NYUSteinhardt
DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC AND PERFORMING ARTS PROFESSIONS
PROGRAM IN EDUCATIONAL THEATRE
82 WASHINGTON SQUARE EAST, PLESS ANNEX 223
NEW YORK, NY 10003-6680
TELEPHONE: 212.998.5869
FAX: 212.995.4192
Drama in Education I: MPAET.GE.2193—Fall, 2011
Meeting Time: Mondays, 4:55PM-6:35PM
Room: Waverly 566A
Instructor: David Montgomery
Phone: 212-998-5869
E-mail: [email protected]
Office: 35 West 4th St., 12th floor, Rm. 1205
Office Hours: By appointment call 212.998.5868
The Course
This class will explore how drama and theatre facilitate learning in educational, cultural and community settings.
Through examining the key aspects of how the field developed through the work of prominent leaders and surveying
the main concepts, structures, and conventions of the field, students will map out relationships between theories of
dramatic art and general education principles, survey present practices and potentialities of educational drama, and
investigate methods used at all levels of instruction. This class hopes to provide the background for more specific
studies of the numerous aesthetic components of educational drama and theatre. Such a foundation provides the
basis for the development of personal philosophies and practices.
Objectives
 To understand the theoretical and practical development of educational drama and theatre past and present
with application to the future
 To gain skills to teach drama and to implement theory in practice
 To develop a personal philosophy of educational theatre
 To consider new modes for the uses of drama and theatre in education for the future.
 To explore literacy through drama and find ways drama can be used in writing and reading classes
 To see and critique a theatre performance and explore ways to teach the play.
Required Texts
 Bolton, Gavin. Acting in Classroom Drama: A Critical Analysis. London: Heinemann, 1999.
 Taylor, P. and C. Warner. Structure and Spontaneity: The Process Drama of Cecily O’Neill. London:
Trentham Books, 2006.
 In addition to the readings listed below, additional readings will be distributed in class to be read for the
following week. Sometimes the readings will be available to read and/or download on blackboard, and
other times the instructor will provide a hard copy of reading.
Recommended Texts
 Heathcote, Dorothy. Collected Writings on Education and Drama. Illinois: Northwestern University Press,
1991.
 McCaslin, N. Creative Drama in the Classroom and Beyond: Eighth Edition. New York: Longman. 1990.
 Neelands, Jonothan and Tony Goode. Structuring Drama Work: A Handbook of Available Forms in
Theatre and Drama. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2000.
Participation in and Contribution to Class Experiences (10% of final grade)
Regular attendance and participation are vital for meaningful learning in this class. An unexcused absence
or repeated late arrival to class will affect grading. Likewise, short written responses to questions posted on
blackboard will be assigned throughout the semester, though not every week. Students will be expected to
respond in writing as part of this participation grade.
Criteria for Assessment
 Willingness to engage in activities and discussions.
 Fostering collaboration and communication.
 Accountability and punctuality.
 Taking responsibility for learning.
 Support of classmates in student’s endeavor to learn.
Criteria for Assessment
 There is participation from all group members.
 The project demonstrates strong collaboration amongst the group.
 The final written reflection is clearly expressed and supported by examples of the devising process.
 The group makes connections to theories and movements in the field of drama education.
 The group makes connections to the concepts of drama education leaders.
Assignment #1—Mid-term take home exam (30% of final grade)
Students select one pioneer, philosopher, or practitioner from the list below or elsewhere to research and
write about. What are their key contributions to the field of educational drama and theatre? How is their
theoretical framework situated within the field, and what influences have they had on other drama
practitioners? What is it about their work that you find significant as it connects to your own practice?
There will be a sign up sheet in the second week of class for you to pick one individual to write about.
While there could be more than one student assigned to a pioneer/philosopher/practitioner, there should be
no more than two persons per individual so that a wide group of leaders in the field are represented. One
hardcopy and one emailed copy of the lesson will be submitted to the instructor, who will then post it
on blackboard for other graduate students to access. Please include a bibliography to assist other
students in their investigations, ensure your essay is typed and double spaced, and that it is approximately
1500 words long. These essays will be collected and graded as the mid-term exam. ASSIGNMENT IS
DUE OCTOBER 24.
