Drama/Theatre Education Research Podcast

This conversation between Drs. Christine Hatton, Richard Sallis and I addresses our new book. The text aims to address the methodological, interpretive, ethical/procedural challenges and tensions within theatre-based research with a goal of elevating our field’s research practice and inquiry. Each chapter embraces various methodologies, positionalities and examples of mediation by inviting two or more leading researchers to interrogated each other’s work and, in so doing, highlighted current debates and practices in theatre-based research. Topics include: ethics, method, audience, purpose, mediation, form, aesthetics, voice, data generation, and research participants. Each chapter frames a critical dialogue between researchers that take multiple forms (dialogic interlude, research conversation, dramatic narrative, duologue, poetic exchange, etc.). We try to capture these tensions and topics in our conversation as we set to untangle a few issues in our rich and complex field. https://brill.com/view/title/39592?lang=en

In this episode Patrice Baldwin, Xan Johnson, and I talk about embodiment, imagination, play, emotion, writing, and what we know from research. The conversation is expansive and invites listeners to reflect on their own drama experiences and, perhaps, turn to science research to help illucidate the power of embodied pedagogies and the fictional worlds of the imagination.

In this episode we talk to Dr. Paul Sutton and Mr. Max Allsup about how they have grown their theatre company www.CandT.org from a traditional theatre in education company to the leading group that extends the applied theatre practice through the incorporation of technology. We hear from them about how they approach technology and how they think about theatre making in the age of digital media.

This conversation was held via Skype between Kathleen's home in Toronto, Canada and mine in Columbia, South Carolina in the US. We had a wide ranging conversation about research, the role of the researcher, the inclusion of youth as co-researchers in projects and the Theatre of the Real. Much of this conversation was based on her book, "Why Theatre Matters: Urban Youth Engagement, and a Pedagogy of the Real." It is an excellent read and one that will certainly challenge and excite practitioners.

This episode is a conversation with Dr. Helen Nicholson, the chief editor of Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance. In this semi-structured interview, we discuss the history of the journal, ways that the journal has helped shape and has been shaped by the field of drama research and how the journal has influenced Dr. Nicholson's own work. It was a delight to be able to speak with her and I am grateful for her generosity in putting this episode together.

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Wan-Jung Wang from Taiwan's National University of Tainan. She is a researcher, scholar, theatre director and story-teller. She will share her experiences in intercultural research, research methods and working within community settings. She will also discuss how western and eastern philosophies influence her work and practice. It's a fascinating conversation and one worth a listen.

Episode 2, A Conversation with Dr. Joe Norris, looks at play building as methodology and problematizes terms such as ethics, representation, data, and research. A fascinating conversation filled with interesting anecdotes and provocations for novice and advanced researchers alike. We talked via SKYPE. Joe Norris was in his office at Brock University which was decorated with puppets, a research quilt and other drama props. We spoke from a prepared set of questions that loosely guided the conversation.

This interview explores the growth and development of theatre based research as well as tips and insights for researchers.