Ása Helga Proppé Ragnarsdóttir
Ólafur Gudmundsson
FLISS, the Icelandic drama and theatre association in Education.
The Trashmonster: The integration of Creativity, Drama and Environment issues
90 minutes
ONLY LIVE
In this workshop participants explore environmental issues through process drama. Today people are facing new challenges on many levels due to the effects of climate change and social changes. The workshop presents drama lessons for six to nine year olds based on the six fundamental principles of Icelandic educational policy: equal rights; democracy and human rights; literacy in the broadest sense; health and welfare; creativity; and education for sustainability. The lessons are based on educational theory and aim to create opportunities for students to learn through mind and body.
Through imagination participants are taken on a journey through the story of the “Trash Monster” where they explore and come up with solutions about environmental matters using their imaginations. They meet the „Trash Monster“ (teacher in role) in the hot seat and learn through different drama methods, such as still images, small group play making, sculpting images, speaking objeccts, conscience alley and improvisations. Participants explore environment issues and hopefully come up with some ideas which can help the enviroment. In the end of the workshop there will be a reflection on what delegates did and a discussion on further work with the theme. The goal of the workshop is to inform participants that we all have to work together to change the world!
Ása Helga is the chairman of FLÍSS the Icelandic drama and theatre association. She is the vice president of GCM, the General council meeting of IDEA. She is a adjunct emerita in Arts and Drama Education at the School of Education, University of Iceland and a drama teacher at Iceland Academy of the Arts. She holds a degree Master of Arts in Drama and Theatre Education from the University of Warwick in England, 2002. Ása has been involved in curriculum development in Iceland and introducing drama in schools and higher education for over 35 years. She is an author of both textbooks and scholarly publications and articles on drama in education and has been a researcher for years. Her research interests are aesthetic learning processes in professional and interdisciplinary work. She is a professional actress and was a host at the children’s program in the Icelandic television for several years.
Ólafur Gudmundsson