Theater and political education
Collaborations between theater and political education are a regular occurrence today. They are often experienced as very beneficial by the cooperation partners. One reason for this may be that civic education in these collaborations is particularly successful in addressing emotional foundations in the educational process (see Besand/Overwien/Zorn 2019). So far, however, there have been few systematic findings on the conditions under which such collaborations succeed and how their specific benefits can be described. The thematization of plays or visits to municipal theaters or the independent scene are no longer a rarity in political education programs inside and outside of schools. Below you will find literature recommendations on the question of when and how theater can become the subject of political education.
Recommended reading:
Landgraf, Jörg (2012): Politik als Theater – Eine vergleichende Untersuchung. online verfügbar
Jörg Landgraf deals with the following questions in his thesis, which he wrote in cooperation with the Chair of Didactics of Civic Education: To what extent is politics theater and when is theater political? Using the political science concept of politics (according to Karl Rohe) and a theater studies concept of theater (according to Andreas Kotte), the criteria of both terms are related to each other and compared in order to describe politics as theater and to clarify where it cannot be theater. This is followed by a description of the social conditions and coordinates under which media-based political theater takes place and attempts to explain them.
Juchler, Ingo/ Lechner-Amante, Alexandra (Hrsg.) (2016): Politische Bildung im Theater. Wiesbaden
This book contains numerous points of reference for the integration of specific plays into civic education in schools. The students' essays each refer to one of ten plays, exploring the question of how a play (on the content level, concrete productions hardly play a role) can be integrated into political education and how this can be done methodically. The volume is certainly also of interest to extracurricular political educators. This is because the content interfaces have been carefully researched and prepared.
The anthology is based on a narrow dramatic concept of theater. However, one of the 10 plays addressed is a post-dramatic production by Schlingensief. Rarely do the project and teaching examples include theatrical pedagogical approaches that could be used to thematize the plays. However, Babendreyer, Beyers and Mais make use of both the repertoire of political education and theater pedagogy in their essay on Büchner's Woyzeck and Classism.
In order to further deepen Ingo Juchler's work on the topic, the following titles should be mentioned, in which Juchler describes, for example, those competencies relevant to political education that could be strengthened in the theater as a place of learning or in the context of theater visits:
Juchler, Ingo (2020): „Aber gehen Sie ins Theater, das rat ich Ihnen“ Theater als außerschulischer politischer Lernort. in: Politisches Lernen 1-2/2020. Schwalbach Ts. https://www.budrich-journals.de/index.php/pl/article/view/38713/32951
Juchler, Ingo (2020): Henrik Ibsens Volksfeind – Politisches Theater in postfaktischen Zeiten. in: Juchler, Ingo (Hrsg.): Politik und Sprache: Handlungsfelder politischer Bildung. Wiesbaden.
Juchler, Ingo (2020): Theater und politische Bildung. in: Oeftering, Tonio/ Gloe, Markus (Hrsg.): Politische Bildung meets Kulturelle Bildung. Baden-Baden.
Schelle, Clara (2010): Theater. in: Besand, Anja/ Sander, Wolfgang (Hrsg.): Handbuch Medien in der politischen Bildung. Bonn. S. 537-546.
In her contribution to Handbuch Medien in der politischen Bildung, Clara Schelle focuses much more on the reception of theater than on the analysis of specific plays (texts). After a brief description of important historical milestones for theater as a social and political art, the focus is on the theatrical experience. If theater is to be meaningfully integrated as a medium in political education, then the visit to the play with its sensual, aesthetic and content-related impulses should provide the political education offer or the series of lessons. Schelle provides numerous suggestions for observation and reflection tasks that can be worked on with the participants.
Malzacher, Florian (2021): Gesellschaftliche Spiele. Politisches Theater heute. Bonn.
In this monograph, Florian Malzacher makes it clear that he understands theater as a political place and that this art form can unfold a greater political potential today than ever before. Along various social phenomena (representation, participation, identity politics and activism), which are also relevant for new, post-dramatic and political forms of playing and making theater, Malzacher examines the extent to which theater can and should be a place for the negotiation, reflection and utopian consideration of socio-political conflicts. This is done with reference to specific productions that provide the reader with numerous insights into the diversity of theater art and go beyond a classical concept of theater.
