Playing with possibilities: Facilitation of theatre collective creation for social justice in the secondary drama classroom
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Date
2012-11
Authors
Morris, Aren A.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Mount Saint Vincent University
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to inform and improve the practice of a secondary
drama teacher using Theatre Collective Creation (TCC) in her classroom, particularly
TCC as a means of exploring/experiencing social justice. The guiding questions were:
How can the experience of facilitating a Theatre Collective with female
Internationally Educated Teachers inform and improve my practice as a
secondary drama teacher?
What are the ways that teachers can best facilitate Theatre Collective for
social justice in their classrooms?
A crucial aspect of the research project was to use the process of TCC to develop a play
with a group of female Internationally Educated Teachers, and to then draw parallels
between that experience of theatre collective facilitation and the teacher’s previous
theatre collective facilitation in the secondary drama classroom with students. There are
two scripts included in this thesis: one was co-written throughout the research project by
the researcher and the group of female Internationally Educated Teachers, and the other
was written by the researcher herself, as a creative means of representing the thesis
conclusions.
To the drama teacher involved, the study both informed and improved her
teaching practice and revealed the ways in which her facilitation of TCC for social
justice functioned effectively and how it might be improved. These discoveries in the
data (Chapter Four) are explored in terms of moments of confirmation (building
relationships and a safe, creative atmosphere) and difficult discoveries (organization,
personal expectation/ influence on the process, acknowledging cultural difference and silences within the process and among participants). The researcher concluded that
while some authority is required for safety and productivity in the TCC process, the
facilitator must also recognize the fluidity of power relations between facilitator and
participants.
This study drew on Arts-based Research (ABR), particularly Drama and TCC as
a form of ABR and was influenced by Cross-Cultural Research and Feminist
Participatory Action Research.
Description
Keywords
Theatre Collective Creation , Social Justice , Drama teaching , Internationally Educated Teachers , Arts-informed research , Participatory Action Research