KÁVA DRAMA/THEATRE IN EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

“THINK FEELINGLY, FEEL THINKINGLY”

“The Káva has put a lot of work and expertise into their performance; their interaction with the children, who were regarded as equal partners, was useful without being patronising, the opinion of the students was taken seriously, their problems were put into the focus of the programme.”  Tamás Fodor, director

What makes our theatre work ‘contemporary’ is not that it is being created now, in the present, it could still be outdated or displaced…we believe that our theatre programmes offer the opportunity to explore and understand current human problems through innovative artistic methods that provide relevant perspectives for our target groups.

For us, drama means actions of great importance, as well as transforming the ordinary into something special, something peculiar. During the play we create situations that make up a story, at the ‘heart’ of which there are irreconcilable conflicts exemplifying the basic problems of human existence. We believe that becoming a human being is an ever tested process…Drama connects us with our own stories that can be explored with the help of our imagination.

In our interpretation drama is not about solving problems, it much rather means thinking together with the participants about the question of who we really are. We do not prepare children for becoming a part of our adult society, instead, we try to help them to get connected to their own humanity in a more complete way.

We believe that drama provides a potential and relevant method for learning about the world around us, containing physical, emotional and intellectual components. Its importance lies in its quality of directly addressing our need for humanity. We all need to believe in the existence of a more just world, we all strive for feeling more at home in the world around us – even if we know that to fulfil these hopes is hardly possible. This approach rather reflects on a scale of values than upon facts to be learned.    

Our plays work as modern forums where the participants can clash their opinions and values, where they have a chance to shape their attitudes as well as the attitudes of their peers through action and thinking together. Thus drama and theatre primarily works as a communal space in this context.

The following authors (and our own experience) inspired the above described thoughts the most strongly: Augusto Boal, Peter Brook, Edward Bond, Chris Cooper, Jerzy Grotowsky.