - or hear - or feel - lashing out at the other fellow - pounding pounding pounding - keep the punches coming - till your fist was one huge pulse - beating out the pounding of your blood - deafened by the message in your ears - telling you to keep it up, keep it up, KEEP IT UP (sudden pause, then quiet) And then the punches started coming from him (relentless) coming coming coming - pounding pounding pounding - till someone told you it was over - and suddenly, the cheering and the blood - pounding in your ears - spurted over your eyes and nose - washing out all your senses (sudden pause, then quiet) and it was over (pauses) Afterwards the Ma said "No more, he'll be dead or punch drunk" (sighs) So I left off fighting. Only I couldn't leave the Ring - the crowd - the excitement - the magic!

There was general enthusiasm for this speech particularly from the actor who was playing Billy. However when he had difficulty learning the lines I offered to cut or rewrite the speech but the play's director, artistic director William Styles (by kind permission of RTÉ) and the performer concerned, were opposed to this suggestion. To everyone's delight the actor rose to the challenge and delivered the speech word perfect to a packed house.

Prison authorities and staff were most supportive to the project. Great care was taken to focus on artistic, cultural and social aspects of the project. As the performers were from the Training unit in Mountjoy and still carrying out their sentences it was important that they were not subjected to unwelcome press intrusion. The Theatre Festival's director was determined that the prisoners would be fully integrated into the Festival and provided tickets for the other shows. While the packed houses may have brought some onlookers who wanted to see prisoners "in action" the warm response to the production was significant and the whole project was deemed an unqualified success. It was a huge undertaking on all levels including security. One of the actors did escape - not till after the last performance - and gave himself up the following day.

The experience was unique in every way. As a dramatist it gave me the opportunity to write a commissioned play that not only served its purpose but went on to be professionally performed in London at The King's Head and continues to be played on the Amateur circuit.

As part of a Summer project for children in Ranelagh I was asked to give drama workshops. Some time later I was commissioned to write a play for the Ranelagh Millennium Project. It would involve the community and theatre professionals and would celebrate the area. Armed with historical research by Eileen ní Clerigh and Deirdre Kelly I set out to write the script. And there was so much to write about. The problem was what to leave out. I became imbued with a fascination for the leafy oaks of Cualann (Ranelagh) and the wild O'Tooles and O'Beirnes - plenty of parts there for enthusiastic performers. I choose a ring motif to link the years 1209 -1988. The Ring Of Mont de Balison traces the fate of lovers who wear a ring found near the Norman garrison at Mount Pleasant, formerly known as Mont de Balison. The scope of the play allowed for diversity of language styles- from Norman soldiers, Lords and Ladies of Ranelagh Gardens, up to 1988.

We held workshops in Ranelagh which were taken by the play's director, choreographer and drama tutors. A completed script was given out at the first rehearsal. This meant that people could be secure about the play and the script from the word go. Rehearsals took place in the local hall and youth club with smaller scenes being rehearsed at our house. A special feature of the play is the music which is delightfully elegant, witty and proud. When the composer Andrew Robinson and his young string quartet came to rehearsals we got a real sense of Ranelagh Gardens, of the bloody battle of Cullenswood and of ' Beating The Bounds'. From the outset we were clear that we wanted the highest quality of work and also that the play would focus on the community on artistic, social and cultural levels. We involved local cubscouts and schools and invited the old folks and youth club members to join us. We knew that anyone can initiate a community play but that it needs drive to see it through. Once the project took hold of everyone's imagination we were off on a perilous but terrifically challenging journey. The exuberance of the performers allied to the dedicated enthusiasm of director, composer, & choreographer made for an enriching experience. I was delighted to see our local poet/performer Macdara Woods striding the centuries - as the Duke of Ormonde in the bloody battle of Rathmines - and as himself in 1988 reading from his poem Stopping The Lights, Ranelagh

Everyone helped. Sponsorship was sought, costumes were made or borrowed and Archbishop Simms kindly loaned his robes. A local schoolboy made a map of Ranelagh while Deirdre Kelly provided an old one of the area. Music and dance advisors were generous with their time and expertise and we were delighted when the Millennium Lord Mayor, Alderman Carmencita Hederman, agreed to perform in the play as herself.

As the project progressed there was a high level of excitement present. We issued invitations on scrolls tied with red ribbons. These were delivered in person by an actor in costume to such places as City Hall. When the Lord Mayor invited us to the Mansion House we paraded in costume through St. Stephen's Green and down Grafton St.

A proclamation was made by Deirdre Kelly on vellum type paper and each performer was handed a copy by the Lord Mayor as part of the final scene of the play.

Example of Proclamation:

+ Let it be Known +

that on the 10th day of June in the

Millennium year of 1988

*________________________________

did truly celebrate the hamlet of

Cualann

by a performance in the play

"The Ring of Mont de Balison"

And did, with the Lord Mayor of Dublin City

Alderman Carmencita Hederman

Beat the Bounds in a true

Millennium Celebration of Cualann

(later known as Ranelagh)

in the Hall of St. Columba

near old Mount Pleasant formerly known as

Mont de Balison

Given by our hand **________________________________

The Rt. Hon. Lord Mayor of Dublin

The play was performed in St. Columba's Hall, Ranelagh, the site of Mont de Balison and also outdoors in Belgrave park, Rathmines. A video of the project provoked an invitation to perform the play at a theatre festival in Macon. As a dramatist I was happy with the level of work involved and felt a meaningful process had been initiated and followed through. Generally the project was considered a huge success. The problem was what to do next!

Drama has the power to make sense of and transcend "real life". It is the work of dramatists to compose works that do this in a meaningful way. It is up to our theatres to bring this work to the public through performance. Yet why should we deny schoolchildren and students the opportunity to experience through and in drama the dramatist's vision?. In post primary schools drama is starting to creep into the curriculum. Can we expect a welcome there for our living dramatists? Who knows? Only time will tell. Let us involve the dramatist with the educational process not as some fancy addition but as a vital part of drama in education. Only then can the dramatist's art be employed in that field as an enriching power.

Cattanach, Ann, 1996 Drama For People With Special Needs, A& C Black. Second Edition

Fleming, Michael, 1997 The Art of Drama Teaching, David Fulton Publishers Ltd.

Foster, Ruth, 1976 Knowing In My Bones, A & C Black

Gallagher, Miriam, 1997 Fancy Footwork, Selected Plays, Soc. Irish Playwrights. Second Edition

Jellicoe, Ann, 1987 COMMUNITY PLAYS How To Put Them On Methuen

Jennings, Sue, 1978 Remedial Drama, A & C Black

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