The magic of a toolbox : The Prague School in Theatre pedagogy: analysis, comprehension, creativity

In a Canadian general theatre studies or liberal arts program in which the majority of B.A. students are expected to simultaneously take classes in theatre practice and theory, including acting, directing, design, theatre history and dramaturgy, teaching and learning can be challenging. Often our students approach exercises in text and performance analysis as unnecessary or even as superfluous tasks which a practitioner can do without. The naiveté of this hostile attitude is not surprising, but what is interesting is how a system of structural text and performance analysis, specifically here regarding the category of space, can be used as a pedagogical strategy to wake up the student's imagination and eventually become a tool of the practitioner's creative work. In the following, I will describe how to use the analytical methodologies of drama and performance analysis as developed by Prague School theoreticians as a pedagogical strategy to harness creativity. My case study is a 4th year class – Practice of Dramaturgy – which I have taught at the Department of Theatre, University of Ottawa.