The Dramatization of Bible Stories.

by Elizabeth Erwin Miller Lobingier.

PREFACE

The progress in religious education in the last few years has been highly encouraging. The subject has attained something of a status as a scientific study, and significant investigative and experimental work has been done. More than that, trained men and women in increasing numbers have been devoting themselves to the endeavor to work out in churches and Sunday schools the practical problems of organization and method.

It would seem that the time has come to present to the large body of workers in the field of religious education some of the results of the studies and practice of those who have attained a measure of educational success. With this end in view the present series of books on "Principles and Methods of Religious Education" has been undertaken.

It is intended that these books, while thoroughly scientific in character, shall be at the same time popular in presentation, so that they may be available to Sunday-school and church workers everywhere.

The endeavor is definitely made to take into account the small school with meager equipment, as well as to hold before the larger schools the ideals of equipment and training.

The series is planned to meet as far as possible all the problems that arise in the conduct of the educational work of the church. While the Sunday school, therefore, is considered as the basal organization for this purpose, the wider educational work of the pastor himself and that of the various other church organizations receive due consideration as parts of a unified system of education in morals and religion.

THE EDITORS

INTRODUCTION

BY EDWARD SCRIBNER AMES

This book is its own best commendation, for it is a most convincing record of an important experiment in education. It is the more interesting because it is a real contribution to educational method from the field of religious education, which too often only appropriates and imitates what has been achieved elsewhere.

This experiment is founded upon the powerful dramatic impulse of children and upon the educative value of the natural expression of that impulse under the mutual self-criticism of the partic.i.p.ating group. The function of the leader has been that of an un.o.btrusive member of the group contributing such suggestions from a wider experience and deeper insight as would naturally elicit and guide that criticism. That this fine art of teaching has been realized with unusual skill in this experiment will be apparent to the discerning readers of this record, as it has been by those who have watched the progress of the work itself.

Too much emphasis cannot be given to the fact that the primary aim of this use of dramatization is the education of the children and not the entertainment of spectators, although, when such dramatization is rightly estimated, nothing could be more genuinely entertaining. Those who are expecting to find here ready-made plays for children, with directions for staging them, will be properly disappointed, while those who are seeking ill.u.s.trations of vital methods of education through the cultivation and use of the dramatic impulse will be amply rewarded.

The latter will appreciate the frank portrayal of the early and cruder efforts of the children and their own critical reactions due to further reflection and experimentation. These will understand something of the ability and patience that Miss Miller has employed in allowing the native impulse to develop naturally and to mature through the reactions of the children themselves. They will realize that the little people actually formulated the scenes and the lines of the dramas even if it required many weeks in some cases to do so; that it is better for the actors to make their own costumes and stage properties, however simple they may be; that it is more educative for each child to be familiar with all of the parts, and thus with the drama as a whole, than to be coached ever so cleverly to impersonate a single character; and that facility and power in dramatization are thus attained which are permanent sources of pleasure and understanding.

It need scarcely be added that the biblical stories are exceptionally well suited to such use and that when so employed they yield their profound religious quality directly in deep and lasting impressions.

The children who have been so fortunate as to belong to this dramatic club not only "know" these stories, but they have lived them in an intimate and durable experience.

CHAPTER I

EDUCATIONAL AIMS IN DRAMATIZATION

Dramatization is not commonly recognized as a means of vitalizing the religious education of children. The public school has found it to be one of the most effective methods for enriching the pupil's ideas of given units of subject-matter and for leading to the establishment of permanent interests and of habitual modes of action.

The use of dramatization in the school in order to accomplish these ends finds its justification in certain fundamental principles of teaching. Subject-matter is so presented that the important ideas stand out clearly. These ideas are mastered by utilizing them in some form of activity which leads to self-expression on the part of the children.

Judgments are formed and conclusions are reached when children enter actively into a situation which presents a problem; ideas become their own through experience. Through dramatization children give expression to these ideas in the light of their own interpretation. The formulation of standards, the placing of values, and the realization of truths and ideals follow as direct results of actively entering into the life-experience of others.

From a psychological point of view ideas and ideals, whether religious or secular, are developed according to the same general laws.

