Theatre in Education

Following the first collection of story drama structures, Into the Story 2: More Stories! More Drama! presents a well-argued approach to the value of children's picture books as a way to look at contemporary issues of social justice while building connections that promote a literacy that is multi-dimensional. Story drama structures offer teachers opportunities for the rich conversations and deep reflections that foster habits of mind critical for life in the twenty-first century. This new volume, piloted internationally over the last decade, will become an invaluable resource for uncovering curricula in ways that are fresh and innovative for students and teachers of all levels.

A companion to Intellect's award-winning Applied Theatre: International Case Studies and Challenges for Practice, Applied Drama fulfils the need for an introductory handbook for facilitators and teaching artists working in community settings through dramatic process, drawing on the best practices to transfer into the diverse settings within which applied drama projects occur. Crafted for use in schools, classrooms, community groups, healthcare organisations and all manner of social institutions, this book aids practitioners to develop and hone the skills needed to best serve the needs of these diverse communities.

Six years after its initial publication, “Applied Theatre” returns with a second edition. As the first book to assist practitioners and students to develop critical frameworks for implementing their own theatrical projects, it served as a vital addition to this area of growing interest. Editors Monica Prendergast and Juliana Saxton have updated the book to reflect shifts in practice over the last few years in the world of applied theatre. Drawing on their backgrounds in drama education and pedagogy, the co-editors offer introductory chapters and dozens of case studies on applied theatre projects around the globe. This new edition of “Applied Theatre” will encourage students and practitioners to acquire a deeper understanding of the field and its best practices.

Gavin Bolton's “Contextual Drama” is the result of more than two decades of study of Bolton's theory and practice. For teachers and those in the caring professions, it will clarify the power of contextual drama as a beneficial learning medium for children and adults, both within and beyond the classroom. The core of the book is a detailed analysis of nine examples of the contextual drama mode; the first five demonstrate and analyse Bolton's practice with children and young people and the final four describe his teaching with adults. Each chapter is framed by an introduction that contextualizes Bolton, from his initial beginnings working with visually and aurally-challenged children to his position as reader in drama at Durham University. The final two chapters offer reflection on the nature of this work and, in particular, the significance of Bolton's contributions to education.

This collection of essays from many of the world's preeminent drama education practitioners captures the challenges and struggles of teaching with honesty, humour, openness and integrity. Collectively the authors possess some two hundred years of shared experience in the field, and each essay investigates the mistakes of best-intentions, the lack of awareness, and the omissions that pock all of our careers. The authors ask, and answer quite honestly, a series of difficult and reflexive questions: What obscured our understanding of our students' needs in a particular moment? What drove our professional expectations? And how has our practice changed as a result of those experiences? Modelled on reflective practice, this book will be an essential, everyday guide to the challenges of drama education.

John Newman invites teachers to take their students on a playwriting voyage in “Playwriting in Schools”. The book examines how students who learn to write plays and work with a professional playwright in residence empower themselves and gives instructors tools for teaching the process of playwriting in a way that makes space for the student voice. Playwriting in Schools investigates two main approaches for adult teachers and playwrights to use playwriting as a strategy for student self-expression. One approach is through the creation of fully-developed plays, written either by individual students with instruction from teachers or through interactions between a team of students and a teacher-playwright. The other approach is developing plays through collaborations among professional playwrights, teachers and student actors, crafting new plays in ways that suit the needs, interests and learning of young people. Throughout, Newman and the teachers and playwrights he features express themselves with an artistic generosity that encourages us to widen the scope of our own programmes by introducing students to the vast ocean of playwriting and play development.