International Review of Economics Education 39 (2022) 100229

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International Review of Economics Education

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/iree

Theatrical readings as a means of learning economics☆

Mario Morroni a, Riccardo Soliani b, *
a
University of Pisa, Italy
b
University of Genoa, Italy

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

JEL classification: In this paper, we present the features and discuss the results of an innovative technique of
A22 teaching economics through theatrical readings, that is writing and staging plays addressing
A29 economic issues. We have applied this method to engage students, promoting the understanding
B22
of economic principles and encouraging critical reflection. Theatre is a powerful tool that favours
E6
N14
the dissemination of economic issues, because it brings about an emotional involvement of the
N10 performers and the audience. Theatre allows emotions to improve learning; these are usually
neglected in economics pedagogy. We have verified that theatrical readings represent a fruitful
Keywords:
Teaching economics complement to the usual ‘chalk and talk’ lectures based on textbooks. Public readings in courses
Didactical theatre of Economics have given significant results in terms of students’ satisfaction and final marks,
Public speaking especially when the students’ experience encompasses writing plays and staging them. Students
Economics education who participated in the activities of writing and staging economic plays have shown better
knowledge of economic issues and have broadened their abilities in teamwork and public
speaking. Moreover, another advantage of using theatre as a learning instrument is that it allows
the performers and the audience to compare different visions in dialogical form. Finally, we
explain how to introduce this pedagogical practice in courses by sharing our experience and
presenting two scripts.

1. Introduction

The term theatrical reading describes a way of presenting to an audience a text, which is created by the students-readers themselves
on topics from their course of study. It does not involve acting, which would require more time to memorise the text, and would need
in-depth work on the use of body language on stage. In contrast, theatrical reading entails writing, studying and rehearsing a script,
under the supervision of a lecturer-director, so that the students-authors-readers best convey not only the understanding of the words

☆
The authors thank Stefania Paredes Fuentes for her very helpful comments on a preliminary version of this paper and the participants in the
“Developments in Economics Education” Conference, University of Warwick, 11–13 September 2019, and in the Workshop on “Integrating the
History of Economic Thought in the Classroom”, School of Economics and Finance, Queen Mary College, University of London, 5–6 November 2019,
for useful discussion. We owe a debt to Patrizia Pasqui for her support and skilful assistence as a playwright and theatre director. Many thanks to
Francesca Domenichini, Alessio Iodice e Alessandra La Spina of the Statistical Office of the University of Pisa for providing the data set and the
various computations regarding the students’ marks of the course in Economics of the Department of Political Sciences. Our thanks to Enrico Ivaldi
for his valuable help in elaborating the statistical tests of Appendix B. We are also grateful to two ananymous referees for insightful suggestions.
Usual caveats apply. We received financial support from the Univesity of Pisa within the “Special Projects for Didactics”.
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: mario.morroni@unipi.it (M. Morroni), riccardo.soliani@unige.it (R. Soliani).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iree.2021.100229
Received 26 May 2021; Received in revised form 6 October 2021; Accepted 29 November 2021
Available online 6 December 2021
1477-3880/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M. Morroni and R. Soliani International Review of Economics Education 39 (2022) 100229

of the text and the underlying concepts, but also the emotions and the intention of the characters.
To our knowledge, there are no studies dedicated to theatrical readings as a means of learning economics by writing and performing
text on economic themes regarding macroeconomics theory and application, history of economic analysis, economic history and in­
ternational trade. In this paper we address this gap in the literature by giving an account of our didactical experience using theatrical
readings, in addition to traditional lectures in undergraduate Economics courses. We provide evidence that acting out plays with
economic content helps students to achieve higher marks and implies a lower probability to fail the written tests and oral exam than
students who do not undertake this activity. We show that theatrical readings are useful to improve not only specific disciplinary skills,
but also other important skills and qualities, such as communication skills, creativity and imagination, intellectual curiosity, logical
thought, rigour and critical thinking. Our didactical theatre experiences have entailed the writing of various scripts to be staged.
Among these materials, two scripts, entitled The Economic Consequences of the Peace: 1919–2019 and Nothing Is as It Seems, are available
to the readers on a website dedicated to the didactical theatre in Economics.1 These scripts can be utilised, as a possible basis, by
colleagues who wish to undertake theatrical readings with their students.
The following section addresses the analogies and the differences between our activities of theatrical readings and other various
didactical experiences that use art, creative writing, literary passages, popular music to learn economics. Section three provides some
guidance on how to implement didactical theatre activity. The fourth section offers an account of our in-progress experiences of
theatrical readings in the classroom. In the fifth section we discuss the positive effects of theatrical readings within university courses.
Section six deals with the degree of students’ satisfaction. Section seven addresses the impact of didactical theatre activities on stu­
dents’ marks. Section eight is dedicated to some concluding remarks. Appendix A contains the open answers of students’ question­
naires on their degree of satisfaction.

