Lois Golding, Contributor
Cutie (Camille Davis) and the freak (Courtney Wilson) during a scene from Patrick Brown's play, 'Cutie and The Freak'. - photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
Parents often ask for ways to help their adolescents who are often reluctant and sometimes remedial readers to read more.
Drama and fiction are two important approaches that are used by the teacher to engage students in the learning of English and Patrick Brown's Cutie and the Freak is a good example of the way local theatre can extend the teaching and learning of English outside the classroom.
Taking them to a production such as this on a Saturday night is a very good way to start.
First, these children want to be entertained.
Cutie and the Freak is an entertaining production, and that too made it engaging.
It was artfully and creatively presented using a number of techniques which took focus away from the fact that the play occurred in only two locations on stage.
Much-loved technique
There were song and dance, make-up, costumes, a few unexpected magic tricks, special effects with lightning and the much-loved technique of involving the audience with asides. They made the characters even more distinctive and memorable.
This production surpasses mere entertainment, as it affords the audience an opportunity to sum up and form thoughtful opinions about current issues in his/her society.
Many a student could project himself into a scene/character of the play because the issues are compelling. It may be the young girl who wants to start dating, the influence of teen idols (entertainers) who have resounding impact on student behaviours or more poignant, their response to the greater issue of developing good character and putting others above self sometimes.
In a society where appearances are all-important, for me, the winning scenes had the previously maudlin-sounding, twisted, cross-eyed, cripple defend himself against the offensive manipulation of 'Ben' the doomsayer (a figment of his imagination) and ridicule by a morally more hideous freak than himself, 'Ezekiel'.
Both characters were beautifully played by Glen Campbell. Whatever the responses are, this play would have fulfilled a practical purpose of having a youngster think about social issues that are evocative.
It would be an English teacher's delight to have students return to school with questions about themes uncovered in the play.
More heartfelt would be to have a student view such a production and attempt to correct as many words misused by a character such as Mr. Adams (Oliver Samuels).
He distinguished himself as a character who consistently uses malapropisms in an attempt to be recognised in a newly-acquired middle class status. Misused words are not uncommon to Jamaicans.
Perfect contrast
They range from commonly-mistaken words, 'oblivious' for 'obvious', to one I have never heard before 'kleptophobia'. His daughter 'Cutie' is a perfect contrast in language use. Students who display awareness of these differences indicate that they are well on their way to learning through the language.
The story doesn't end there, it is a rich diversity of elements. Such a realistic portrayal of a fairy tale-based theme set in Jamaican life, composed of endless old time Jamaican words, local practices and current expressions can serve a function higher than just entertainment.
It can be a means through which parents do their part in interesting students in learning to read and use language. This is one practical purpose of good drama, that of enticing our learners to become thoughtful and mature readers who can link the dramatised plays to the written words and also make meaningful connections to their lives.
