3.

Internal and External action

The most significant of the features D-type drama are in the concept of internal action. From
drama itself in order to outline a child play model, the understanding of which will be crucial for
grasping some fundamental principles of drama in education.

External action

Theatre terminology Behaviour(A) Behaviour(B)

Title Cooking Putting baby to bed

Plot A sequence of A sequence of soaping,

fetching,carrying, soaking, powdering,
mixing, heating and putting on nappies and
cooling dressing in night clothes
Setting Hotel kitchen and Bathroom and all the
its utensils bedtime paraphernalia

The above table describes the external features of the make believe. The theatre terminology of
title, plot and setting inevitably give the perspective from the outside. But the fascinating thing
about make believe play is that it has two outsides. Whereas a visitor with imagination might
comment that chef is busy in hotel kitchen making jellies, a behaviourist visitor might,
observe that the child was continually going from the garden in order to fill his toy buckets.
It is the externalization of a mental activity that is being described, of a special kind in that point
of reference is concrete (cooking, for example) and its mode of expression in concrete (actual
activities in the garden). The external action of make believe play therefore is the juxtaposition
of two concrete worlds. One does not replace the other both are present and interdependent.

External action
meaning
Actual concrete Actual concrete
context context
created

Child hosing doll Mother bathing baby

Behaviour Title
sequence Plot
Setting

ntting
This model of the external action of make believe play to helop0 answer the question, [ what is
the purpose of play? and also can use in discussing drama in education, the assumption being
that the potential in make believe play for the child is also available.

For Vygotsky, the main function of make believe play is the predominance of meaning. There
are two kinds of meaning springing directly from the external action: sensorimotor skills and
objective knowledge. The knowledge available is to do with whatever are the objective facts of
the make believe context. The child brings to light what he already knows about chefs making
jellies and trifles and mothers bathing babies, he may adjust or improve that knowledge in the
process of playing. This is knowledge literally at first hand. The objective meaning as in this case
become refined as a direct result of sensorimotor experience. But there is a more significant
aspect of objective meaning that is available from the playing process that becomes part of the
internal action.

A further diagram can usefully summary of the external action of make believe

Actual Externalished
concrete Concrete
context context

1. Related to actual
context

Skills 2. Related to
Externalished context
Meaning
Objective 1. Factual recall and
Sensori+motor

Knowledge 2. Abstract
Internal action

Internal action is about the other side of the coin, for we are really talking about two aspects of
the same experience it is only for convenience that it has been separated into two identifiable
actions. The orientation in internal action, therefore, is from the general to the particular, from
the theme to the plot as it were. This is the opposite orientation to the external action which
moves from the particular to the general.

External action

Actual context Make believe context

Child playing Mother Title

with with Plot
2 dolls 2 children Setting

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Internal action

New baby themes Size

is a threat
attitude Going away

subjective meaning objective meaning

The former would be bound to work at the level of objective abstraction, using imitative make believe
skill to high degree. The latter will simply give a token representation of the real actions, making them no
more than a reference point.

Child 1 dressing doll dressing baby

Themes its fun to the boss -

Subjective meaning objective meaning

*Simply a point of refrence for this child

Child 2 dressing doll dressing baby

Themes its nice to be like mother mothers action

Subjective meaning objective meaning

*crucial for this child to achieve a high degree of objectivity

It is interesting to note the difference in treatment the same group of young children can give to the
objective meaning