Theatre pedagogy (german: Theaterpädagogik) is an independent discipline combining both

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

. As a field that arose during the 20th century, theatre pedagogy has developed separately from drama education, the distinction being that the drama teacher typically teaches method, theory and/or practice of performance alone, while theatre pedagogy integrates both art and education to develop language and strengthen social awareness. Theatre pedagogy is rooted in

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

and

stagecraft Stagecraft is a technical aspect of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes constructing and rigging scenery; hanging and focusing of lighting; design and procurement of costumes; make-up; stage management; audio engineering; and p ...

, yet works to educate people outside the realm of theatre itself.

History

As a movement, theatre pedagogy has many founders. In Germany, where it is widely recognized and practiced, Hans-Wolfgang Nickel is cited as a pioneer in theatre pedagogy with the founding of the Berlin Stage Teachers in 1959. Nickel later became a professor of theatre games and educational activities at the Berlin

School of Education In the United States and Canada, a school of education (or college of education; ed school) is a division within a university that is devoted to scholarship in the field of education, which is an interdisciplinary branch of the social sciences en ...

in 1974. Another well known German theatre

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

is Hans Martin Ritter who, starting in 1973, ran a series of tests using

Bertholt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

's model of learning through play. Ritter's aim was to develop an interdisciplinary project method for the school using theater as a form of teaching and learning. These tests led Ritter to co-found a nationwide pilot program in merging the fields of theatre and education. Perhaps theatre pedagogy's most internationally known theorist and practitioner is Brazilian director/facilitator

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 ...

, who created

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 ...

, now practiced by millions of people in more than 70 nations.

Description

The primary purpose of theatre pedagogy is to bring about change in understanding the world around us. In achieving this objective, several other skills are taught and learned. These include: * Developing language, including non-verbal and non-written language. * Honing drama skills and a theatrical vocabulary. * Use of collective action to overcome problems in the community. Theatre pedagogy enhances these forms of communication to facilitate human interaction, helping participants to learn about themselves, their peers, and their surrounding world. Rooted both in traditional education and amateur theater, the field of theatre pedagogy has grown to span many sectors, including: * Use of drama in the social sphere, such as work in prisons, with people in recovery, as violence prevention, etc. * Theatrical collaboration between laypeople and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

s. * As education, both in ordinary schools and in the theatre. * In

medical education Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, including the initial training to become a physician (i.e., medical school and internship (medical), internship) and additional training thereafter (e.g., Re ...

improving communication between faculty and students and between physicians and patients. * In job training, integrating

kinesthetic Proprioception ( ), also referred to as kinaesthesia (or kinesthesia), is the sense of self-movement, force, and body position. It is sometimes described as the "sixth sense". Proprioception is mediated by proprioceptors, mechanosensory neurons ...

learning to teach

public speaking Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

body language Body language is a type of communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. Th ...

awareness, motivational training, etc. * Developing contact between theatre-makers and their audiences. * Specific theatrical techniques and dramatic forms, such as

Forum Theatre Forum theatre is a type of theatre created by Brazilian theatre director Augusto Boal. It is one of the techniques under the umbrella term of Theatre of the Oppressed (TO). This relates to the engagement of spectators influencing and engaging with ...

and other methods from the

. Practitioners of theatre pedagogy operate with a situation-oriented educational framework, usually using the medium of theatre as a vehicle to achieve an objective. Through this method, theatre pedagogy gives access to participants' own ideas and impulses, expanding the avenues of communication and interaction with the self and one's sociocultural environment. Through the use of gesture, intonation, facial expression, and behavior onstage, participants analyze these performative aspects created by the dramatic tension of everyday life. Through these physical and personality-affected models, real-life situations can more clearly express themselves.

Training

Theatre pedagogy is taught at universities and colleges, though training in the field is not regulated by state guidelines. In Germany one can receive a theatre pedagogy degree both at the undergraduate and graduate level, and many German cities have theatre pedagogy centers that provide less formal and unregulated training. Similar to these are the Centers for Theatre of the Oppressed, such as CTO

Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and the Theatre of the Oppressed Laboratory in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

where people can receive theatre pedagogy training using Augusto Boal and

Paulo Freire Paulo Reglus Neves Freire (19 September 1921 – 2 May 1997) was a Brazilian educator and philosopher who was a leading advocate of critical pedagogy. His influential work ''Pedagogy of the Oppressed'' is generally considered one of the foundat ...

's methods. In the United States, three higher education institutions with strong theatre and drama pedagogy programs are CUNY School of Professional Studies MA in Applied Theatre, New York University Steinhardt's Educational Theatre program, and Emerson College's MA in Theatre Education.

Notes

References

* Tanja Bidlo: Theatre Pedagogy. Introduction. Oldib Verlag, Essen, 2006 * Hans Hoppe: Theatre and Education. Principles, criteria, models of educational theater. Lit Verlag, Munster 2003.2. Aufl.2011, * Felix Rellstab: drama Manual, Volume 4, theater education. Stutz Publishing Printing Ltd., CH-2000 Wädenswil * Gerd Koch / Marianne Streisand (eds): Dictionary of Theatre Education, Berlin Milow 2003: Schibri * Marianne Streisand / Susan Hentschel / Andreas Poppe / Bernd Ruping (eds): Generations in the conversation. Archaeology of Theatre Pedagogy I. Schibri-Verlag, 2005 Milow * Jürgen Weintz: Theatre Education and Dramatic Art. Aesthetic and psycho-social experience by working role. Schribri-Verlag, Milow, 2007,

External links