By Tanya Batson-Savage, Staff Reporter 
Students at schools which do not yet offer the theatre arts exams still find outlet in competitions such as the Secondary Schools' Drama Festival. Kingston College (below) peforms a version of Romeo and Juliet. Tivoli Gardens Comprehensive High (above) entered only for the dance option at the CSEC, but here the students explored drama at the secondary schools' festival. - Winston Sill/Staff Photographer
FOR YEARS, drama and dance have been relegated to the glorious ignominy of being extra-curricular activities. Though theatre practitioners often earn the title of 'cultural icon', theatre has had to struggle hard for legitimacy in the school system.
As the notion that the 'bright' do the sciences continue to send many children toward dreams of medicine, the arts though extremely valuable are often seen as only good for passing time.
The Reform of Secondary Education (ROSE) programme heralded the structured inclusion of theatre in the 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. daily grind of student life. Now, theatre arts have finally joined the hallowed group of Mathematics, English, and Biology etc., in the more legitimate side of school life. Students in love with the theatre and its possibilities no longer have to wait until the bell rings to indulge in understanding theatre.
The 2003 Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) for the first time included theatre arts. Approximately 140 students from 10 schools across Jamaica participated in the examinations.
Education Officer Dr. Nolma Coley-Agard noted that the results were fair. Schools such as St. Jago High, Excelsior Community College and Tivoli Gardens Comprehensive High, which have been building solid reputations through theatre arts by their participation in the annual Jamaica Cultural Development Commission festival of the performing arts and the Secondary Schools' Drama Festival, were among the schools taking up the challenge.
Green Island High (Hanover), Manchester High (Manchester), Oberlin High (St. Andrew), Ocho Rios High (St. Ann), Edwin Allen Comprehensive High (Clarendon), Bridgeport Comprehensive (St. Catherine) and Culture Dance Studio also had students sitting the examination.
BENEFITS
According to Basil Dawkins, the benefits of including theatre arts in the core curriculum should not be 'tunnel visioned' into the direct benefits to the theatre community. "I feel that it is important that students get as rounded an education as possible," said the prominent playwright whose latest production, A Gift For Mom, is now playing at The Little Little Theatre.
He noted that like literature and religious education, the true value of theatre arts is revealed in adulthood. "Just learning the rudiments of theatre to speak well, to be able to take criticism without seeing it as an attack are all skills that will help them in their ordinary work-a-day lives," he said.
"Obviously, as a dramatic artist I welcome it," responded Louis Marriott, when asked about his perspective on theatre arts' inclusion in CSEC. Marriott is the president of the Jamaica Association of Dramatic Artists. His latest production, Bedward is currently playing at The Ward Theatre.
Like Dawkins, Marriott saw wider implications than the benefits to the theatre industry. Marriott believes that the inclusion of theatre arts marks appreciation of the inclusion of the arts in the education process. He noted also that theatre arts at the CSEC level would increase the number of persons who would be qualified to enter theatre as a profession. Even so, he was willing to admit that the career possibilities are currently limited.
A conference paper prepared by Dr. Coley-Agard, available on the unesco.org Web site, says that theatre arts' inclusion in the CSEC curriculum was quite in keeping with these ideas about the value of the art forms. The paper argued that theatre arts should be essential to the school curriculum, because of their impact on the student's creativity and critical thinking skills.
"We must begin to treat Theatre Arts as metaphors for the way Caribbean people live, our values, beliefs and aspirations. We can only begin to do this when Theatre Arts is place at the centre of our schools' curricula," said Dr. Coley-Agard in the conference paper.
RIGHT TIMING
Students also seem to see the value of pursuing theatre arts. Dana Bartley is a grade nine student at Holy Childhood High who is planning to take up theatre arts as one of her CSEC subjects. Her timing appears to be right, as Holy Childhood is set to join the schools offering the examination in its second sitting. Knox Community College, Tacius Golding High and Titchfield High are also joining the fold.
