On guarding a corpse reflecting on a drama based on Antigone.
Creators: name: AMOIROPOULOS, KONSTANTINOS
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2025
Subjects: classificationCode: 360403
subject: Drama, theatre and performance studies
classificationCode: 360401
subject: Applied theatre
classificationCode: 360499
subject: Performing arts not elsewhere classified

description: This article is under publication in the NATD Journal for Drama in Education, Spring 2025. <br>This article examines an educational drama workshop based on Sophocles' <i>Antigone</i>, implemented at the NATD 2024 conference, <i>Being in Learning: Making Text Meaningful! The workshop aimed</i> to challenge and explore the<i> metaxis phenomenon</i> – where participants experience, connect and reflect on reality and fiction simultaneously – through the role of the Guards in Antigone who guard Polynices' corpse to prevent his possible burial. However, the coordinator found that the implementation was not satisfactory, as participants were not sufficiently connected to their roles, and the intended outcome of Metaxis was questionable or absent.The workshop sought to connect the classical text with the contemporary social context. The act of the Guards in <i>Antigone </i>– who, under Creon's threat, cleaned the corpse to entice Antigone to visit the dead a second time – was set in an imaginary modern school environment where an "annoying" student was expelled for mocking the school principal's authoritarianism by posting sarcastic but highly offensive images created with artificial intelligence (AI-generated images), on the internet. Participants were invited to participate in activities exploring power dynamics, censorship and institutional control over young people within a school environment through this scene from <i>Antigone</i>.Despite the participants' initial connection to the drama material, certain activities, such as creating offensive AI images, may have caused discomfort to some participants and the moderator. The coordinator also identified problems with time management, clarity of goals, and emotional protection for participants. Critical reflection resulted in some suggestions, such as that a clearer structure, stronger connections to personal experiences, and a slower pace could have enhanced the learning experience and the sense of metaxis.The article highlights the challenges posed by the "Living through Drama" approach, in which participants must effectively connect with their roles to provoke critical self-reflection. The critical reflection in this article is based on the coordinator's perspective due to time constraints that prevented participants from gathering data. As a result, data sources are limited to the initial drama plan, diary entries, and the facilitator's written thoughts after the workshop. The lack of direct responses from participants makes the analysis more subjective and challenging, as it does not fully explain how participants experienced the drama.To structure reflection, the facilitator applies educational reflection practices, particularly those that emphasize critical incidents – moments of worry or discomfort during teaching that can provide valuable insights into a phenomenon. This approach aligns with Farrell's idea that unplanned events can reveal misconceptions and enhance understanding. Larrivee (2008) further argues that moments of uncertainty or conflict are key to individual growth.Gibbs' Reflex Cycle is used as a rough frame. This model includes:Description of the situationFeelings and thoughts during applicationEvaluate and analyze what went wrongConclusion on new knowledgeThe final step—creating a personal action plan—was ruled out, as it was considered less relevant to the article's readers. Instead, reflection focuses on debugging the lab execution and suggesting improvements for future applications.The phenomenological methodology aims to faithfully describe experiences rather than objectively analyze them. The approach seeks to capture the facilitator's lived experience and highlight moments of discomfort that could lead to deeper learning and improvement of drama-based teaching methods.