Theatre at Moscow Hermann Matern School: Performing Tradition, Educational Innovations, Perspectives On Artistic Activities

Abstract

This article describes the more than 45 years of history of theatrical tradition at Moscow Hermann Matern School as well as the transformation of this tradition into an educational innovation in the 1990s. An annual competition in theatrical performance called Theatre Week for Children has been held since the late 1970s for students from grades 1 to 11. However, since the mid-90s, some new educational forms based on this theatrical tradition have been introduced as an experiment in teaching humanities at this school. Alongside traditional educational forms, students have been encouraged to stage the elected material, mostly in the subjects of literature and foreign languages (German, English), but also in history. The article aims to follow the emergence of close-knit school theatre communities as the result of involving children in performing activities.

Keywords

• Theatre
• Education
• Theatre at School
• School plays and School events
• Pedagogy
• Performance
• Anthropology