THE LIVING NEWSPAPER BACK TO RUSSIA

The Living Newspaper is “something for which we will be grateful for many years to come,
something which will mean a tremendous amount in the future,
socially, and in the education and growing up of America…
far more than any amount of speeches
which…I – or even the President – might make.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

 The story starts with the opening of a new school exchange project by ACCELS on the basis of the Teachers of Excellence Awards program. Thirty schools of Russia and America, with teachers-TEA alumni, applied for participation, but only fifteen won. And among them Fairfax High school in Virginia and School No. 1876 in Moscow. A joint project with the idea of uniting the performing arts and journalism was developed by TEA 1998 alumni Dr. Linda Miller and Olga Boltneva. It also included a large educational and cultural itinerary for American students both in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

A group of 10 students involved in drama and journalism from Fairfax High School spent three weeks in April in Russia. They said they were not afraid to come; they were sure of their safety and Russian hospitality; and understood this as a unique chance to visit and try to understand Russia. On their visit a counsellor, Becky Freeman, who could speak beautiful Russian, and Bob Smith, drama teacher, accompanied the students. Ten Russian students, who are going to visit Virginia in the fall, hosted their new friends. The general opinion: “We have hosted the brightest students of America”.

Dr. Linda Miller teaches history, and in her lessons she always exploits drama. The revival of the Living Newspaper technique proved very successful. It gives an opportunity for students to analyse and compare different epochs, highlight main events and issues, and write a script for the stage. It makes them think of present day problems, feel involved in the social life, and find solutions. We witnessed highlights of American history, and are ready to bring them in October highlights of Russian history. The road of cultural understanding is very bumpy and misty, but it leads to love and friendship at the end of the journey. It’s worth travelling.

The American students brought to Russia the genre that had been successfully developed in Russia and Germany in the 1920s – in the agitational-propaganda (agit-prop) theatres. In America it was the Federal Theatre of the Living Newspaper Drama. The Living Newspaper is a dramatisation of a problem, representation of the effects the events have on the people for whom the problem is of great importance. The staging was symbolic; it created simple, stylised ways for rapidly communicating complex ideas. It sought the to get the audience involved with the necessity of empowering the powerless. The director Hallie Flanagan and the producer Joe Losey believed that Federal Theatre was “a pioneer theatre, because it was part of a tremendous rethinking, redreaming and rebuilding of America…These activities represent a new frontier in America, a frontier against disease, dirt, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, despair, and at the same time against selfishness, special privilege and social apathy. The struggles along this frontier are not political in any narrow sense. They would exist under any administration.” Yet, the Theatre was accused of being Communist propaganda and closed leaving a lot of jobless actors.

Fairfax students did a good job, presenting the show on different sites, from Moscow schools, to English-language clubs, and universities. They demonstrated a variety of drama games to be used in ELT.

By Olga Boltneva

LIFE IN AMERICAN DRAMA SCHOOL

On April 19th several students from America came to our University. They were from Fairfax High School, from the state of Virginia. This is a magnet school. I talked to two girls, Kristin and Jen, who took up art and drama in their school. On doing so they understood that from that moment on they would give most of their time to rehearsals and plays. They usually rehearse from 2 to 7 o’clock in the evening. Even during their summer holidays they go to art school.

Kristin and Jen say that they spend more time with their schoolmates than at home, that’s why the school has become a second home for them. I find that our professions – teacher and actor – have very much in common. Both require artistic skills and complete self-commitment; both influence people and make one feel nervous standing in front of an audience.

It was so nice talking to them after the wonderful presentation. Everyone can discover something new for oneself while talking to another person.

Veronica 3rd year student MCPU