Susan Cocimano:

You think of so many things before an interview, don't you? What questions to ask, what information you want to obtain...Sometimes also phrases flash through your mind. Such as this one by James Joyce: "The artist, like the God of creation,remains within or behind, or beyond or above his handiwork, invisible, refined out of existence,indifferent, paring his fingernails.” With those words ringing in his ears, the journalist approached Susan Cocimano, an Argentine who uses acting to teach English.

“Hello!”
“Hi!”
“I’m looking for a blond Argentine drama teacher.?
“Oh, really? Here I am!
“Well, Susan, I would like to ask you a few questions about your work.
“Fine.”
“Well, to begin with, who is Susan C.?
“Aha! That’s quite a question, isn’t it? I’d say that I’m a person who likes very much to discover, to feel out things and develop possibilities. I like creativity...”
“The question sounds simple but....”
“It’s difficult to answer...I like to search for ideas not only in myself but in others, to help them discover how creative they can be.”
“I imagine that’s what you do in your workshops...Are you Argentine?”
“Yes. I was born here but then lived abroad for many years.”
“I see.”
“For many years I travelled to many different countries...It’s funny because lately I’ve been thinking about my life as a big puzzle.”
“A puzzle?”
“Yes. And all the bits and pieces of the puzzle are in different countries and every now and then I like to stop and try to put the pieces together. So I dwell on the bits of my life I left in some other country. Then I need to go back to that country to join the pieces to the main puzzle.”
“So life is a puzzle.”
“You could say that. A bit complicated but...”
“Does the idea of the puzzle also apply to your work in theatre?”
“Certainly and that is why I like to find out things, what happens to people in different situations, what happens to me also, and to re-discover this unending puzzle...well, I suppose it will end some day.”
“Your bits and pieces seem to be a bit scattered around...”
“Yes, quite dispersed and that’s why I need to go back now and then to try to put the pieces together.”
“How did you get involved in theatre?”
“It began when I was very young, about 15 years old.”
“In Spanish or in English?”
“In English, in English! There was an audition in a school where I was studying and I got the part. That experience made me realize how much in common I had with theatre.”
“With the character you played or with theatre itself?”
“With theatre. I was happy to be able to develop my character, but I discovered how enthralled I was with theatre. Theatre is about showing, but not showing everything and that’s the way I am too.”
“Did you ever think about going professional?”
“No.”
“Never?”
“I thought about getting involved with theatre to use it in my teaching experience.”
“You mean as a teaching tool?”
“Yes. I like the idea of bringing out what people have inside. In fact, at one point I said to myself: ‘I want to become a drama teacher.’ And that’s what happened.”
“And now you’re 21 and...”
“Ha! Ha! Ha! And now that I’m of age (men are not supposed to ask women about their age) I’m able to put things together. And, well, why do acting on the one hand and teaching on the other? So I eventually put them together.”
“Which do you prefer?”
“I like both, although I haven’t acted in a long time.”
“Where do you teach acting?”
“At bi-lingual schools. At one point I was the head of a secondary school and I introduced drama into the curriculum.”
“Where was that?”
“At Colombia school (in Buenos Aires) and that was a very interesting experience because as headmistress I was able to develop a serious program of drama. Later I went on to teach also at the primary level.”
“Do people respond well to your proposals?”
“Yes, quite well, although at first they tend to be quite tense. Theatre is such an overwhelming thing! I’ve even seen people run out the door just as the class was beginning. You have a group of 30 persons and you turn to do something and several have slipped away.”
“Because of stage fright?”
“I suppose. I always say before people run away that if they like it they should get involved in some aspects, not necessarily acting. I have a beautiful anticdote about this from when I was teaching at a primary school. The very first day a fifth grader came into the class and almost immediately hid behind a column.
“He was the shy type.”
“Yes and for several classes he was hiding there and it was impossible to get him to participate. I thought to myself: ‘if he wants to hide, let him hide.’ All of the rest of the children were working and improvising and having fun. Then one day they were doing an improvisation and the place of action was a train station. I said: ‘I think we need some sound effects.’ From behind the column I heard this fifth grader going ‘chu-chu-chu-chu’ and for the following three months he did all of the sound effects. It took him a whole year but eventually he agreed to do a small part.
“How did he do?”
“Fine. I worked with him until he graduated from high school. At the end of the year play he was one of the main characters. This is how I deal with stage fright. He got involved from another point of view and it was wonderful to hear his sound effects.”
“Would you say that people fear revealing their secrets?”
“I believe so and that’s why I try to work on getting rid of inhibitions. This is what happens in theatre. You go to a class and want to be an actoress and you think you have to open up your heart and pour out all the terrible things that have happened to you.”
“But there is more than that involved.”
“Exactly. You have to learn how to control your emotions and use them when you want or need to.”
“That is, theatre is an art.”
“That’s right. Lots of people think ‘I’ve got a problem so it would be good for me to do theatre.’”
“What are you doing at the moment?”
“I’m doing a lot of theatre training and then if a school or a group is interested in studying darma technique they contact me at my web page.”
“That makes you something of a theatre free lancer.”
“Yes, indeed, and that gives me a lot of freedom to decide how and when to organize workshops or courses.”
“What about the future?”
“Well, I’d like to travel a lot, to continue developing the workshops and the things I do to share my knowledge with others. That brings me back to the bits and pieces, doesn’t it?”
“One last but daring question: are you free and available?”
“Ha! Ha! Ha! I don’t remember ever having been asked that! I don’t know whether I am free and available but I am very comfortable and, well, I don’t like sharing my bathroom with anyone!”

