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…

The Phoenix Players Theatre Group was founded by incarcerated theatre artists located in a maximum-security prison with the aim of creating a space where they can be witnessed in order to initiate a process of personal, cultural, and sociopolitical transformation. This article integrates research from trauma theory with theatre and social justice…

This article is an enquiry into the possible shape of "an aesthetics of care" drawn from the experience of looking after a Congolese colleague after he was injured in a massacre in the DR Congo. The mix of different professional and personal circumstances directs the writing towards concerns with the ethics and aesthetics of caring for…

In 2010, as part of the National Youth Theatre's social inclusion educational outreach programme "Playing Up 2," young people identified as "NEETS" (Not in Education, Employment or Training) performed a new-writing play called "The Block," by first time playwright Tarkan Cetinkaya. This play is set on an unnamed…

Constructivist teaching methods such as using drama have been promoted as productive ways of learning, especially in science. Specifically, role plays, using given roles or simulated and improvised enactments, are claimed to improve learning of concepts, understanding the nature of science and appreciation of science's relationship with…

In this quasi-experimental study, the researchers examined the effects of implementing Readers Theatre in a second grade classroom, comprised of seven and eight-year-old students. The 70 subjects were chosen as a non-probability sample from two different classes and served as the treatment (n = 29) and comparison (n = 41) groups. A repeated…

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.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of criteria-referenced formative assessment (CRFA) on students' achievement in theater arts. The role of type of task in differentiating the treatment-achievement relationship was explored. The analytical sample included 520 fifth-grade students from 13 schools in New York City. Schools were…

The study aimed to investigate the effects of Reader's Theater on EFL learners' English reading comprehension. The roles of English learning anxiety and learning styles in the RT instruction were also explored. Mixed methods research was conducted to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data. The subjects were 11 graders in a senior…

Background/Context: Community-based youth theater programs afford youth opportunities to explore and "author" new identities by "performing writing." Yet, we know much less about the ways in which immigrant youth are exploring struggles and changes within their families and ethnic community. We particularly lack research about…

This book exemplifies the challenges and successes of online learning, teaching and leading in times of crises. It helps shed light on the issues facing online and face-to-face practitioners having to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and continue education within the confines of a specific interface. The volume includes new research and…

Personal stories have been utilised in a variety of ways in Applied Theatre practices. The author problematises their use when the teller's safety is at stake within a given context. Inspired by neuro-anatomist Jill Bolte-Taylor's process of enlightenment through observing her stroke from the inside out, the author uses her personal experience of…

The goals of the present study were (a) to explore different aspects of children's participation in structured performing arts activities (e.g., dance and music); and (b) to examine links between participation in performing arts and indices of socioemotional functioning. Participants were N = 166 children (75 boys and 91 girls) in Grade 1 (n = 70,…

Theater arts encompass unique art forms comprising highly developed pedagogical applications apart from theater as performance. Specifically, the use of drama as a learning medium, referred to in the field as "process drama", is most emphatically applicable to the education of young children. Young children actively gain skills in…

During the second half of 2014 in Seoul, South Korea, the author participated in the "Integrated Culture & Arts Education Workshop," which was held for local teachers and theatre practitioners. During the workshop, a group of participants designed a programme based on theatre conventions and dealing with social issues for youth.…