Applied drama (also known as applied theatre or applied performance) is an

umbrella term In linguistics, semantics, general semantics, and ontologies, hyponymy () is a semantic relation between a hyponym denoting a subtype and a hypernym or hyperonym (sometimes called umbrella term or blanket term) denoting a supertype. In other wor ...

for the use of theatrical practices and creativity that take participants and audience members further than mainstream theatre. It is often in response to conventional people with real life stories. The work often happens in non-conventional theatre spaces and social settings (e.g. schools, prisons, streets and alternative educational provisions). There are several forms and practices considered to be under the umbrella of applied theatre.

History

Applied drama is a term that has gained popularity towards the end of the 20th century to describe drama practice in an educational, community, or

therapeutic A therapy or medical treatment (often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx) is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. As a rule, each therapy has indications and contraindications. There are many different ...

context. Applied drama can be either scripted or unscripted. Some practitioners focus primarily on improvisation, whereas others introduce a range of artistic practices such as developing scripted plays, devised performances, or indigenous forms of cultural performance. These are sometimes combined with new forms of digital communication.

Fields associated with applied drama

Playback Theater

Playback Theater involves audience or group members telling stories from their lives and viewing them as enacted by actors

improvising Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

. It can also be used in conjunction with

narrative therapy Narrative therapy (or Narrative Practice) is a form of psychotherapy that seeks to help patients identify their values and the skills associated with them. It provides the patient with knowledge of their ability to live these values so they can ...

Drama in health education

Drama in healthcare is drama created in medical contexts, often with the intention of rehabilitation. This form of applied drama focuses on using theatre to educate, engage, and stimulate healing in medical professionals, patients, and the general public. Theater and drama in healthcare are tilted towards informing the populace about health and improving their health and longevity irrespective of status or social stratification. This form of drama is often used to educate people on important health issues such as healthy eating, grief and loss, exercise, and sexual assault prevention. Examples include using actors to

role-play Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing a ...

health ailments in order to train healthcare professionals, performing plays focused on

primary prevention Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...

, and facilitating drama workshops for patients.

Drama therapy

Drama therapy is the use of applied drama techniques to facilitate personal growth and promote mental health. Drama therapy is rooted in a clinical practice, facilitated by licensed clinicians, that stimulates language, cognitive development and builds resilience.

Theater for Development

Theater for development uses applied drama techniques to facilitate development in

less developed countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

Drama in education

Drama in education allows students to develop an understanding of themselves and others. Kathleen Gallagher has argued that "What is clear is that there is no correct pedagogical model on offer for drama education. ..In theatre pedagogy, we not only endow experience with meaning, but we are - as players - invited to make manifest our own subjectivities in the world evoked through character and play, a world laden with metaphor and nuance, a world where relationship to other and self-spectatorship are in dynamic and unrelenting interaction.'

Theater in education

Theater in Education (TIE) originated in Britain in the mid-1960s. Monica Prendergast and Juliana Saxton cite TIE as "one of the two historic roots of applied theatre practice." TIE typically includes a theatre company performing in an educational setting (i.e. a school) for youth, including interactive and performative moments. Practitioner Lynn Hoare defines TIE as a combination of "theatrical elements with interactive moments in which audience participants (in or out of role) work with actor-teachers towards an educational or social goal, using the tools of theatre in service of this goal." TIE seeks to educate young people in issues that are relevant to both them and their communities, for example: bullying, dating violence, environmental preservation, and peer conflict resolution. "TIE companies have always been among the most socially conscious of theatre groups, consistently choosing to examine issues they believe to be of direct relevance to the lives of the children with whom they work." "Theater for Dialogue" (TFD) is a more recent term describing a model that was created specifically for the University of Texas at Austin campus community which pulls methods and theory from a variety of applied theatre practices such as TO and TIE. In her thesis, Spring Snyder explains that "Theatre for Dialogue performances explore the intersection between theatre and education as a way to investigate, reflect, provoke dialogue and serve as a rehearsal for reality without asking participants to share their own personal experiences. Although some of the Theatre for Dialogue’s roots originate from an adapted form of Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed’s forum structure, it is Theatre in Education (TIE) that more closely aligns with TFD."

Prison theater

In prison theater, practitioners engage offenders in correctional facilities, jails, prisons, and detention centers in exploring drama work often with the objective of education or rehabilitation. Examples include Wabash Valley Correctional Facility's ''Shakespeare in Shackles'' where maximum security prisoners learn about and perform

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

. The University of Texas’ Center for Women and Gender Studies’ Performing Justice Project works with incarcerated female youth to learn about gender and racial justice while devising a play based on the youth's unique experiences.

Theater of the Oppressed

The

Theatre of the Oppressed The Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) describes theatrical forms that the Brazilian theatre practitioner Augusto Boal first elaborated in the 1970s, initially in Brazil and later in Europe. Boal was influenced by the work of the educator and theoris ...

(TO) describes theatrical forms that the Brazilian theatre practitioner

Augusto Boal Augusto Boal (16 March 1931 – 2 May 2009) was a Brazilian theatre practitioner, drama theorist, and political activist. He was the founder of Theatre of the Oppressed, a theatrical form originally used in radical left popular education movemen ...

first developed in the 1960s, initially in Brazil and later in Europe. Boal's techniques aim to use theatre as means of promoting social and political change through allowing the audience to take an active role in the creation of the show. Theatre of the Oppressed can include aspects of forum theatre, invisible theatre, legislative theatre and image theatre.

Museum theatre

Museum theatre Museum theatre is the use of theatre and theatrical techniques by a museum for educational, informative, and entertainment purposes. It can also be used in a zoo, an aquarium, an art gallery, and at historic sites. It is generally performed by pr ...

aims to use theatrical techniques to add emotion and value to the museum experience. It is typically more common in cultural institutions like heritage sites, history museums, and science and industry museums.Genshaft, Lindsay Michelle. "Bridging theatre and visual art: the role of an applied theatre practitioner in a fine art museum." (2011). As with the other forms of applied drama, it can involve a variety of theatrical techniques.

References

External links

Educational drama and improvisation games

Drama games
Creative Drama
Educational Resource
The Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators
Resources, lessons and articles on Drama in Education.
Drama Toolkit
Drama games, strategies, schemes and resources.

Theatre Drama