Teaching spiritual ideals through theatre and drama

Abstract

Includes bibliographical references (pages 121-126)

This thesis proposes a sweeping public schools program of teaching spiritual ideals, through theatre and drama, which is non-sectarian, does not rely on prayer or Bible reading, and does not infringe on Constitutional Amendments. Stressing the concept that Man is born with the instinctive need for God, the paper brings together the theories of outstanding leaders of almost every field or discipline. Combining the conclusions of Jung, Maslow, and Lecomte du Nouy, this study affirms that life's ultimate goal is perfect, Spiritual Man and offers strong scientific evidence to support the God-need theory. Because theatre/drama possesses all of the virtues of ~ and art (as well as ritual and magic), and because it is so rich in symbolism and mystical content, this paper declares there can be no other teaching method which would impress young minds so effectively and profoundly and bring about philosophic changes. The final section of the thesis is devoted to an original two act play based on the legend and the Robert Browning story poem, ???The Pied Piper of Hamelin.??? It is presented as an example of how spiritual ideals can be taught by using theatre and drama.