English – angol

HUDEA

Hungarian Drama/Theatre Education Association
is a national organisation, founded in 1988.

Its aims are:
to make the methodology of drama in education available in schools and
in general educational practice;
to promote childrens’ and youth theatre activities;
to act as a representative on behalf of groups and people working in these areas.

The activity of the Hungarian Drama/Theatre Education Association (HUDEA)

THE NATIONAL CHILDREN THEATRE FESTIVAL The Association organises the National CHILDREN Theatre Festival (named after the late contemporary poet, Sándor Weöres) every year. The preparations and the selection of productions for the Festival are running for more than half a year. The groups present their performances first locally, then at regional festivals (in six regions) in April and May. The National Youth Theatre Festival serves also as a forum for childrens’ and youth theatre practitioners; the productions are always followed by critical discussions, professional meetings. This Festival is the most important ‘yeast’ of childrens’ and young people’s theatre in Hungary. Yearly there are more than 200 groups attending with performances, involving approximately ten thousand young people (aged 6-15) nationwide. Children’s and youth theatre activities in Hungary are based on the principles and methodology of drama in education, i.e. practitioners place the emphasis not on copying ‘adult theatre’ but on the step-by-step development of group activities, involving the participants’ creative initiatives. Improvisation, developing communication skills and group cohesion are therefore the hallmarks of these activities. Performances are not limited by topic or genre; groups can choose from ready-made scripts, can adapt fairy or folk tales, novels or short stories, can compose a play by improvisations etc. The National Children Theatre Festival is a colourful event of high standards; Hungarian groups attending festivals abroad usually also enjoy great success.

CONTRIBUTION TO THE HUNGARIAN-SPEAKING DRAMA AND THEATRE ACTIVITIES IN NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES
We invite Hungarian-speaking drama teachers and youth theatre practitioners living outside the borders of Hungary to all of our events, covering their expenses here. Our experts regularly give training workshops and seminars organised by the Hungarian Drama/Theatre Education Association in Transylvania (Romania), Upper Hungary (Slovakia), Voivodina (Yugoslavia), Sub-Carpathia (Ukraine). We would like to broaden the range of these activities as well.

TRAINING
The Hungarian Drama/Theatre Education Association organise the training for drama teachers and youth theatre practitioners. This is an even more important field of our activity since movement, drama and puppetry have become parts of the National Core Curriculum (Education Act 1995).
It is very urgent therefore to enable the Hungarian Drama/Theatre Education Association to take part in the training of teachers at university level as well. Every year we organise a three-day conference called Theatre – Drama – Education, where there are participants from Hungary and abroad. Since 1993 the Association have had the right to organise training courses for teachers who wanted to specialise in drama. These courses involve a 120 hours training, and participants obtain a certificate after taking an exam in the theory and practice of drama teaching. The Hungarian Drama/Theatre Education Association coordinates and organises acts as a publisher of printed materials (books, periodicals), videofilms etc. in connection with drama and youth theatre activities, regional workshops and ‘training of the trainers.’

PUBLISHING A PERIODICAL
The Drama Education Quarterly (Drámapedagógiai Magazin) is edited and published by the Hungarian Drama/Theatre Education Association. The Quarterly, as the only drama education periodical, has already reached its 28th volume. There are theoretical and practical articles, reviews, reports of events in Hungary and abroad published in the Quarterly.

BACKGROUND
The Hungarian Drama/Theatre Education Association rent an office in the Hungarian Institute for Culture. The office is equipped with phone, fax, answering machine and a computer. There is one full-time and one part-time administrative worker at the office. The President and the members of the Presidium of the Association receive no payment for their activity.