In this article, we consider the aesthetic, political and pedagogical strengths of a verbatim theatre performance, "The Middle Place" by Project: Humanity, a play that explores the experiences of shelter youth in Toronto, Canada. This ethnographic study moved from drama classrooms into theatres and charted audience responses to the…

Over the years that I have taken secondary school students to the theatre, the the digital revolution has moved through schools, classrooms, and even theatres, calling into question my goal of contributing positively to students' identity formation through exposure to live plays. Responding to calls to examine the ways in which young people's…

Contact Theatre is an Arts Council of England-funded theatre on the campus of the University of Manchester, in the north of England. From its re-opening in 1999 until the end of 2008, it was led by Artistic Director John McGrath who created a programme of theatre performances and projects specifically geared to young people (between the ages of 13…

This article presents an interview with Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld, a longtime early childhood teacher, author, teacher educator, and advocate for integrating the arts with every aspect of the curriculum. In this interview, Chenfeld shares her thoughts about the performing arts: music, dance, and theater. She explains why it is important for young…

A diverse group of student teachers in an alternative certification program participated in seminars integrating Boal's "Theater of the Oppressed" (TO) activities. Participants created images and enacted scenes that recreated interactions with their students and also rehearsed ideas for taking action in the classroom. The research,…

The widespread turn towards "collaboration" in qualitative research methodologies warrants careful and continuous critique. This paper addresses the possibilities and the challenges of collaborative methodology, and in particular what happens when the line between pedagogy and methodology is blurred in classroom-based ethnographic…

The Stage Life was a participatory arts programme for people attending a day services provision in Nottinghamshire. The uniqueness of this programme was that it was provided in a local disused cinema acquired by the local authority for community-based activities amongst disadvantaged groups. The Stage Life aimed to build the community arts…

Provides background information and excerpts from an interview with Josef Krofta, highly acclaimed director for the East Bohemian Puppet Theatre in Drak, Czechoslovakia--a company internationally recognized for its innovative style in which the puppet and the live performer are integrated. Highlights Krofta's personal philosophies and theater for…

The experiences and expertise of many individuals and organizations who have successfully implemented an arts facility development program are described. Some recommendations came from interviews with people involved in various phases of arts facility development. Other recommendations came from a retreat held in 1989 where representatives of…

The authors report on two projects in which the role of documents as temporal boundary objects mediating information practices across multiple timelines was explored. It has been suggested that studying workplace documents will uncover the information practices of professionals beyond traditional information needs and uses studies. Two workplaces…