Furthermore, the principles of teaching which are effective in the daily cla.s.sroom must be equally significant in religious training. It follows, therefore, that dramatization and other forms of self-expression are as valuable in attaining the aims of the Sunday school as they are in teaching the curriculum of the day school.

Through dramatizing a Bible story children come into a comprehension of the life-experiences of a highly religious people; they are forming their own standards and ideals through meeting and solving the simple life-problems of the Hebrews. Each child has as great an opportunity for self-expression through dramatizing a Bible story as that afforded through dramatizing any other story. He not only develops his individuality, but through this kind of work he must necessarily come into the realization of his place within the group, as is the case in all well-directed dramatization.

The period is rapidly pa.s.sing in which dramatics is looked upon by church members as being sinful and not in any way to be connected with the church. This view is a relic of a conception of religion in which all forms of freedom and pleasure were considered evil. People interested in religious education are now realizing that dramatization is not an activity foreign to children, but that it is an outgrowth of the play interest which is natural to all children. They are aware of the fact that dramatization becomes evident in the earliest stages of childhood through the desire of children to imitate in play the surrounding social activities. Many churches have already made use of these natural tendencies by incorporating organized play as one of their activities. Since dramatization is but a specialized form of organized play, and inasmuch as it can be used very effectively in vitalizing the religious training which all children should receive, it deserves a wider recognition and adoption.

This book contains a description of a children's dramatic club which has been conducted as a part of the work of the Sunday school of the Hyde Park Church of Disciples, Chicago, Illinois, for the purpose of accomplis.h.i.+ng the ends stated above. Before this dramatic club was organized a small amount of dramatization was attempted in certain of the cla.s.ses during the Sunday-school period. The enthusiastic response from the children to this new phase of the work revealed the need for more of this kind of activity, and as a consequence it was decided to devote one hour each Sunday afternoon to the dramatization of Bible stories. The members.h.i.+p of the club included children ranging from six to fourteen years of age. The average attendance has been from twenty to thirty children each Sunday throughout these four years of the club's existence.

This organization was attempted more or less as an experiment with the hope that definite results could be accomplished. The practical problems which have arisen, the details of method of procedure, and the results which have been secured will be discussed in the following chapters.

Several of the stories are given in the dramatic form which the children have worked out. This is done for the sake of showing what kind of a result may be secured. It is hoped that these plays, as they are written here, will not be given to children to learn and act; such a procedure would be entirely contrary to the spirit and purpose in which this experiment is set forth.

CHAPTER II

THE METHOD OF DRAMATIZATION

Two very different aims are revealed in the present-day employment of dramatization. Children are often required to give a dramatic production at some entertainment or social event. For this purpose a story is selected which has already been put into dramatic form. The parts are a.s.signed by the leader, and the children are asked to memorize these parts in exact form and order. The children are then trained to give their parts according to directions. Throughout the preparation of the play the finished production is the goal of endeavor. In such instances as this the children are a means to an end, and their own training and development are usually sacrificed in the leader's attempt to secure a highly finished product.

In contrast to the case just mentioned, dramatization is looked upon as an important educational factor in the development of children. From this point of view dramatization is utilized in developing on the part of the child intense and permanent interests in the words and deeds of n.o.ble characters, in developing power of natural expression in them as individuals and as members of a group, and in raising standards of action to higher levels by giving forceful expression to worthy ideals.

These aims are realized through the use of informal methods which give the children abundant opportunity for initiative and choice. The children themselves prepare their dramatization under the guidance of a leader who has a vision of the results which may be secured and who is skilful in directing the activities toward these ends.

The little dramatic club herein described adopted at the outset the point of view outlined in the preceding paragraph. Its organization was based on the belief that the development of boys and girls is a much more vital consideration than the development of a dramatic production.

Throughout its history the chief purpose of the club has been to promote the growth of children through the free, spontaneous dramatization of Bible stories. In order to accomplish this aim, an informal method of working out dramatizations has been used. The public presentation of a play is only incidental to the children; there is no need for them to act out a story that has been dramatized by someone else. Their aim is realized in the joy of actually living the story over each time they play it, though this may result in the highest form of entertainment. That children should "speak lines" given them to memorize for the sake of entertainment is deadly--to the child as well as to the audience.

