Little beings for greater things : theater as a communication platform for child development in Badjao rebolution

Date

6-2015

Degree

Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts

College

College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Jerry R. Yapo

Abstract

This creative research is founded on a primary objective ? to use theater as communication platform for child development. It sought to utilize this craft as an avenue to commence discussions in exploring the effects of theater experience on the child-participants. This study has three specific aims: first, to create and perform a children?s theater that targets to discuss the pressing issue of the community these children belong to secondly, to track the artistic development of the child-actors and lastly, to examine the effects of the theater experience on the children in terms of self-perception , ambition making and realization of empowerment. In this qualitative study, varied methodologies were employed to achieve the aforementioned objectives. Participant observation was used to track the development of the child-actors in terms of artistry. With their storytelling, this study had a grasp of their status as child members in their community./ Also, a group discussion was conducted to probe on the effects of their theater experience on their self-perception, ambition-making and their concept of empowerment. With their embodiment of the empowered characters in the text Badjao Rebolution and the processes involved in theater-making, the child-participants attests that theater could bring out positive personal change for it positioned them out of their comfort zones that enabled them to explore their potentials. In examining the effects of theater in the recurring themes in the text, the children also gave positive responses. In terms of self-perception, the participants learned the idea of I can that is affirmed with their discovery of new talents and skills. Moreover, the songs of the play helped the participants understand the concept of empowerment. With the statements of the child-participants, the theme of citizenship was explored. They learned that they have the autonomy over their lives and that they can be part of the decision-making of the community. With all of their feedback, it can be concluded that the child-actors? positive development is anchored on their decision to have an ambition. When they realized what they wanted to do in their lives, they had the idea that they can do something, which is linked to self-perception and they had the concept of being a contributor to the community, which is related to empowerment. It must be also noted that communication among members of the Badjao team played a vital role in developing the child-participants. The self-formation of a child is a community effort. During the theater-making, the children were surrounded by a formed positive culture which gave them the opportunity to discuss the concepts of self-perception, ambition making and empowerment. Using theater, the children had the opportunity to talk about their selves, to realize and to embody their self-discoveries. Apparently, more collaboration among scholars from different fields needs to be undertaken in order to fully utilize theater for child development. Future researchers may consider investigating other themes, determinants and other forms of performance to have a better grasp of this phenomenon of using theater in influencing lives of children.

Language

English

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)

Call Number

LG 993.5 2015 M3 /H83

Document Type

Thesis

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