Creative theater class inspires kids
A gesture is worth 1,000 props - Dramatist shuns trappings
Photo by Tom Wolfe
The story-telling over, University students from Rosa Marquez's “Creative Drama" class lead Hamlin
Junior High students in a follow-up exercise where they pretend to be earthworms. Earlier they were
birds, fish and mute humans. Marquez says her theater techniques can be used to teach students
about traditional school studies in addition to theater.
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By TUM WULrE
Of the Emerald
Using theater to encourage social and academic develop
ment in children is one innovation of the art, but not the only
application Rosa Marquez pursues in her non-matriculating
“Creative Drama” class offered at the University.
Marquez and her students practice “poor theater”—working
without aid of costumes, set or a stage. “We are process-oriented
and use our bodies as the tool to express a story,” explains the
instructor.
The heavy reliance on bodily expression is similar to mime,
but with some variation. Sometimes the actors replace word
dialogue with a random utterance of numbers that convey the
tone and form of speech without letting actual words interfere.
Several of Marquez’s creative drama students are theater
majors trying to enhance their acting skills, but many more are
education or recreation majors hoping to use drama as a teaching
tool.
Marquez says she finds drama an engaging activity which
can be used to relax people and loosen inhibitions especially in
junior high or high school students.
“Through life most of us wear a mask, or have some pattern
of behavior we fall into. Creative drama can help students de
velop another side of themselves."
“Many times we stifle kids and don’t allow them to express
themselves — drama techniques encourage an openness which
can still be controlled by someone leading the group,” she says.
Marquez believes the dramatic techniques she teaches can
be used as a tool for teaching subjects as diverse as history,
math, sciences and language: “You can have kids act out histori
cal events or develop a cell model using students as the parts.
This way students can take an active interest in the subject
through their own involvement,” she says.
In addition, Marquez finds that creative drama integrates the
arts—music, dance and mime especially—while providing good
exercise.
Marquez plans to continue her course next term and will offer
it Saturday mornings as a non-matriculation course, Theater
407G.