Contacts: Susan at email: [e-mail]
Web: http://www.crearcreate.com.ar/English/about/htm
 

EMPOWERING TEACHERS
By Susan Cocimano
Much has been said about the advantages of Applied Drama, so it is not my intention to delve into it. Yet I cannot help asking myself: Are teachers really aware of these advantages? And if they are: Do they ever apply drama in their daily plans? I am a firm believer that applied drama will be truly effective and unfold all its potential if teachers are able to grasp, understand and incorporate the philosophy of this practice.
“Much of the confusion which teachers have in regard with drama lies in the fact that it is so intransient. They can hear when a musical instrument is tuned properly; they recognise the need for this and it’s as easily apparent when the tuning is wrong. The same applies to paint and clay where it is easy to perceive wrong mixing of paints, wrong size of brush, etc... In drama, the equivalent of too liquid paint or badly tuned instruments is not easily apparent and one of the first essentials for teachers is that they learn in dramatic terms how to mix the paints” Dorothy Heathcote
In order to do so, those interested in using drama techniques, as a resource in their teaching, must go through the process and the experience themselves. Otherwise they will not be able to convey what they want to achieve or even empathise with the learning process of their students.
I find that teachers are willing to apply drama techniques, they go through an infinite number of seminars, which they love; yet they are overcome by fear the moment they have to put this into practice.
They choose to remain with traditional and well-known resources (very valid and valuable indeed). They remain with what they have, with that which makes them feel safe. They stay away from a whole variety of new options that would not only open possibilities to their students but also to themselves. They shy away from developing Creativity, Curiosity and Connecting.
Creativity means daring, spontaneity
Curiosity means investigating, discovery
Connecting means finding common grounds, cause and effect, action and reaction.
Of course all this means Commitment. (Yes, feelings are involved since they are the basic conception of dramatics)
Teachers feel they have to choose.
They feel it’s either one thing or the other.
They feel they cannot cope with this bubbling baggage.
How will they control it?
Well, for one thing, start by trying the 4 C’s above.
It’s not one thing or the other. It’s one thing AND the other.
It’s Complementing -and here we have an extra “C”.
As a teacher trainer in applied drama, I see this with my students. I see how they open up, become aware, discover, create, come up with original ideas, intelligent plans and adequate use of the tool. Yet when the time comes to put this into practice, they prefer not to. They deny themselves the satisfaction of seeing the results of their own creation, the joy this resource produces.
Drama is ever so demanding because it not only requires the 4C’s. It requires Knowledge, Love and Passion.
How can we, teacher trainers/drama specialists contribute to make this change possible ?
How can we help overcome fears regarding drama ?
How can we empower them ?
Teaching them how to use this tool is not enough. Insisting on the wonderful results is not enough. Showing how it is done is not enough.
We need to accompany them during this process, supervise their work, invite them to reflect, contain and reassure them; our teachers will come to understand, love and enjoy this resource. They will realise that they needn’t choose anymore, only add and complement. I will once again quote Dorothy Heathcote in this respect:
“Following this real knowledge of the medium, we can feed to teachers the necessary techniques, knowing that they will not be misled into using those techniques blindly because they achieve results acceptable to headmasters, parents, etc, but will use them as and when required, and not lose sight of their aims for the particular class which they are concerned”
This is a necessary step for our teachers to grow, find their own style and finally let go of our hand.
Bibliography
Heathcote, Dorothy: “Drama as Challenge” (from Uses of Drama). Eyre Methuen Ltd
Susan Cocimano
Drama Teacher, Psycho-dramatist and Actress, she has taught inkindergarten, primary and secondary.
She specialises in Drama and Creativity, two resources that enable thepossibility of expanding the essentials and enriching the personal spirit.
Teacher trainer and former Head of English at secondary level, she designsand conducts workshops for teachers and for all those interested in feeling better and wanting to learn through drama and creativity.
Her experience in theatre is vast (stage manager, set designer, assistantdirector). As an actress, she has covered and enjoyed a wide variety of roles.
As a Director, she has worked both with children and adults.
Susan enjoys painting and has recently illustrated a book for the Bumble Bee series of Mitchell publications
• SEAL and SEAL-Argentina member
• SAP committee member ( Sociedad Argentina de Psicodrama )
   ND member (National Drama, UK)