Episode Four: Dark Whispers

By Author: Adela
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This is the most emotionally charged, and perhaps most controversial, of the episodes in the process drama. Once the classroom community has created a mutual belief in the characters, they must truly connect to the characters in an emotional as well as intellectual way. This exercise requires sensitive handling, clear directions and guidelines, and a safe space for all students.

Dark Whispers: Individuals who took the role of the protagonist in the tableaux are asked to sit together in the center of the room with eyes closed and just react to what they hear, without speaking. (Note: It is critical to explain that the exercise may raise some strong feelings and that anyone wishing to step out may do so.) The other students in the class become the negative voices that have pressured, taunted, or isolated the protagonist. These could be one-time voices or repeated sayings. These participants then circle the group in the center, whispering or shouting these lines. After a few moments, the whisperers are asked to focus on Breitling Bentley Replica ...
... one of the participants and talk only to that character. This builds to a crescendo, then stops. The facilitator then leads a discussion to debrief the feelings of both those in the center and those on the outside.

This is the episode highlighted at the beginning of this article, and is one that has led to many discussions and debates with fellow educators and preservice teachers who have participated in variations of this workshop about the potential risk of drama work in the classroom. Invariably, the activity evokes a passionate response. This is the intent. Process drama work is inherently risky. It is unscripted and charged. But it is also a metaphoric and fictional creation that permits a layer of safety. Paula Ressler echoes this, saying, "One of drama's greatest assets is that it provokes the expression of a range of emotions in a relatively safe environment. It makes people laugh and cry, feel and think". This holistic experience, which engages thought, feeling, and physicality, can enable a truly satisfying educational experience and one that connects the students with the LGBT characters of their upcoming readings. The added quality of the emotional engagement draws the students into a sympathetic understanding of the experiences of the characters involved in that dilemma, as highlighted by Kelly's experience noted at the beginning of this article. Laura verifies this as she explains that she was put off by the subject, but then came to experience more and more connection and understanding of the factors that can affect the individual. "I found myself no longer wanting to hate or distrust them, just to understand them."

It was also critical to debrief the experience of those providing the harsh voices, the power of the "mob mentality" to make saying hurtful things easier. The facilitator must problematize all aspects of the experience to gain the richest possible understanding. When investigating the treatment of LGBT youth in the high school setting, and to understand the literature and to empathize with the characters, it becomes necessary to investigate the nature of the isolation and oppression of these youth. The experience of giving in to social pressure, as Kelly's comment indicates, often becomes fully realized in this activity. Participant who are initially Tag Heuer Replica Watches uncomfortable and hesitate to say these harsh words, once they become part of a larger group doing the same, usually become increasingly bold and aggressive as the activity goes on. Karen said of the university workshop, "It wasn't until we talked about the activity that I even realized what I had been doing. I got caught up in the energy of it."