‘The principal character’: the triad approach and improvisation in teaching

This article focuses on a teaching case, Rona, a student in the educational dance-theatre programme that adopted improvisational teaching to deal with her lack of self-confidence. This lack had denied her feeling free and teaching without inhibitions in the classroom. Rona found a way to release her lack of self-confidence by spontaneously acting the ‘character’ of a funny and assertive ‘principal’ for ensuring a flowing dialogue with the pupils without disturbances to the planned procedure of the lesson. I analyse the Rona’s case through Shifra Schonmann’s triadic approach for teacher training, based on the theatrical perception which differentiates between a dramatic character, a social role and a performer’s personality and the through the directions of improvisational teaching.