Dead ends in… Democracy: Tourtouri meets Pericles in the Country of the yellow hatted people

Athens, 24/11/2018, Workshop, Hara Lioliou

Dead ends in… Democracy: Tourtouri meets Pericles in the Country of the yellow hatted people

Athens, 24/11/2018

Hara Lioliou, drama/theatre pedagogue, theatre theoretician, Greece

Workshop 2,5 hours
Part of the 2018 ATHENS GREECE INTERNATIONAL THEATRE/DRAMA & EDUCATION CONFERENCE
organised by the Hellenic Theatre/Drama & Education Network (TENet-Gr)

Language: Greek

In this workshop a series of Drama in Education lessons will be presented, aimed for the 4th grade of Greek primary school (9-10 years old). Using Eugene Triviza’s play "The Snowman and the Girl", an excerpt of which students have already been taught through their 3rd grade textbooks, we are taking a further step: We follow Tourtouri, the main character of Trivizas’ story, to the “Country of the yellowhatted people". Using the story’s elements, we create a completely different story with a new character:Pericles - his parents named him after the famous ancient Greek politician - lives in this strange country. He has expressed doubts and hesitations about the country’s laws. His thoughts have now brought him in a very difficult situation. Do his friends share Pericles’ opinions? Does his mother understand his viewpoint? What about the local police officer? An "illegal" suitcase full of colourful clothes is left in a deserted house… Is Pericles in danger? Do such things happen in a democratic state?The answers to these questions differ, as each session of Drama in Education does. The progress of the story depends on the participants’ views and suggestions. Trying to answer the above questions the participants will examine the …dead ends of the story.Using techniques of Drama in Education, Role play, Improvisation, we will examine concepts of citizenship education such as: forms of power and government, law obedience, ethics, dilemmas and problem solving, moral issues, human relations, peer pressure. An interdisciplinary story is created, based on the educational aims of the 4th grade, combining the subjects of Drama Education, History, Environmental Studies and Language.The workshop is aimed at primary school teachers, drama teachers and those interested in making use of the Drama in Education in order to explore in depth chapters of the curriculum. Also aimed at teachers of all levels interested in coming into contact with the subject of Drama Education in Primary School and how it can enhance the content of other subjects in the curriculum.

Hara Lioliou is a drama pedagogue and a drama/theatre teacher. She possesses a PhD in Drama in Education, from Birmingham City University UK, a MEd. in Pedagogue from University of Western Macedonia, and a B.A. in Drama Department School of Arts, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She has presented papers in International (BERA, IDEA) and Greek conferences and seminars. She has taught different drama courses in Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Education, BA and MA. She has also taught drama in adult and teacher training, and in community art classes. She worked with Midland Actors Theatre in Birmingham UK, planning and applying Theatre in Education projects in local primary schools. She currently teaches Drama Education in primary schools of Thessaloniki and in National Theatre of Northern Greece.