To be or not to be with technology? That is the question.

All the world's a stage...

And all the men and women merely players...

Ah, the theatre. Where life is imitated as art on stage for entertainment and reflection. It can be traced all the way back to the 6th century BC. 

Now jump ahead to 17^th century London, where Shakespeare was in his prime during the Renaissance era bringing us classics such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet and of course, Hamlet.

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Theatre is a unique aspect of society where we cherish the old traditions of classical plays while embracing new ideas through innovations to keep the audience engaged. For example, in 2018 the Shakespeare Theatre Company in D.C. had a production of Hamlet where Hamlet is a modern university student instead of a prince from the MIddle Ages.

 

Can you teach an old dog new tricks?

Theatre has been around for a long time, and the productions have evolved with the technological times providing beautiful and showstopping performances, but how do we modernize teaching theatre? 

Traditionally the actors hold their paper scripts when rehearsing, but if they use iPads, they would be too worried about breaking the expensive tools instead of focusing on their characters and the scene.

When integrating technology into your class, do you try to enhance the experience with technology, or do you want to transform it?

These questions should be addressed when integrating technology into one’s coursework. A compatible model for this dilemma is Dr. Ruben R. Puentedura’s SAMR Model. 

 

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The SAMR Model is divided into two levels of technological integration: enhancement and transformation. Under the Enhancement level we have substitution and augmentation.

 

Substitution: technology acts as a direct substitute, with no functional change.

Augmentation: technology acts as a direct substitute, with functional improvement.

 

When I taught drama and English in China, it was a technological culture shock. In the olden days, directors just prayed that the students would do their own research to prepare for their roles. Now a days, you can provide links and sources for students that they can watch in their own time at home while doing homework.

 

I remember when we did the musical Oliver! in Nanjing, we did not have a piano player for rehearsals. However, with the help of YouTube, I could access vocal warmups and karaoke music of the musical for rehearsals. So, in other words, I substituted a piano player with prerecorded music on YouTube.

 

We also augmented the drama homework with technology integration. Since the students were not native speakers and had difficulty pronouncing words, we recorded each scene on an mp3 file and shared it on the cloud for students to practice in their own time outside of the classroom. This technique augmented the old ways of rehearsing when students were on their own with little guidance.

 

Personally, I have only achieved the Enhancement level of the SAMR model, but I wonder about the possibilities of the Transformation level which includes modification and redefinition.

 

Modification: technology allows for significant task redesign.

Redefinition: technology allows for the creation of new tasks, previously inconceivable.

 

Though the fundamental concept of teaching drama is not technologically advanced, there is always room for improvement. Imagine the possibilities that technology could bring to enhance the experience. For example, online classes offer an even playing field for low-income families that cannot travel to big cities, such as New York City, for those exclusive acting lessons with famous directors.

How will theatre education evolve? The answer can be summed in a scene from the feature film Shakespeare in Love (1998). As the clip below explains: he doesn't know, it’s a mystery, but it will all work out in the end.

 

How do you think technology should be integrated into drama lessons?