Bridge Between Theatre and Classroom: A Case Study of NTGent’s Spiegelproject in a Secondary School

Abstract

This case study examined secondary school students’ experiences in a Spiegelproject carried out by NTGent, the city theatre of Ghent, Belgium in comparison with the theatre’s artistic agenda adopted in 2018. Spiegelprojects are organised by NTGent’s Public Outreach (Publiekswerking) department. They invite a group of non-professional performers from a variety of contexts to attend one of NTGent’s productions and to create their own version of it. In the 2018-2019 season, NTGent summarised its new artistic policy in the Ghent Manifesto, conveying a vision of a participatory theatre, which aims for the inclusion of underrepresented groups, and has social and political relevance. The purpose of the study was to analyse the correspondences between the actual project and the overall mission of NTGent and to see how these play a role in the participants’ experiences of the Spiegelproject. To contextualise NTGent’s endeavours for participation, the study included a review of literature about theatre companies’ educational theatre initiatives, their efforts to broaden the scope of audiences, and the pursuit to invite non- professionals to perform on stage. The examined project was organised between January and April 2019. The sample included 53 final year students aged 17-19, four school teachers, the drama teacher commissioned by the theatre, and the head of NTGent’s Publiekswerking department. The research adopted a mixed methods case study approach. It gathered quantitative and qualitative data through three student questionnaires at three different points of the study. The programme leaders’ opinions were obtained through qualitative semi-structured interviews and a qualitative focus group interview was conducted with five of the students. In addition, the researcher made non-participant observations throughout the course of the project. The study revealed that while the Spiegelproject incorporated participatory principles of the Manifesto. The project’s design associated it more with theatre education approaches, which aim to create more appreciation and awareness of theatre arts. Overall, the project increased students’ interest in attending NTGent performances, it created stronger bonds among participants, and contributed to raise awareness of its key topics: homophobia and the challenge of protecting vulnerable people in a public situation. However, its approach engaged students unevenly, and did not enable some of them to equally benefit from their participation. The study implies that more complex and process-oriented drama methods would help to involve students more evenly. The key recommendation emerging from the research is to continue clarifying the role and the purpose of education and participatory practices within NTGent’s agenda, as more synergies can contribute to the profundity of the projects.