Abstract
This chapter seeks to broaden the scope of research in Theatre/Drama Education by placing the neglected issue of the child as spectator in the mainstream of thought on the uses of drama in education. The fine boundary between imagination and reality is studied from the viewpoint of the child watching a theatre performance. This is based on observational research in which I examined if and how children aged 5-8 live the aesthetic experience of a performance, and how their involvement in the performance affects the reduction of aesthetic distance. Research on the child as spectator in early childhood and his or her perception of aesthetic distance in a theatre performance is new and ground-breaking. It aims at developing an instrument for assessing aesthetic distance in early childhood.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 79-89 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Visual Arts Research |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| State | Published - 1999 |