Assignment # 2—Final take home exam (30% of final grade)
Students again will select one pioneer, philosopher, or practitioner from the list below. It may be a person
that you researched for the midterm exam. Compare and contrast the contribution of that individual with
one other pioneer, philosopher or practitioner from the list. Prepare a 1500 word essay, detailing
similarities and differences between their contributions to the field. Please ensure that your essay is typed
and double spaced. These essays will be collected and graded as the final exam. ASSIGNMENT IS DUE
DECEMBER 12.
The List
***Note: there are many names missing from this list. Indeed, you may want to pick someone NOT on this list.
This is absolutely fine. Just be sure to clear it with the instructor.
Leaders in Educational Theatre
David Booth
Augusto Boal
Julian Boal
Richard Courtney
Kathleen Gallagher
José Cruz González
Sharon Grady
Coleman Jennings
Robert Landy
Nellie McCaslin
Johnny Saldaña
Julianna Saxton
Viola Spolin
Lowell or Nancy Swortzell
Philip Taylor
B.J. Wagner
Winifred Ward
British Leaders of Drama in Education
Judith Ackroyd
Gavin Bolton
Caldwell Cook
Harriet Finlay-Johnson
Dorothy Heathcote
David Hornbrook
Jonothan Neelands
Cecily O’Neill
Peter Slade
Brian Way
Applied Theatre
Michael Balfour
Augusto Boal
Danny Braverman
Jan Cohen-Cruz
Helen Nicholson
Michael Rohd
Anna Deveare Smith
James Thompson
Influential Theatre Practitioners and Theorists
Bertolt Brecht
Keith Johnston
Constantine Stanislavsky
Philosophers of Drama in Education
Plato
Immanuel Kant
Aristotle
Joe Kincheloe
Heraclitus
Hugh Mearns
John Dewey
Friedrich Nietzsche
Paulo Freire
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Friedrich Froebel
Friedrich Schiller
Henry Giroux
Johann Wolfgang Goethe
Maxine Greene
Madeline Grumet
Martin Heidegger
Georg Wilhem Friedrich Hegel
Criteria for Assessment
 Student demonstrates understanding of their researched person's key contributions to the field.
 Student presents clearly expressed writing with well-supported examples and ideas.
 Student connects the person's contributions to their own life experiences.
 Student completes the assignment on time.
 Student structures a document that is error-free and contains useful application.
Assignment #3—Group Performance of a Devised Theatre Piece (30% of final grade)
In groups of 4 to 6 students (6 to 8 groups), you will take part in devising an original performance piece
that deals with the challenges of teaching and learning drama within a specific setting. I anticipate that one
or two groups will focus on drama in the elementary setting, one or two groups on drama in the middle
school, one or two groups on drama in the High School, and a potential group or two can choose from the
various applied theatre settings. I will help in the creation of groups based around settings that interest you.
As this course examines leaders, theories, and movements in drama and education, one goal of this task is
to connect the concepts studied in class to the everyday issues and challenges that emerge in educational
settings. There are many possible ways in which to go about devising this performance piece. For
example, it could be created as a straightforward narrative or story, a montage of various circumstances, an
experimental theatre piece, or even a docudrama. But at the core of the shared theatrical performance must
be a problem, controversy, or tension in the field that is dramatized and explored. The piece should be no
longer than 15 minutes in length.
These presentations will transpire in class on December 5 and December 12.
An individual typed reflection, approximately 500 words, about the process of devising the piece will be
required from each group member. An emailed copy of this reflection will be due to me by midnight on
Thursday, December 15.
Course Schedule (subject to change)
Please be advised that in addition to the readings listed below, additional readings will be distributed in class
to be read for the following week. Sometimes the readings will be available to read and/or download on
blackboard, and other times the instructor will provide a hard copy of reading.
