Book Report

Contemporary Theatre in Education by Roger Wooster

Origin
“It is generally accepted that T.I.E emerged as a distinct ‘hybrid’ of theatre and education
forms in 1965 with the work of the Belgrave Theatre Coventry” Page 1

 It started small, performing to children and involving them within the drama
 Lineage seen as coming from genres, such as ‘Agitprop’ and community theatre
 “It was felt pertinent to take theatre out of its usual hallowed environment and
transpose it to places where a wider audience might have access and benefit.” Page
1
 Socio-political belief that theatre needed to be democratised and relevant to all
social groups.
 Subject matter tended to be socially and politically derived with a specific audience
or message in mind.
 At this time (1965) British Theatre was experimenting more with non-traditional and
creative forms.
 Brecht was gaining in popularity amongst Actors and Directors for the creative
freedom and political integrity.
 The 1960’s witnessed a seminal change in social and personal liberty with many
practitioners preferring to work outside the confines of the traditional, artistic and
financial theatre structure.
 There was an increasing belief in the centrality of the child within education, perhaps
as a result of the deprivation of war, the generation growing up in the 1950’s and
1960’s demanded more from schools than mere preparation for work.
 Responded to by an increased number of teachers interested heuristic (enabling a
person to discover or learn something for themselves) educational approaches.
 ‘Progressive’ educational ideas traced back to Rousseau were now being accepted by
many teachers, educational theorists and even governments.
 This progressive strand in education had been growing in strength since the
beginning of the 20th Century.
 Seen in the work of: Harriet Finlay-Johnson; Coldwell Cook, then post war in the
work of: Peter Slade; Brian Way and Dorothy Heathcote.
 “These new educational priorities sought to place the child at the centre of their own
learning” Page 1
 Believe that more effective learning took place when children were encouraged to
investigate the world through play and through active approaches to discovery.
 Group and project work would teach them to cooperate and understand the world
both rationally and emotionally.
 “This approach, often referred to as being ‘child-centred’, prioritise the child’s
emotional needs over the mere requirement to absorb knowledge and facts.” Page 1
 “Theatre in education developed as a hybrid of these new theatrical and educational
undercurrents and created a methodology that offered a child-centred approach to
learning within a theatrical context.” Page 2
  The development of T.I.E in Britain since the mid-1960’s and in Wales from 1972 has
been closely interwoven with Drama in Education (D.I.E.).
 The emergence of T.I.E was part of the ‘alternative theatre’ movement of the 1960’s.
 Following the innovation of Becket, Pinter and Osborne in traditional theatre spaces
of the 1950’s and the influx of ideas from Brecht and Artaud, there was a desire to
forge new form in Britain.
 “Brechtian theatrical ideas, both political and technical, were a key feature of TIE
performance style” Page 21
 TIE was influenced by DIE
 “It is clear that a universal definition of TIE is not easy to identify. There are those
who will insist upon the active participation of the children whilst others will be
satisfied if the theatrical event has an educational goal.” Page 27