Studtmann, Katharina (2020): Das politische Theater. Gegenstand und Methode im Politikunterricht. Schwalbach Ts.
In this book, Katharina Studtmann traces the historical lines of development of political theater. In addition, she describes interfaces that result from the basic principles of cultural and political education. The focus of her work, however, is on theater pedagogical methods that she considers suitable for political education. Here, too, extracurricular political educators can benefit from these precise suggestions and apply them to their work. Studtmann also provides an example of how a series of lessons based on a production, in this case "The Situation" by Yael Ronen, can be organized in political education.
Miller, Tilly (2009): Theater und politische Bildung; Kulturfenster. In: Erwachsenenbildung: Vierteljahresschrift für Theorie und Praxis, Jg. 55, H. 3, S. 159-161. online verfügbar
Miller sees theater (acting) as a valuable emotional approach for addressing political issues. To describe political theater as political education, however, would be going too far for him, as this is ultimately based on knowledge and information. In his essay, Miller nevertheless reflects on his own political and educational theater production "AufBrüche" with regard to the question of how and when an aesthetic as well as a political-educational dimension can be developed in the staging process. In comparison to the staging of "finished" plays, the more open development of the play would make it possible to become aware of, form and articulate one's own political positions. The question of how strong participatory moments in play development should be in order to achieve this is particularly exciting. Miller argues in favor of limiting participation to the content of the play. In the case of a dramaturgical and staging participation of the players, he suspects destructive moments of excessive demands.
Martens,Meyer, Tania (2009): Theaterpädagogik als politische Bildung. Und warum Theater spielen (fast) immer politisch ist. Arbeitskreis deutscher Bildungsstätte e.V. (Hrsg.) Außerschulische Bildung. Materialien zur politischen Jugend- uns Erwachsenenbildung. S. 257-260. Gitta (2011): Kulturelle Bildung, im besonderen Theaterpädagogik, und ihr Verhältnis zur politischen Bildung. in: Akademie Remscheid für musische Bildung und Medienerziehung e.V. (Hrsg.): Das Politische in der kulturellen Bildung. Remscheid. S. 43-62.
Martens assumes that political and cultural education influence each other. In her contribution to the yearbook of the Remscheid Academy on the subject of "The Political in Cultural Education", she describes several levels of theater pedagogical practice on which theater pedagogy with political educational content is possible. After a brief excursus on the development of political education in the Federal Republic of Germany, Martens uses various stages of development in theater pedagogy and examples (e.g. Brecht's didactic plays or Boal's forum theater) to make it clear that in theater pedagogy there is or can always be a reference to social interaction and the political on both the content and methodological-artistic level. Martens also describes when, in her opinion, theater pedagogy has nothing to do with political education: namely when it is limited to the technical teaching of acting techniques, ignores the life worlds of the stakeholders or "separates the private and the public".
Meyer, Tania (2009): Theaterpädagogik als politische Bildung. Und warum Theater spielen (fast) immer politisch ist. Arbeitskreis deutscher Bildungsstätte e.V. (Hrsg.) Außerschulische Bildung. Materialien zur politischen Jugend- uns Erwachsenenbildung. S. 257-260.
In her essay, Tania Meyer describes two school theater projects that pursued a specific educational goal in the field of education for sustainable development. Meyer calls it an interweaving in which theater pedagogy can take up political issues. "In this respect, we can already see here how theater per se is fundamentally political: the public display of a (performative) text or process" (see: Metzler-Lexikon: Theatertheorie, in: Meyer 2009, 257). Meyer also explores the question of where moments of political education can be found in the medium of theater, or rather how these can be initiated in theater pedagogical practice.
Meyer's dissertation should also be mentioned here, which, albeit with a different focus in the first chapters, takes another look at theater pedagogical working methods as a potentially very political form of theater making.
Meyer, Tania (2016): Gegenstimmbildung. Strategien rassismuskritischer Theaterarbeit. Bielefeld.