September 12
Introductions and Overview
September 19
Historical Background to 20th Century School Drama
Reading Due:
1. Forword, Prologue, and Introduction in Structure and Spontaneity
2. “Changes in Thinking About Drama in Education” article by Gavin Bolton.
Available to download on blackboard under ‘course documents.’
3. A chapter from Drama in Education: Theory and Technique, written in 1926 by Grace
Sloan Overton will be distributed in prior class.
September 26
Creative Drama
Reading Due:
1. “Section One: Finlay Johnson and Caldwell Cook” (chapters 1 & 2) in Bolton’s
Acting in Classroom Drama
2. Episode One: Finding Form and Chapter 1 in Structure and Spontaneity
3. “Seeking the Aesthetic in Creative Drama and Theatre for Young Audiences” article
by Nellie McCaslin. Available to download on blackboard under ‘course
documents.’
October 3
Child Drama, Developmental Drama
Reading Due:
1. Chapter 3, ‘Acting as Play,’ in Bolton’s Acting in Classroom Drama
2. “Section Three: Slade and Way,” (chapters 7 & 8) in Bolton’s Acting in Classroom
Drama
October 10
No Classes Scheduled
October 17
Process Drama
Reading Due:
1. “Talking Leaves are Striped: American Indian Cultural and Religious
Challenges with Literacy and Why Process Drama can Bridge the Gap,”
article by Christine Warner in Stage of the Art, Volume 15, no. 3, (Spring
2003). Available to download on blackboard under ‘course documents.’
2. “Using Process Drama Techniques to Create the World of Play,” article by
Laura A. McCammon in Stage of the Art, Volume 15, no. 3, (Spring
2003). Available to download on blackboard under ‘course documents.’
3. “The Process of Drama through a Novel,” article by Jonnette M. DeMarisco
in Stage of the Art, Volume 15, no. 3, (Spring, 2003). Available to download
on blackboard under ‘course documents.’
4. “Bones, Life, and the Drama Learning Experience: A Narrative of a
Successful Process Drama” in Stage of the Art, Volume 15, no. 3, (Spring,
2003). Available to download on blackboard under ‘course documents.’
5. Chapters 2 & 3 in Structure and Spontaneity.
6. Chapter 4 in Structure and Spontaneity
October 24
Drama and Literacy
Reading Due:
Episode Two: Guidelines for Structuring Drama and Chapter 5 in Structure and
Spontaneity
Mid-Term Assignment Due
October 31
Dorothy Heathcote
Reading Due:
1. Chapters 9 and 10 in Bolton’s Acting in Classroom Drama.
2. Chapters 6 and 7 in Structure and Spontaneity
November 14
Story Drama
Reading Due:
1. ‘Imaginary Gardens with Real Toads: Reading and Drama in Education,’ article by
David Booth from Theory into Practice, Vol. 24, No. 3, Educating through Drama
(summer, 1985), pp. 193-198. Available to download on blackboard under ‘course
documents.’
2. Episode Three: Perspectives on Drama and Chapter 8 in Structure and Spontaneity.
November 21
Applied Theatre
Reading Due:
1. Chapter 9 in Structure and Spontaneity.
2. “Pumpkin Fruit/Pumpkin Root: Paticipatory Theatre in a Ugandan Prison” by Kevin
Bott, article in Platform, Vol. 2, No. 2. Available to download on blackboard under
‘course documents.’
November 28
Drama Across the Curriculum
Reading Due:
1. “Integrating Drama Throughout the Curriculum,” Chapter 7 in Claudia Cornett’s
Creating Meaning Through Literature and the Arts (hand-out distributed in prior class).
December 5
The Future of Drama in Education
Reading Due:
1. Chapter 10 and Epilogue in Structure and Spontaneity
Group Performance Presentations
December 12
Final Reflections, Presentations, and Wrap-up
Group Performance Presentations
The Final Take Home Exam is due in class
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