The recipe of laughter – how comic elements function in a TIE production?

Abstract

This study intends to explore the function of comic elements in Theatre in Education. TIE is a kind of interactive theatre that offers chance to explore values and create meaning through dramatic through the dramatic form. Comedy might be a captivating method to achieve TIE’s educational purpose. Yet there are little theories about comic elements in TIE. In this study, based on the pre-understanding of the field of TIE and drama in education, and close reading of comic theories from the perspectives of aesthetics and psychology, three hypotheses was made. Comic might function in TIE as estrangement aesthetic, dynamic distancing device and protective mechanism. An original TIE production is designed to test out the hypotheses in Mainland China. It is a performance-based case study; data is collected with practice and interview. Video recording and immediate notes from the participants were collected. The textual analysis is following the procedure of systematic text condensation, with the experience of designing, together they may illuminate how comic elements functioned in the field of TIE. The performance was designed in the Chinese traditional style of cross-talk comedy (xiangsheng), in order to explore how this form of comedy function in its native culture background.