With my background in acting, stagecraft, and some knowledge of theatre history from high school and college, it was natural for me as a novice teacher to think about theatre as a metaphor for teaching. In this article I will discuss how over my career I conceived of teaching in terms of theatrical metaphors, and make a comparison with a common…

This paper explores an example of applied theatre and praxis learning in an Australian classroom with drama students aged 16-17 years which took the form of "real fiction" or social theatre monologue writing. It presents monologue responses from nine participants, altered by the researcher to protect identities and to tease out issues…

Following the devastating result of the May 2015 general election in the UK, the Institute for the Art and Practice of Dissent at Home organised "Compassion is dissent: Manifesto Slam." It put out an open call for participants, asking them to bring a three-minute manifesto as means of admission to the event. Here, the Institute showcases…

This article addresses how theatrical improvisation can be used as a creative teaching tool to develop English language learners' listening and speaking skills, to create an environment that encourages them to use the target language, and to gain confidence in their own abilities and experiences to become successful English speakers. Improvisation…

This article describes the process of using an ethnodrama while working with older adults learning English as an additional language. By examining a 4-month-long period of Seniors Drama Club, created to offer theatre-based language learning experiences for Vancouver's immigrant senior population, the authors draw attention to the complex learning…

The authors illustrate how applied theater practices were used in media literacy classes to educate students about acts of religious discrimination in their societies. These practices helped students acknowledge their role in reifying or dismantling these prejudices in and through their classroom interactions with their peers from other religions…

This article explores the triumphs and tensions inherent in coaching adolescent male singers, particularly when blending skill-building and performance preparation.

This article describes how the authors completed a project at Central Michigan University (CMU) with undergraduate theater majors and minors and dance minors as part of the annual mainstage dance concert. Although the concert is predominantly choreographed and designed by CMU faculty, students are engaged in every step of the performance and…

The idea of audience etiquette brings with it specific expectations influenced by both the social context and the performance genre. While audience response has traditionally been viewed as passive, performers are finding new and innovative ways of actively engaging young audiences, seeking immediate response, inviting exploration, and encouraging…

This article focuses on the use of theatre as a mode of creative scholarship, from the research involved in sketch creation to the presentation of that research to academic audiences. We particularly focus on a specific sketch developed by the CRLT Players--one that explores the consequences of subtle discrimination faced by women scientists in…

Caste, and awareness of it, have been a persistent, though changing, feature of South Asian communities' experience in the UK. In twenty-first century Britain the issue of caste has come to the fore and has been hotly contested, in relation to equality legislation. In this wider context, the present article maps some of caste's historical…

Since spring 2012, the author has taught a 300-level Theatre and Human Rights class in the University of New Mexico Honors College. One of the centerpieces of honors education is careful research and thorough analysis of what is taught and why it is taught. In creating the honors class Theatre and Human Rights, the author explored how she would…

This paper discusses a project that used comedy workshops to explore the humour of autistic teenagers, focusing the discussion around three traits often -- and negatively -- associated with autism. The paper will then point to ways of rethinking these traits, and argue that doing so opens up a space for considering the aesthetics of comedy on the…

Social Activism Through Theater" chronicles the author's first full year as a teaching artist in New York City, including the launch of National Queer Theater and its inaugural show, Speechless, as well as his experiences investigating film and storytelling with teenagers at the Refugee Youth Summer Academy.

Arts-based knowledge translation (ABKT) is a process that uses diverse art genres (visual arts, performing arts, creative writing, multimedia including video and photography) to communicate research with the goal of catalysing dialogue, awareness, engagement, and advocacy to provide a foundation for social change on important societal issues. We…