Hear from previous Dramatic Need volunteers.
Michelle Marrion, New York, USA
Liz, my fellow volunteer from London, and I taught drama and photography workshops respectively at Naledi Ya Masa primary school near the border of Botswana and St. Catherine’s primary school in Bapong.
All of the students were sweet as suckers, and excited about their visitors. At St. Catherine's the kids spoke better English, were more urbanized and harder to impress than the kids of Sesobe who had grown up on farms. My month in Sesobe taught me a great deal about what the kids responded best to and absorbed the most, so although we had double the students, and half the time at St. Catherine's, in many ways we moved much faster. St. Catherine's also armed us with the help of excited teachers who, unlike some of the Sesobe teachers, had cars or easy access to transportation that allowed them to stay the whole day at school. At each school we culminated the workshops with a community photo exhibit and drama presentations.
When I would finish teaching earlier than Liz, I'd sometimes peek through the classroom windows, glimpsing vignettes of kids animating themselves in circles, miming, dancing, and acting out scenarios. The teachers were shocked to see some kids, who failed to participate in academic classes coming to life, dancing exuberantly and participating during the drama exercises. One child in Bapong wrote Liz a letter, saying how much she loved drama and how she felt so special that we had wound up at her school. The teachers at St. Catherine were particularly excited and active in our classes, which made the process easier. They lamented that we could not have scheduled a longer stay. The vice principal commented that she now realized how different children respond to different stimuli, and that she will incorporate some of these exercises in the future. During the miming exercises, some of them improvised scenarios from their home lives where family members were sick, or drinking excessively. All of us were taken aback. Of all the things a little kid's imagination could conjure up to mime in a fun exercise, this is what was foremost in their minds. Everyone was excited about the potential therapeutic affects these exercises could have on the children.
Sister Gerard, our home stay mother, always had many questions about what we were doing with the children, and looked at us inquisitively as we schlepped back after school with the giant poster paper, cardboard, plexiglass, and photo equipment we used from day to day.
One afternoon during tea, she looked curiously at my pile of supplies becluttering her tidy countertop. I asked her if she would like me to show her what we’ve been doing in class that week. She nodded, and I taught her how to make a sun print: She picked out flowers and leaves from her well kept garden, fashioned her design, sandwiched it with the plexi, and exposed it to light for a minute or so. I then slipped it into a basin of water, and as her latent image took form on the blue paper she was captivated. As I removed it she saw clearly that a photograph had formed, and she gasped.
"Oh, Michelle. It's wonderful. I want to do it with all the sisters!" I carefully handed it to her, and as she held it up, light from the window shone through it. She seemed somewhere else, as she traced the shapes with her delicate fingertips. With seemingly newfound understanding she said, "I've been wondering, how can photography be a profession?! And what are you teaching the children? But now I see. It's creative. It's beautiful."
Miranda Egan Langley, Dublin, Ireland
As a drama facilitator I have always been incredibly interested in the impact of the arts in vulnerable communities. My primary focus of work has been in theatre for development or theatre in conflict zones so when I heard from a friend about a charity called Dramatic Need I was immediately intrigued. After some research I discovered that the organisation was primarily based in South Africa, working with some of the most challenging rural communities in the country. It did not take me long to send in an application form.I was paired with Kirsten Tootell, an art teacher who has also worked in drama. Theatre being my main area of focus we decided to split our work into two separate entities, Kirsten focusing on art and myself on drama, collaborating all along and team working where possible. We both worked towards our objective to create an end product which could be then displayed to the rest of the school as a means of creating a conclusive end to our project.
It is imperative that the impact of ones work in these communities is one that can be recognised by both the school itself and the students, one that is lasting rather then transient. Although working towards a product we were allowing the learners to feel that they had accomplished something, something that they themselves had ownership of, it was also necessary to reiterate our long term intentions in relation to the content of our work.
In obtaining what the learners had focused on with, previous volunteers, it was possible for us then to establish a sense of continuity in their work. We also attempted, as much as possible to adhere to the needs of the school curriculum, because through creating an artistic medium for young people to express themselves, we are also providing an incredible tool for education. Of course this process was not necessarily a smooth ride, and as always, intentions and objectives will change throughout the process, however the learners were consistently engaged, focused and eager to participate. Themes varied from different age groups, from female emancipation and knife crime to animal stories in the jungle.
Our aim was to enable these children to realise their voice, whether that be up on stage in front of twenty to thirty people, or through painting their inner thoughts quietly at a desk. For both us there were many moments of fulfilment, from little year twos acting out their Meer cats in front of the whole school, to older year sevens recreating a violent gang scene.
One such important moment was watching a young girl perform on stage in front of her whole school. We had been told before we began the project that this girl had only recently joined and that she barely spoke. She had come from an extremely rural area and was not used to other people. When asked a question she had a tendency to burst into tears. Watching her up on stage, speaking loudly and confidently, pushing her boundaries then perhaps she may ever have anticipated was certainly a special moment.
It is through organisations like Dramatic Need that young people of these communities are finding their voice, and thus the long term impact of such work will no doubt be immense, changing the face of future generations to come.
Kate Douglas, New Jersey, USA
Volunteered with Dramatic Need in the North West Province, May 2010
As a young performing artist, I find myself constantly challenged to answer questions of what drama practices can do outside the theatre for non-artists, for communities and for the world. I came across Dramatic Need in my search to answer some of these questions.
