Videogames and Theater in Schools

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of videogames used as tools to increase the youngsters’ interest in classic theater. Our study took place in eight schools in the Community of Madrid, and 754 high school students aged between 11 and 16 were involved. In this paper, we describe the different stages of the project: (1) adaptation process from the theater play “The foolish lady” by Lope de Vega to an educational graphical adventure, (2) assessment of the videogame by experts, and (3) experimental assessment of the game in schools. To assess the game we used two different control groups: the first group attended a master class by their usual professor, and the second group attended the same class delivered by one of the leading actors of the theater play (which represented the best educational case to improve interest in classical theater that we were able to find). The results of this study showed that
the videogame was a slightly better approach than the one by the professor, but the major interest in theatre is triggered when the presentation is made by an actor. The sex was a relevant factor in the experimental group and female participants had an increased interest in classic theater.