FOLK MUSICAL DRAMA: DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS OF IMPROVISATIONAL ACTING SKILLS

Abstract

The research article was part of the Doctor of Arts program thesis in Department of Thai Dramatic Arts on "Innovation in Folk Musical Drama" The objective of this research was to study the process of drama for the development of “folk musical theater” performances using the improvisation concept of “Viola Spolin” who used the practice of acting skills through games and improvisation in hypothetical situations to develop learners. There were 20 students in the performing arts major at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce for a period of 8 weeks. The research aimed to develop skills in folk song improvisation for participants, including the adoption of the 4 forms of folk song improvisational approaches: 1) improvisation 2) continue improvisation 3) interactive improvisation and 4) improvisation as a story. The researcher therefore designed the aforementioned process to develop the skills of drama and folk song improvisation into 3 steps as follows: 1) principles and concepts 2) skill development and tool experimentation and 3) experience exchange. The data were then collected and analyzed using summaries based on note-taking, participant observations, and interviews with participants.

            The study found that students were able to learn and develop their skills by participating in activities. The researcher discovered two interesting problems affecting the students' acting skills development: 1) Theatrical arts skills included character needs and character accessibility. 2) The skills of improvisation consisted of rhyme accuracy, lexical knowledge, and listening process. These were considered useful for the development of the actor's skill exercises and the creative process of performing folk songs.