Identity and the Arts: Using Drama and Masks as a Pedagogical Tool to Support Identity Development in Adolescence

Adolescence is defined as the years between the onset of puberty and the beginning of adulthood. Among the profound and exciting changes taking place in adolescence is the process of self-discovery. Our teens are working to figure out who they are, making adolescent identity development a central feature of teen life. Young people’s identities are shaped by lots of factors: family, cultural and societal expectations, experiences with institutions like school and the media, and friends. And identity in adolescents is an ever-growing concern and pre-occupation within formal education, with a need to identify factors that can positively impact upon adolescent development.

A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes and the role that mask has played in allowing people to explore what it means to us through adopting the “other”. It therefore stands to reason that if masks have and still do allow individuals to explore identity and place in life, there may be an impact upon adolescents who use masks within their formal drama education.

This paper explored: The concepts of identity having a correspondence to mask usage; The potential for masks to support the individual to disassociate from the self; and the sense of being. The results showed that masks can be a clear methodology for allowing identity exploration, self-awareness in developing good mental health, and in conjunction with academic achievement, self-confidence and societal responsibility. And if we wish to support adolescent development and self awareness, at the core of drama curricula we need to re-position the usage of masks in the classroom beyond being tied to core historical academic knowledge but as a pedagogical methodology in its own right, we need to support adolescent exploration of identity.

Article by David Roy and James Ladwig, from University of Newcastle (AUS), Callaghan, Australia.

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Image by Mariette Norman, from Flickr-cc.