The Water Man – drama workshop for learning

Valentina Korbar
Do we know who we are? How views of others influence our self-concept and self-esteem? How social norms affect our decisions?
The Water Man workshop was created as a part of JOIN IN AND MAKE A CHANGE Eramsus + project, which has the aim of supporting diverse stakeholders of inclusive education with expertise on how to truly engage learners at risk and sharing of best teaching practice.
The workshop is based on famous Slovenian poem The Water Man written by France Prešeren. It offers the unique experience of discussing the poem and dealing with its subject matter by combing drama techniques with other creative tasks. In the first part, participants read the poem and make a board of word associations. Through narration they are taken to the streets of Ljubljana in 19th century. They continue with setting up the room of the protagonist. In the main part, they are building three important people in the life of protagonist using role on the wall. Taking their shoes and understanding their point of view through hot seating. Exploring the feeling of protagonist by overheard conversation. Meeting the author of the poem in his old age. Finally, they concluded with connecting protagonist to the way of life nowadays by making her Instagram post.
The Water Man will help teachers get ideas for making learning relevant to students, for increasing student engagement and adapting activities for distant learning.

Valentina Korbar was a part of the theatre group Metulji as a child, which inspired her to join workshops, seminars and conferences on Educational Theatre and Drama. She finished a master’s Program in Law (University of Ljubljana) and The International M.A. Program in Child Development (University of Haifa). Currently she works as project leader in Taka Tuka Society, which promotes using drama as a tool for creative, interactive and inclusive learning in all educational settings.