I was intrigued by Dramatic Need’s mission of using the arts to boost children’s self-esteems and have agency over themselves—something I have experienced firsthand as a Theatre student at New York University. To be able to study this in a place where storytelling practices are folded into the very fabric of the culture was too good to be true.
I applied to be a volunteer to teach drama, and it did not take much convincing to get my mother on board to teach art as well. We even were able to get our mutual friend Monika to come and film our time there in the hopes that we could spread the word about the organization. I can say without doubt that this experience has irrevocably changed all of our lives.
I do not think I can adequately describe the breadth and depth of South Africa. There is something infinite and ancient about it that I have never experienced before anywhere else, and the only thing more astounding than the breathtaking landscapes were the people that inhabited them. We met the most hospitable, funny, open, spirited and fascinating people while we were there who took us in and guided us with unadulterated generosity and care.
And the children. It was an utter joy to have the gift of working with them every day. Although the squatter camps are virtually devoid of stimulation for them, they met us with an astounding amount of enthusiasm. The kids are so hungry to learn! They want to dance, to sing, to listen, to practice, to play, to laugh, todiscover. Their unbridled curiosity is not only a breath of fresh air but also a call to duty for educators and supporters not to let their love of discovery be stifled by the years of intense, grinding poverty that they face every day.
There were so many moments of shared beauty: wallflowers coming to life after making a puppet to tell everyone what they wanted to be when they grew up, children working together to proudly paint a South Africa flag, children leading games we had taught them on their own with confidence and precision, so many smiles and so much laughter.
Dramatic Need’s faith in the arts to change lives gives me so much hope. The impact is tangible, and Dramatic Need is giving this truth the support it needs.
Emma Gleeson, Cork, Ireland
Volunteered with Dramatic Need in Viljoenskroon, Free State, August 2009
I first read about Dramatic Need in the unlikely source of Vogue magazine, which featured a small piece about the founder Amber Sainsbury and her work with the charity. I had always wanted to volunteer in Africa but the idea of teaching English or building houses had never appealed to me; I never felt that I would be any particular use in either of these activities and hated the idea of going just for the sake of it. Dramatic Need is an incredible organisation because it gives volunteers the opportunity to use their individual skills in their own areas of expertise to make a difference to rural and isolated communities. The idea that I could make use of my vocational experience as a drama teacher was truly exciting and I was delighted to be accepted for the programme.
I was to travel alone which was daunting in itself, but as I cannot drive I was worried that I would be totally isolated in the tiny town of Viljoenskroon where I was staying. The town in located in the Free State, a rural area south of Johannesburg and public transport is non existent except for the packed ‘taxii’ vans which travel to and from the township Rammolutsi where I was teaching. When I arrived I found that my worries were entirely in vain. I was fortunate enough to be placed with Papi and Aumaki Lekgetho and their ten year old son, Thabang for my five week stay. I could not have asked for a nicer or more welcoming host family and I genuinely felt like a visiting friend and not a stranger at all! With their help I completely immersed myself in Viljoenskroon life, which made communicating with the children much easier from the start.
Initially I was supposed to attend only two schools, Huntersvlei primary and Thabang secondary school where Papi teaches himself. In the end I taught in five different schools, two primary and three secondary, usually spending three days at a time in each. This may seem unusual as I was given very little time to complete our projects but I am so glad it worked out this way as I was able to reach as many students as possible and, equally importantly, as many teachers as possible. Although Drama is on the South African curriculum, I was astonished to find that none of the teachers knew how to teach it. I found it incredibly fulfilling to be able to teach the teachers the skills they need to carry out a proper drama class which I feel gives real longevity to the work I did.
The language barrier was not a problem with the older ones but in the primary schools I found it a real struggle, particularly as some of the teachers wouldn’t stay in the room with me while I gave a class. I solved this problem by working on masks which the children spent a lot of time decorating and which we then used as the starting points for our improvisation games. When I left I hung the masks on the walls which delighted the children and brightened up the usually dark and dingy classrooms.
With the older students I worked on a project about recent events in SA history. This tied in with a question, which was to come up on one of their exams which meant that the students saw a purpose to what we were doing. One of the major problems I faced was the class sizes. Rarely would you find a group under 50 and this made discipline and focus a real struggle. I felt continually frustrated and saddened by the awful state of the SA education system, which ties principals and teachers up in completely unnecessary paper work leaving the students receiving substandard education as a result. I found it immensely difficult to give my classes knowing how difficult life was for these children. It all changed when they performed their final pieces. Some of them were so incredibly moving, especially as they often incorporated song or poetry into the story. One piece which I remember in particular was a story about how hospital strikes affect civilians. I remember thinking how wonderful it is that these children are so talented but how sad it is that their talent goes largely unnoticed. This is why Dramatic Need’s work is so incredibly important. It allows children who feel like they are worth nothing to learn that they have capabilities and talents beyond what they could have imagined. Some of the poems I received as thank you presents were so complex and moving that I could hardly believe they were written by children of that age and from such a background. The potential of these children is immense and I applaud Dramatic Need for recognising that. I would encourage anybody who is interested in Arts education to work with Dramatic Need. You will be shocked, you will laugh and cry and you will arrive home feeling privileged to have met such inspiring young people.