Movement / Development

 During the 1970’s the movement was being questioned T.I.E actors and teacher
found themselves being blamed for social disquiet and industrial disharmony
 1979 – Conservatives are elected, it was clear that accepted educational theory was
going to come under scrutiny.
 Due to the Education Reform Act 1988 and the change of government in 1977, came
change to the national curriculum where drama was not accorded a place and was
instead subsumed within English.
 This offered a major challenge to Drama and T.I.E in schools.
 The curriculum insisted that children should have access to professional theatre and
they should develop skills of artistic analysis and also performance and devising
skills.
 This preserved the presence of drama in Key Stage 1 – 3, though the emphasis had
fallen on theatricality and playmaking rather than drama.
 However, another strand of the curriculum offered a second lifeline to those schools
who wish to employ drama methodologies.
 The personal, social and health education (PHSE) curriculum has allowed many
drama teachers to exercise skills in this area.
 At the time, training in drama at teacher training colleges had declined and the skills
of the drama teacher are less present in schools.
 In Wales, T.I.E has been more strongly nurtured by the artistic establishment.
 In 1998, the newly developed Welsh assembly found itself with control of the Arts
and Education budgets, this perhaps has also allowed T.I.E. to thrive in Wales as
compared to England.
 TIE perceived to share radical political views with the ‘alternative theatre’ genre
 “The politics of late 1960s were characterised by student rebellion, alternative
lifestyles and CND, and radical art played an active role in these events.” Page 22
 By 1970’s TIE becoming a highly sophisticated and theatrically mature
  “As TIE developed, it increasingly redefined for itself the theoretical legacy
bequeathed by DIE.” P24
 Through the work of the Standing Conference of Young People’s Theatre (SCYPT)
established in 1976 TIE praxis developed independently
 Used Brecht’s ideas of spectating, demonstrating and alienation as well as Boal’s use
of role to ‘rehearse’ future change
 “SCYPT was the portal through which these ideas reached the TIE movement and
gave it a much-needed theatrical backbone.” Page 25
 SCYPT exposed TIE to accusations of political bias
 The ideas displayed in TIE and DIE thought to be political, this was a threat
 Tory educational reform 1988, response to a general disenchantment with post war
educational ideas
 “The Education Reform Act 1988 [ERA] sought to sweep away the progressive and
non-utilitarian ideas of which TIE/DIE had been a hotbed.” Page 30
 LMS (Local Management of Schools had an impact on TIE, transferred a large
element of budgetary control from local authorities to individual schools
 This was to place pressure on all peripatetic services, including TIE, as schools had to
decide whether they should use their budget to pay for TIE groups or buy more
‘parent sensitive’ researches such as books and teachers
 No mechanism for groups of schools to ‘commission’ work from TIE companies
whose incomes became depleted, erratic or non-existent.
 “Many companies disappeared in the years after LMS, preferring to do so rather
than charge schools.” Page 30
 The introduction of the National Curriculum, drama was not granted ‘core’ status
and was embedded within English
 Drama was crucial in the curriculum, but it was about ’making, performing and
responding.’
 Effect on TIE companies not immediate but they found themselves under pressure
offer work that matched the learning objectives of National Curriculum
 “Those companies that were now having to charge schools for their services found
themselves obliged to accept large ‘audiences’ to which they ‘performed’
educational drama pieces rather than TIE programmes” p31
 In the late 1980s and into the 1990s participation in TIE was under threat
 TIE in danger of disappearing within a generation of becoming a highly valued
resource
 “It appears that some twenty years after the appearance of the new TIE hybrid,
political, financial and educational circumstances were conspiring to force mutation
or even extinction.” Page 33
 First Welsh TIE company started in 1972
 Late 1980’s each county in Wales had a company that claimed to be producing TIE
 “TIE in Wales shared much in common with English TIE and has faced the same
challenges from ERA.” Page 44
 “Welsh TIE has sought to define itself within its own cultural traditions and
eschewed much English DIE in favour of multinational influences.” Page 44

T.I.E Today
  In 2004 each county of Wales has it’s dedicated T.I.E. team, these are generally
funded by partnership arrangements of local authorities and the Arts Council of
Wales (ACW) though most companies also make charges to schools.
 “Most companies in Wales thus feel that they are responding to the needs of
children and, in theory, these are prioritized above the needs of teachers and the
National Curriculum.” Page 62
 “It is also true, however, that ‘traditional’ TIE approaches have been transformed
and even abandoned.” Page 71
 TIE has. Changed to meet the needs and in doing so, much if the work would not fit
into the criteria of TIE set by earlier commentators
 TIE in Wales done more than evolve to adapt to the changes
 “It has mutated into a new creature that primarily aims to offer a strong theatrical
stimulus to schools and, incidentally, offers the wily teacher the opportunity to use
the work in the Core and PSHE curricula.” Page 71
 At least two companies in Wales don’t use TIE in their title anymore and even more
question the relevance of the term in their work
 Few companies use the title ‘actor/teacher’
 Work taken to schools is still highly valuable
 Offering an educational input that adds depth and resonance to the curriculum
 “However, the original precepts of TIE are rarely to be seen and for that reason the
process, since 1988, can be regarded as one of mutation into a form of Educational
Theatre, rather than the evolution of a progressive and child-centred theatre and
education praxis.” Page 72

Theatre Companies

 Arad Goch
 Cwmni’r Frân Wen.
 Gwent Theatre
 Theatr Iolo Ltd.,
 Theatr Na n’Og
 Spectacle Theatre
 Theatr Clwyd Young People’s Theatre
 Theatr Powys