Krause, Tim; Werner, Dominik (2010): Zwischen Ästhetik und Politik. Das Theater der Unterdrückten als Methode der politischen Erwachsenenbildung. in: Hessische Blätter für Volksbildung. Politische Bildung. 4/2010. https://www.wbv.de/shop/Zwischen-AEsthetik-und-Politik-HBV1004W346
In this article, Tim Krause and Dominik Werner examine in detail whether Augusto Boal's methods of the Theater of the Oppressed can be used in political adult education. They use the example of a forum theater performance on right-wing extremism that they experienced themselves and include detailed descriptions of it in their article. Krause and Werner focus both on the potential of political education for the audience and on political learning moments for the players in the context of the production process accompanied by a director. The authors formulate helpful conditions under which theater productions can be politically educational. These can by no means only be applied to productions in the sense of Boal's forum theater, but also to theater pedagogical play developments.
Wrentschur, Michael (2014): Politisch-partizipative Theaterarbeit: ästhetische Bildung und politische Beteiligung. Die Theater- und Kulturinitiative InterACT als Beispiel. In: Magazin erwachsenenbildung.at, 22/2014, S. 2-10. online verfügbar
In the Austrian magazine Erwachsenenbildung, Michael Wrentschur also dealt with Augusto Boal's Theater of the Oppressed in 2014. The author provides insights into the practical working methods and processes of the cultural initiative InterACT, which brings together theater and political education work in practice. Wrentschur explores the question of what possibilities there are for linking aesthetic and political education and participation. In doing so, he focuses on aesthetic education, i.e. the physical and sensual experience that is possible when performing in the theater. Augusto Boal's methods dissolve the boundary between stage and audience and involve the spectators in the play. This is precisely where Wrentschur sees a space for experiencing play and difference in the art form of theater, but also a space for participation that enables both aesthetic and political education.
Holzapfel, Günther (1989): Aspekte politisch-kultureller Weiterbildung am Beispiel von Theaterarbeit. In: Kaiser, Arnim (Hrsg.): Handbuch zur politischen Erwachsenenbildung, München, S. 143–157.
Günther Holzapfel devotes himself to the Theater of the Oppressed (TdU) as well as many other forms of theater in his contribution to the Handbook on Political Adult Education. At this point, he goes further than most of the contributions listed here. In addition to TdU, the practical project carried out by him and others combined exercises and formats from improvisational theater, educational theater, role-playing and Commedia del' Arte. In his article, the author describes and reflects on the potential of scene development in the context of 15 seminars with adults for political education. Holzapfel sees concrete learning opportunities in the artistic creation of social and political content with the help of theatrical forms and methods. According to the author, this goes beyond mere illustration or a reference to application in the political education process. Thus, the play itself has a cognitive function that should not be overlooked by political education (cf. Holzapfel 1990, 151). In conclusion, Holzapfel presents further theater projects which, for him, also represent a successful combination of theater work and political education.
Serafin, Eva (2000): Die psychodramatische Konzeption in der politischen Bildung - Ein missing link zwischen Individuum und Gesellschaft. In: Wittinger, Thomas (Hrsg.): Psychodrama in der Bildungsarbeit, Mainz, S. 152-172.
The methods of psychodrama have been used for many years in numerous therapeutic and quite a few educational areas. In her contribution to the anthology "Psychodrama in Educational Work", Serafin describes and justifies the integration of psychodrama in political education programs. Using an example, she presents various psychodramatic methods that were tested with a group of nursing staff. The descriptions range from sociodramatic scenes to sociometric exercises, which are intended to enable both the exploration and testing of individual and social action. The focus is much less on the artistic dimension than on the opportunity for participants to become personally involved in the psychodramatic methods.
Literature for further in-depth study:
When dealing with the interfaces of theater (play) and political education, it certainly makes sense to broaden the view a little and also address questions about the connections between cultural and political education or emotions in political education. Please find further literature recommendations below.
Besand, Anja (2004): Angst vor der Oberfläche - Zum Verhältnis ästhetischer und politischer Bildung im Zeitalter neuer Medien, Schwalbach/Ts..
Besand, Anja (Hrsg.) (2012): Politik tritt Kunst. Zum Verhältnis von politischer und kultureller Bildung, Bonn.
Besand, Anja/ Overwien, Bernd/ Zorn, Peter (Hrsg.) (2019): Politische Bildung mit Gefühl, Bonn.