Drama Tuesday - Before I Hang Up My Hat

A guest post by John Foreman

After around forty years of teaching Drama, there are a few of my students who stand out in my memory and underline the importance for me of teaching my subject. In each case, they were kids who never stood out to an audience in performance, but they were recognised by their classmates and by me.

The first, I’ll call Brian. It was he who arrived to our Sunday rehearsal at 2:50pm. We all stared at him. Why was he late? Why was he turning up now? “You said the rehearsal was 10 to 3.”

At the outset, Brian couldn’t act his way out of a wet paper bag. By the end of our run of four performances he could. Just. The rest of the cast, eight girls, mobbed him. They knew. His journey was far greater than any of the others, and there was a couple of very talented performers in that group. His parents were proud and probably the only ones in the audience who even noticed him.

The second we’ll call Richard. He turned up in my year eight Drama class. He possibly spoke half a dozen times in the semester. Shy. Solitary. Avoiding all attempts to engage him. As year eights, all students were assigned their classes. The following year, there he was again – his choice. And he did engage a little more. 

Year ten, there he was yet again. And this time for our end of year Panto. 

I asked him, “Richard you’ve done this for the past two years, and you hated it. Why are you here?”

“Yes, Mr Foreman, I hate Drama, but I NEED Drama.”

Such insight for a young man.

So, much as many of my young charges want to make it in the ‘Business’, and a few have, Brian and Richard underline for me what teaching Drama is all about.

We are here to foster some confidence, to nourish creativity, to expose our students to the world of performance, both their own and, hopefully, that of professional theatre.

At a promenade performance at University of Western Australia of the medieval mystery plays, I found one of my students in a corner at the interval crying her eyes out.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s so beautiful.” An ‘angel’ had just sung from the top of the clock tower. And, yes, it was beautiful. Almost as beautiful as Grace’s reaction.

I often wondered why so many students wanted to be in those end of year Pantos. I wound up writing walk-on roles for those who were in Maths or Art or... and at least one for an ex-student. 

One of my practicum students told me simply it was my passion for Drama. Really? I just loved what I was doing. 

During the audition process for one of those Pantos there was one boy who said, “I thought Drama was going to be fun.” Before I could respond, one of the class jumped in, “It is! It’s serious fun.”

Perhaps my one huge disappointment is that over the years I haven’t seen that enthusiasm for drama in high school students carry over to attendance at professional theatre after they leave school.

For at least thirty of the years I have been teaching Drama, there have been upwards of 1000 students per year graduating across the state with Drama as one of their subjects. Their ‘high school love’ of their subject has not transferred to attendance once they leave school. It saddens me.

That being said, I still love that moment when a pair of Year Sevens nail a duologue to the point of bringing me to tears. Or when Year Elevens take over the design for their Antigone production, stage, make-up, costuming and poster. Or when a grandma hugs me after a performance, saying how proud she is.

Teaching Drama has been an unexpected joy. 

[I trained as an English Teacher.]