Issues are easy to face through drama

“A society where people are open, cooperative and responsible for themselves and others.” This is Kava Cultural Group’s mission – a Hungarian theatre group with a difference. 

Operating since 1996, the Budapest-based non profit organization brings difficult subjects to school age children through a method known to just a handful. Its actor drama teachers – a profession described as “working in no man’s land” for its lack of official recognition – go from school to school, including children in the conception, acting out and direction of plays as a key to involve them emotionally, and perhaps even involve them emotionally. 

Adam Cziboly, the 33 year-old strategic leader of civil society group, describes this process as “going beyond the esthetic and focusing on particular issues, such as discrimination, integration, drug abuse, juvenile crime and freedom.”

Cziboly accepted to answer a few of Vita Europe’s questions, shedding light on the inner workings of the technique, the impact it has and why children from difficult backgrounds are the easiest to work with.

What is the main aim of Kava as an organization?

Our core activity sees us working mainly with 9-16 year-olds inside schools in Hungary. We give individual classes one-day trainings that we dedicate to a specific issue. These drama and theater education programs have a very strong psychological and moral focus. Through this activity, we generally touch around five thousand kids a year, with an even broader effect as we find that they will often go home and share what they have learned with their friends and family.

Other activities include trainings across Europe and a social enterprise called Dramatrening. 

How effective can drama related activities be as tools for social change? 

We believe that learning can happen through acting.  The best way to understand a situation is to get involved emotionally and to try and act out different parts of a solution. The drama pedagogy metrology we use actually has British origins. 

How do you choose the specific issue that you will work into your day school programs? 

We usually have around four or five programs during the school year, which schools can choose from. Each program is for a different age group and addresses a different issue. Some parts of them are open and varies according to what the children might bring to it on a specific day. For example for 15-16, we have programs about social exclusion and understanding older people’s position in society, for 11-12 we have programs about bullying and school aggression. With small kids we might use puppetry and legends, whereas with older ones we might incorporate contemporary Hungarian drama.

Have you found that certain age groups are more receptive than others?

I would say that the difference is not in the age but in the background of the kids. Generally, kids from a difficult background are easier to work with. 

Why is that?

I think privileged kids are used to being asked about their opinion. They are more intellectual and try to avoid getting involved emotionally. Whereas for those coming from disadvantaged areas or schools, it is a very new thing for them that someone is interested in their opinion. This means that they usually get involved quickly and get a lot out of our programs. 

Is there a particular issue you feel is affecting Hungarian youth across the board?

I must admit that in most classes we encounter there is some form of bullying going on. I think this is not specific to Hungary though. Peer aggression in this part of the world is becoming more and more of a problem in school. 

Why now?

I couldn’t say. There is a theory that says that teachers in schools are finding it hard to adopt a new system. Back in the socialist days, punishment and hitting was allowed, and rules were very strict. The philosophy now is much more open, it seeks to treat children as partners. Teachers who were taught the socialist way are finding that the transition is hard I think.

What lay behind the idea of your social enterprise?

Increased financial sustainability and the idea that what we are doing in schools can also be done on a corporate level for trainings. 

This side of our activities sees us doing trainings with large companies and banks. Our trainings always have some kind of social goal. For example training HR leaders to interview people with disabilities or public servants against corruption. The tools we use are very similar: theater parts, dramatic situations, strong involvement… 

Is working with the corporations different to children?

Yes. There is much less acting and much more talking. We can use drama too but participants won’t stand up and do it, they are more shy. We never call it a play or a game, but instead use a more serious term such as simulation.