ABSTRACT:

In Hungary, the first sociodrama training came into existence in 2022 in two parallel groups. The training aimed to integrate the sociodrama experience already present at MPE and the knowledge derived from the Performers international project.
Along with this, the sociodrama scene in Hungary has become more vibrant: the first generation of trainers and assistants began working with the method in various institutions, communities, formal and informal settings.

Our main areas:

• We launched a sociodrama training in Budapest.
• We created an accredited teacher training program in collaboration with Budapest University of Technology and Economics and Radnóti Theater.
• In higher education, we have been regularly holding courses with sociodrama for changing the mindset of future intellectuals for over 8 years. Additionally, we introduced sociodrama as a research method in legal education and in a doctoral school at the Faculty of Social Sciences at ELTE University.
• In collaboration with Lutheran church groups, we initiated the processing of topics such as LGBTQ identity and belonging to religious communities, as well as verbal abuse within the church community through sociodrama.
• We created participatory theater performances with various civil groups addressing public issues.

During the workshops, we focus on specific areas according to the participants’ needs – in dramatic form. We welcome all new cultural perspectives and look forward to enriching debates!

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:

ABSTRACT:

When we launched our training program in the fall of 2022, the shadow of the status law loomed over teachers’ heads (a law recently introduced in Hungary that further restricted the mobility and personal rights of teachers) and some were even involved in protests or seeking alternative employment. School faculties were fragmented, and students were learning from home. In the midst of these uncertain times, we were unsure if there was a demand for yet another training program, but we sensed a need for support. Therefore, we organized workshops, and to our surprise, the available slots were filled within days.

Our 60-hour accredited teacher training program, held under such circumstances, had two main objectives. Firstly, to introduce teachers to the concept and approach of sociodrama, enabling them to bring this perspective into their schools. Secondly, to provide educators with straightforward action-method techniques that they can apply in their daily work when addressing disengaged and seemingly powerless adolescents or when attempting to make the often traditional lessons relevant to contemporary youth.

What made this training unique was our collaboration with the Radnóti Theater in Budapest, which provided an opportunity to bridge the gap between the artistic experience and students, who are mostly trained on fast-paced digital cultural products.

In our workshop, we demonstrate how to engage and motivate high school students through sociodrama. The workshop uses a scene from a play as a starting point, illustrating how sociodramatic exercises can be integrated to address questions and issues that resonate with students.

Participation in the workshop provides ideas on how to:
-make students more active in the classroom.
-educate students in critical thinking.
-increase their empathy.
-boost their self-confidence.
-awaken students’ creativity.
-process issues that affect them through a theater performance.

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:

ABSTRACT:

Moreno viewed sociodrama as the ultimate tool for social research, an idea dramatists resonate with due to its broad applicability across diverse social groups. Despite historical hesitations, academia is increasingly embracing dramatic tools as a qualitative research method. The Drama as Academic Research (DAR) Research Group, an international group of researchers from various scientific fields and drama practitioners themselves, invites academic researchers and dramatists to explore criteria and methods for generating knowledge through drama. The workshop aims to chart a path for leveraging drama’s potential in producing academically valuable insights.

At the workshop, after a short introduction of findings and experiences of the Research Group so far, we place our topic on a sociodramatic stage, representing key „actors” – such as reality (whatever that means); dramatic methods; other, traditionally established data collection methods; people form the Academia not familiar with dramatic methods; the “subject” of the research; and anyone and anything the participants bring in – and see how the scene unfolds itself in the process of co-creation. We hope to gain insights into epistemological questions surrounding knowledge derived from drama, addressing issues and dilemmas tied to the dramatic modality, ethical considerations, and the researcher’s role.

Learning objectives: Participants develop an understanding of needs and requirements of academic research related to dramatic methods, and an insight into challenges and opportunities of dramatic methods as a research tool in terms of data validity, research ethics, transferability, and so on

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS: