Aesthetic Engagement in the Drama Process

Abstract

This paper begins with a brief discussion of beliefs about the value and nature of aesthetic experience held prior to the author commencing a reflective study. She outlines her desire and initial attempts to understand further the nature of aesthetic experience, then discusses a theory about intimacy that influenced the path of her understanding and the course of her quest to unravel the nature of aesthetic engagement. Although the research spanned more than 5 years, in this paper she focuses on one particular phase that involved a reflective play-building project. The paper outlines the working processes of the play-building group and briefly discusses approaches to data collection and analysis before drawing conclusions about the key characteristics of aesthetic engagement. While she asserts that connection, animation and heightened awareness are the key characteristics of aesthetic engagement, her discussion focuses on the nature of connection. She concludes by drawing attention to aspects of group working processes which impact on the experience of connection and thus on the potential for the drama to offer percipients opportunities for aesthetic engagement.

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