There is some difference of opinion as to the value of the cla.s.sic language of the Bible for children, and many advocate the use of modern or simplified versions. If, however, the children have made their own efforts to dramatize the story, using first of all their own words, it is easy to help them to adopt much of the beautiful cla.s.sic language in putting the work into its final form. The biblical wording helps to give the play its proper dignity and atmosphere, at the same time acquainting the children with the exact language of a piece of good literature.

The method of procedure which is followed in leading children to work out their own dramatizations varies slightly according to circ.u.mstances but in the main is as follows:

A story is chosen by the leader which includes the elements essential for a good dramatization, and it is told to the children in such a way that the action or events are emphasized. Direct discourse is used in the telling, and an effort is made to develop simple and vivid mental pictures. The children divide the story into its most important pictures or scenes. They then suggest in detail what should take place in the first scene, and some of them are asked to act it out as they think it should be done. This first presentation is sometimes stiff and more or less self-conscious. The leader raises such questions as, "Which parts did these children do best?" "Why?" "Where can they improve it?" "What would you do to make the part better?" "What do you think should have been said here?" This leads to constructive criticism of the scene by the children themselves rather than by the leader in charge. Each child is eager to offer suggestions at this point and is anxious for an opportunity to give his own interpretation of the part by acting it out. He formulates his words as he acts. He forgets himself in the genuine interest which arises as he relives the experience of someone else. Each scene is developed in a similar manner.

The leader encourages freedom in individual interpretation, yet she is ever keeping before the children the fact that they are trying to give a true portrayal of the characters or conditions. It is often valuable to have a discussion of individual characters for the purpose of securing clear ideas concerning them. After all have tried various parts and have offered many suggestions, they may be led to choose that interpretation which seems most adequate, or they may all work out the interpretation of a part which will involve the ideas of many. After the story has been played through a few times, each child should be able to a.s.sume any character. It is an essential part of this method to see that every child has a different part each time.

Very often, when the play develops to this stage, some one child, or several, will suddenly become aware of repet.i.tions in the scenes and will suggest that some scenes are unnecessary. It is then the time to refer to the number of scenes in a good drama, and to lead the children to realize that in any good play much is left to the imagination of the audience, and that only the essential scenes need be shown. By means of discussions the play is worked over again, and it is finally reduced to the three or four scenes that seem absolutely necessary.

In many instances the dramatization needs no further development. None of the words have been accepted as definite, for, although the thought given is the same each time, exactly the same words are never said twice. The story is interpreted slightly differently with each performance. This interpretation, without obtaining a highly finished result, is best for short stories or incidents. Fables and parables may be used well in this way. The action follows continuously with the development of the thought.

In the case of a story which has a more detailed plot and which involves more complicated situations the development may go further: the wording is carefully worked out by the children and the language of the Bible is employed. The words which are finally used by the children may be composite results developed by the group as a whole, or after they have gone as far as they can with them the leader, or a committee composed of several children with the leader, may suggest a final form which is good from a literary standpoint.

Children either volunteer or are chosen by the others to take finally certain parts. There is a marked socializing influence evident in the fact that a child is chosen by the other children for the good of the group and not for self-aggrandizement or partiality toward a friend. It is always the case after a few rehearsals that each child knows every part and can easily adapt himself to the part of any character. There is no trouble about a subst.i.tute when one or two children fail to arrive. Each child has lived the story until it has become a very vital part of him. The finished product belongs to the children; they have developed it; it is not the production of someone else which they have learned by heart.

At the final presentation of the play the children invite parents and friends. This is not thought of as a climax toward which they have been working; it is hardly more important than any of the rehearsals; it is simply an opportunity for others to enjoy the story with them. The encouragement of this att.i.tude toward the public presentation of a play is important in that it does away with the self-conscious feeling of a child that he is acting before people, or that people are interested in him rather than in the character that he portrays. Much harm can be done by allowing a child to feel that he is "showing off"

on a stage.