Literary Research / Recherche littéraire, nos. 41-42, 2004

LR/RL

Literary Research/Recherche littéraire 21.41-42 (2004): 307-310

Kathleen Gallagher & David Booth, eds., How Theatre Educates. Convergences and counterpoints with artists, scholars and advocates. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 2003; xii+282 pp.; ISBN: 0802085563 (pbk.); LC call no.: PN2049.H65; $27.00

In his opening address to the 2001 National Symposium for Arts Education, John Murrell stated: “There is not yet a perfect, or even an adequate, model for infusing arts in education.” Kathleen Gallagher echoes these words in her introduction to How Theatre Educates: “there is no correct pedagogical model on offer for drama education” (12). Co-editor David Booth remarks in turn: “theatre educates, but often not in the ways we think” (17). How Theatre Educates exhibits the diversity of contexts in which drama is produced and taught in English-speaking Canada. It contains a vast collection of essays, articles, interviews, reminiscences, as well as plays, speeches, song lyrics and poetry. The contributors represent a wide array of professionals from theatrical and pedagogical fields: playwrights, actors, directors, drama critics, scholars and educators.

The authors of this uncommon compilation examine theatre’s pedagogical potential from a variety of distinct perspectives, thus providing insight into the dynamic relationship between learning and drama. The diverging educational, artistic and political standpoints of the wide spectrum of participants inevitably lead to discordant and at times conflicting opinions. Nevertheless, the authors jointly advocate a wider recognition of theatre as a powerful didactic device and an exceptional tool for learning. In addition, they frequently allude to the similarities between the art of drama and the art of teaching.

As she begins teaching at the University of Guelph, playwright Judith Thompson decides to “treat the classroom as a rehearsal hall.” She stresses the importance of punctuality, respect and concentration, and notes the similarities between the classroom and a theatrical production: “everything that happens in a class is a collective creation” (30). In a similar vein, actor and writer Ann-Marie MacDonald identifies the “audience” as the strongest link between teaching, acting and play writing: the public’s presence signifies artists’ and teachers’ shared desire to communicate.

In his piece on drama programs in higher education, literary scholar Domenico Pietropaolo argues for a stronger collaboration between the academic and the professional communities. He goes on to illustrate the reciprocal benefits of such partnerships. Belarie Zatzman, on the other hand, examines the role of dramatic exercises as a means of educating [end page 307] through the discovery and questioning of past historical events. She describes in detail the “Monologue Project,” in which the students prepare narratives defining each individual’s personal connections to the Holocaust.

Outside the classroom, Lori McDougall documents a study planned to increase leprosy awareness in rural India, demonstrating “the remarkable power of both live drama and TV/radio to exert positive impact on knowledge, attitudes and behaviour on social development issues” (177). In “Drama through the Eyes of Faith,” Walter Pitman reports on the regular encounters of a group of theatergoers meeting to discuss plays in a church reception hall. He defines this form of informal adult learning “as a legitimate source of knowledge and understanding” (166).

Stratford Festival and Necessary Angel Theatre director Richard Rose explores the ephemeral nature of both life and drama, highlighting the crucial importance of “the moment of recognition,” and of “the personal thought provoked” in audience members during a performance (237). Similarly, Guillermo Verdecchia – artistic director of Cahoots Theatre Project (promoting artists of visible ethnic minorities) – insists on the significance of “identification” and “moments of recognition.” He also argues for “the fluidity of culture,” instead of “the promotion and celebration of folkloric, frozen-in-time cultures of origin” (135) which would exclude diversity as “incomprehensible otherness” (136). In an interview with Jim Giles, Sky Gilbert (co-founder and director of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre) draws attention to the emotional experience of the audience, noting that this experience may permit unconscious con-frontation of avoided ideas and lead to further conscious reflection upon them. He gives the example of gay productions’ ability to simultaneously “educate” straight and gay spectators. Straight spectators may be “shocked” by details of gay life and culture, while gay viewers may be provided with “role models” (185).

In a short dramatic text entitled “The Poetics,” playwright Jason Sherman expresses his concerns regarding the invasion of the “commercial.” Actor and former university professor John Gilbert deplores the shortcomings of the ever-growing “fast-food theatre,” insisting on the “proper use” of drama to enable the interrogation of accepted “norms” and to provide a space for “freedom, thought and creation subverting the ever-increasing demands of product and commerce” (113).

Playwright and performer Linda Griffiths points out the reversible aspect of theatre education. She notes that learning is a mutual exchange between the practitioners and their public, and identifies audience members as simultaneous “students” and “teachers.” Janice Hladki views theatre practice as a social interaction of differences, examining the “struggles in racialized relations” (144) in the collaborative creation of a [end page 308] play by Monique Mojica, Djanet Sears and Kate Lushington. Drama critic Lynn Slotkin and writer/actor Diane Flacks share individual experiences, demonstrating the influence of a passion for theatre on both a personal and a professional level.

One of the most interesting chapters in How Theatre Educates is “Theatre For and With Young Audiences.” This result of four closely interconnected contributions, this text includes differing viewpoints concerning TYA from Maja Ardal and Larry Swartz, the latter praising the institution and its accomplishments, the former urging a merge with adult theatre. The lyrics to “Patty Cake,” taken from Tomson Highway’s The Incredible Adventures of Mary Jane Mosquito, are introduced by Patricia Cano (who played Mary Jane at the world premiere), and give the reader an idea of the material used in children’s spectacles. In an outstanding essay entitled “The Land inside Coyote: Reconceptualizing Human Relationships to Place through Drama,” Cornelia Hoogland explains the methodology behind and results of her two-year research with a kindergarten group, and demonstrates “the ways in which artistic approaches can increase children’s awareness of the natural world and their place in it” (212).

The two-dozen contributions which make up How Theatre Educates are organized in six sections, each containing two to five articles. These articles are followed by bibliographical references, as well as a list of contributors which includes information regarding each individual’s background, field of work, and achievements. The absence of a conclusion to the work appears to result from the immense variety and wide range of material covered in this volume. The editors’ “hope for this book” is “to pull readers in several directions at once” (xii) without adopting a particular point of view or a unified vision on the subject matter. As such, a cohesive conclusion encompassing all of the participating authors’ perspectives and agendas would indeed prove quite difficult.

While it does make for a lighter and livelier read, the profusion of approaches and personal anecdotes contained in How Theatre Educates fails to clarify the “how” – the “convergences” and the “counterpoints” of teaching with/of/through drama. The editors do claim in the preface to the book that it is not an attempt to present a single ideal model or way in which theatre educates. Rather it is a topic for reflection, an exploration: “We hoped that the varied chapters would begin to point to some of the unexpected ways that theatre educates and for that reason we did not constrain each contributor to remain closely tied thematically to fixed ideas of how theatre might educate” (xi).

This unusual yet lively collection is addressed to educators, practi-tioners as well as to the theatergoing public. It will certainly remind the [end page 309] general reader of his or her first theatre experience and encourage educators to incorporate theory and practice by taking the learning experience outside the classroom. The stronger contributions should promote a widened awareness of the vital importance of “infusing” theatre in education. They may also invite further inquiries and collaboration among those who make research and teach drama.

Kinga Zawada

University of Toronto