Though she has not yet decided on her career path, Dana is sure that integrating theatre arts into her studies will be helpful. "In any pursuit drama will help me," the confident 14 year-old said. "If I want to become a journalist it will help me. If I want to become an actress it will really, really help me."
When The Sunday Gleaner contacted Dr. Coley-Agard, she re-iterated much of what had been said in the conference paper. Though satisfied with the results of the first sitting, Dr. Coley-Agard also pointed to the problems facing schools.
One of the problems is the perception of drama or dance as something to do on the side, said Dr. Coley-Agard. She noted that students interested in the subject had to convince their parents that it is worth the effort and their money.
'NINTH SUBJECT'
Keith Noel, principal of St. Jago High, noted that as a result many of the students who pursued theatre arts at St. Jago had it as a 'ninth subject'. He said that even parents willing to allow students to sit the exam did not want them to sacrifice any of the other subjects as a result.
Parents worried about their child's future being stunted by the inclusion of theatre need only take a look at the syllabus for assurance. A list of 28 related careers is included. As Mr. Noel points out, the benefits are not only to be found in direct relationships. "They are life and career-related, even when they are not job-related," he said.
That seems to be the general consensus of those who advocate theatre arts. "As a teacher I find that students involved in theatre are far more integrated," said Dr. Coley-Agard. "They understand themselves far better."
Another problem, however, is that there are not sufficient drama and dance teachers to teach theatre arts in all schools. The number of teachers hired by a school is directly related to the number of students who attend the institution. So, many schools are unable to hire dance and drama teachers because their current ratio is at its maximum and many schools have only one teacher for grades seven through 11, which does not facilitate offering the course at the examination level.
Edwin Allen Comprehensive tackled that problem last year. The school's drama teacher, Dwayne Brown, said that six of the seven students who sat the exam were
cessful. Last year, Brown was the sole drama teacher, which meant that only grades seven, 10 and 11 had drama classes. However, with the return of an additional teacher, the school is attempting to reintegrate drama into grades eight and nine, Brown said.
Brown noted that Edwin Allen generally offered drama through to grade 11, so integrating the examination syllabus was mainly a matter of increasing the number of teaching hours. "I think it's the best thing to have happened to theatre in a long time," Brown said. "Having theatre arts on the CXC syllabus it is now more appreciated by the teachers and students."
The increase in the number of students opting for theatre arts in grade 10 at Edwin Allen seems to be proving him right. Brown explained that he had had to convince the nine students he began with last year, but this year over 20 grade 10 students have selected theatre arts.
Mr. Noel said St. Jago began preparations to integrate theatre arts into the curricula from the first workshop, which minimised the difficulty of integrating it. St. Jago was one of the few Jamaican schools which entered students who took either the dance or drama option. Most schools specialise in one or the other.
Not all the schools with strong traditions in either dance or drama have taken on the examination. Kingston College's drama club has been doing exceedingly well in the JCDC drama and speech festivals. However, the school is not numbered among those offering the exam.
Mr. Ivan Johnson, K.C.'s principal, noted that though the school only has a single drama teacher it was not the major determinant for not pursuing theatre arts at the CESC level. He noted that despite the school's success at the competitive level, after the eighth grade drama is co-curricular at K.C. So, though the school intends to pursue it in the future, Johnson said, they are not yet equipped to do so.
The course seems to offer another positive that could significantly impact on the wider society. As the Caribbean battles against the awesome power of cable television and the Internet, which feeds American culture to the region's youth on a daily basis, theatre arts provides a medium for getting them in touch with their culture.
The syllabus has three segments: two compulsory core courses, three options and two projects. The compulsory courses involve the study of Caribbean cultural forms and the elements of theatre arts. The syllabus includes approximately 60 forms, from Brukins to Stick fighting, from which eight are selected for a period of three years. From this students have to study three. Additionally, the projects include the critique of a theatrical production.
The impact of theatre arts introduction appears to therefore be far-reaching. Whether in creating more confident students, reinitiating them into their culture or simply giving them more career options, the Theatre Arts course shall surely prepare them for the stage we call life.
