Abstract

Don Bosco’s intuition told him that the theatre as a form of entertainment combining pla> widi deep emotional experience was an uncommon ally to the pedagogue in improving young peoplets characters; the theatre can have a beneficial effect both on those who as actors nnJergo a transformation and on those who as audience fali under the spell of the transformation. on <>f Don Bosco’s educational Instruments the theatre holds an important, indeed an unshakeable oosiu* m in his scheme; it is among the constitutive elements of the Salesians’ identity as a societj cailed :o educational work.
The beginnings of the „little theatre” datę back to Don Bosco’s settlement in his oratory in ihe Yaldocco section of Turin, but its proper development started in 1849. Don Bosco followcd four directions in his educational work: entertainment, instruction, religious formation and civic formation. According to Point 1 of Don Bosco’s regulations for leaders of such college theatres, the Salesian stage was to entertain, instruct, educate and create a morał atmosphere in ways adequate to the physical and intellectual age of the boys.
In order to support his theatre and to make the idea popular in the parishes and Caiholic educational institutions, in 1885 St. John Bosco started a publication series called „Drań itic Readings”. It carried texts suitable for youth and was in opposition to morally harmful b v plays.
A conscious educational function has been the main credit of the Salesian theatre. The modest stage conveys a deep human and Christian message. The programme created by Don Bosco does not detract from the dramatic value of theatre while making it an instrument of entertain nent instructionandeducation;nordoesitrejecttheessentialvalueoftheexpressivelanguageofbod' and spirit. The clarity of its message makes the theatre a laboratory for continued group forma io,.. a place of intellectual growth, a forum for the discussion of young people’s problems, a stin ulaut. ' social communication and, last but not least, a place of entertainment and an environnu , .t of friendship. To all this Don Bosco gave the initial impetus.