‘Drama Specialists Needed'

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31319, 15 March 1967, Page 2

‘Drama Specialists Needed'

“It is high time New Zealand had drama specialists. You have music specialists, and drama should also be accepted as a subject in its own right, to be taught as part of the syllabus in schools,” Miss Maisie Cobby, an English speech and drama specialist, said in Christchurch yesterday.

At the primary school level, Miss Cobby has found a considerable amount of activity in drama in New Zealand. “But in secondary schools there is some rigidity —fear that with examinations there is no time for drama.” Miss Cobby, who has retired as senior inspector for speech and drama for the London County Council and is now “free-lancing,” has been running courses for secondary and primary schoolteachers in New Zealand. She is working for the Drama Council and the Education Department, and receives financial support from the British Council.

“We are trying to push the inclusion of creative arts in the school syllabus. Speech, with emphasis on drama and language, is a subject very much linked with English,” she said. “These courses help the teacher bring English literature to life in the classroom.” For Miss Cobby, speech and drama have “no fron-

tiers.” She enjoys working with any age group, from the very young to the elderly. Drama enriched life, and could be beneficial for everyone. Participation in the arts meant self-discovery for the young child. For the teenager it also meant communication. “It’s important that young people learn to understand their environment and to know the forms of entertainment provided today. They must understand the real world, for much that is presented today is a celluloid world,” she said.

Miss Cobby considers that many specialist speech teachers now accept speech not as an end in itself but as communication, and link the “old elocution” with drama. Speech and drama were finding their way into industry in Britain. Recently courses on speech and the use of public address systems had been given to railway porters, and Miss Cobby had been approached by a representative of the Metropolitan police force, which wanted the services of a speech specialist.

“When I asked why the police force needed speech and drama instruction I was told it wanted the officers who spoke on road safety at schools to be able to communicate with the children,” Miss Cobby said. Many large retail stores ran similar courses, which helped assistants in their dealings with cutomers. While in Africa Miss Cobby ran courses which included acting out roles which could

prove a beneficial experience for the pupils. “In one course we made an African play the role of applying for a job, getting references, going for an Interview, being accepted and then taking up his duties, which even included attending trade union meetings,” she said.