Interview with David Gibson and Luke
Prodromou
 |
| David Gibson |
.JPG) |
| Luke Prodromou |
On a warm Greek Saturday afternoon, I met my two
champions, David Gibson and Luke Prodromou. David is a teacher and
teacher-trainer and has also worked as an examiner, team-leader, and inspector
for a major examining board; he has now retired from active duty. Luke is a
teacher, author, teacher trainer, and has also been an examiner for Cambridge
and an item writer for the kpg exams. And I mention just a few of the things they
have done so far. But they both agree that their brainchild, The Dave’n’Luke project, is their most important work as yet.
When asked how long their
cooperation has been going on, they were happy to say they met a long time ago,
teaching at the British Council of Thessaloniki, Greece. David joined the
British Council in 1987 where Luke was already working and performing in the
Bits and Pieces theatre group with other teachers and students, which resulted
in the publication of a book of original sketches. When this ended they formed
the Teachers' and Students' Theatre Group putting on full-length plays by
established playwrights. Since then, they had been working in the same town,
each always promoting drama. There was a short period when they didn’t see each
other much but, when David retired, they got together and somehow the idea of
forming a project to write and perform based on drama and literature cropped
up. They had the idea of getting a group of interested people together to
revive Bits and Pieces and perform in support of the Disabled Access Friendly
Campaign. After the initial meeting, the others dropped out and so it was just
Dave and Luke. And it’s been fruitful since. Since December 2010 they
have performed at teachers' conferences, in schools, colleges, and universities
all over Greece, and, to date in ten other countries - more than sixty
performances.
Then I asked them what they hope to accomplish through
their project. Well, they said, first the obvious sheer pleasure they have
working on their materials, rehearsing them and presenting them, plus the
enjoyment of the warm welcome and positive response they receive whenever and
wherever they perform. An educator, they pointed out, must be inspired by what
he/she does in order to inspire others. And they do entertain their audiences
and thus inspire them, since entertainment is not merely laughter but also food
for thought. And they’re happy when they get people to think. A further reason
why they do it is that they want drama to be transferred to the classroom, as
drama is interactive, interpersonal, it is live –not a text, it promotes
language acquisition as it gives learners the chance to use language and
vocabulary in context, glean meanings in a real life situation, fathom the
nuances of stress and intonation and so much more. From body language and
gesture to the very simple learning of new vocabulary, dramatising it helps. More
often than not, drama has proven the catalyst that turned a poorly performing
learner into a star. And the benefits of using drama in the classroom have been
observed, scientifically analysed and results of such studies have been presented
in many an international conference.
Finally, I asked them where they get their inspiration
from: “Each other “, they both replied .
They are both men of extensive education, reading, interests as wide as music
and the theatre to football and so on, life is their stage and from life they
get their ideas. They meet , exchange ideas, like some, discard some or put
them aside for the time being, then choose some, brainstorm, consider factors
such as “ Do we like it?’ , “Will they like it?’ And as soon as they’ve made up
their minds, they get down to writing. While writing, they make changes. At
times one of them may write half the dialogue while the other will contribute
just the one sentence .At other times it will come spontaneously to both of
them. It is the very fact that they really communicate at a deep level -they
know each other this well-that allows them not to compete but rather complement
one another.
Listening to them both, and feeling the passion they
have for teaching- because educators they are first and foremost – enriched me
as a person, as their presentations and performances have through the years
.And naturally, they have encouraged me to keep pushing to become a better
teacher, to keep learning, to discover ways to be inspired and inspiring, what
they themselves have been through time. Dave and Luke-and the order is purely
alphabetical- you are my champions. Thank you!