2. Students’ learning of economics and their emotional involvement

In the literature on didactics of economics, there are analyses of the results of a wide range of learning experiences that aim at
favouring the understanding of economic concepts using art, creative writing, literary passages, discussion groups on real-world
economic problems, animated television shows, sitcoms and films clips, documentaries, and popular music.2 Let us consider briefly
some of them, highlighting analogies and differences with respect to theatrical reading as a means of learning economics.
Watts and Christopher (2012, pp. 409–10) remark that most of the work economists have done on art deals with various aspects of
markets for art, whereas little work on visual learning has been done for economics teaching, although it has been found that visual
learning has a positive effect on student learning processes in introductory economics classes. Further, Watts and Christopher discuss
their teaching experience in a website on Art and Economics that provides several slides to illustrate economic concepts and issues.3
They use a simple approach, successful with both U.S. and international classes, showing an individual piece of art to encourage
reflection about economic topics and an open-ended discussion. Finally, they try to verify the effectiveness of the use of slides of
paintings in teaching subjects and concepts, compared to traditional lectures or to other learning approaches. On this point, informal
surveys offer them quite positive answers (Watts and Christopher, 2012, pp. 417, 419–20).
Following a methodological approach not far from Watts and Christopher (2012), Rousu (2016) has created the website Broad­
wayEconomics.com, updated monthly, which includes over forty songs from musicals, from currently running shows along with songs
from shows that are over 50 years old. Basic and advanced economic concepts are illustrated in songs from well-known musicals, e. g.
Les Misérables, or Fiddler on the Roof. On the website one can find short explanations and links to the songs, as well as questions to help
both teachers’ and students’ understanding and checking. Students are expected to enjoy economics and learn more, and educators
should teach better, thanks to the opportunity of finding, for assignments, pre-class music on the topics covered, or contents suitable
for exercises or exams.
There is an analogy between tracing and discussing economic concepts using paintings, as in the website by Watts and Christopher
(2012), and in songs, as in Rousu (2016). In both cases the students’ imagination is stimulated through unusual and unexpected means,
which should make learning more enjoyable and effective.
By contrast, our experience of didactical theatre started with the students performing a text written by their teacher and has
developed with a greater involvement of students who have written and performed their scripts. At each step, the students play an
active role: first by assimilating the contents of their teacher’s writing, and then by developing their own texts. Overall, in our case the
role of the students is more active than that envisaged by Watts and Christopher (2012) and Rousu (2016); and this also applies to the
students who only participated in the initial phase of the experience.
One of the reasons why a theatrical reading motivates and reinforces learning might be found in the fact that it activates the two
hemispheres of the brain specialised in deductive (left) and inductive (right) reasoning respectively, as has been noted when teaching
uses media (Mateer and Stephenson, 2011, p. 29). This is confirmed by a recent experience of learning economics through creative
writing that took place at Tufts University (USA), where graduate students in Economics for Policy and Planning were required to write
short texts in verse. The theory behind this experiment is the “cognitive load theory”, which identifies the types of working memory

1
See the website: https://teatrodidattico.sp.unipi.it/.
2
On these various learning activities see also Watts (1999); Leet and Houser (2003); Hall (2005); Mateer and Rice (2007); Mateer and Stephenson
(2011); Watts and Christopher (2012); Krasnozhon (2013); Conaway and Clark (2015); Rousu (2016); Davis (2019); Goebel and Maistry (2019);
Wooten and Staub (2019).
3
The link to Watts’ and Christopher’s website is: https://intra.krannert.purdue.edu/sites/econandart/Pages/Home.aspx.

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M. Morroni and R. Soliani International Review of Economics Education 39 (2022) 100229

activated in learning processes. Various forms of imaginative knowledge, like verses and metaphors, enhance the learning ability, since
they require the type of working memory relevant for the students of economics (Davis, 2019, pp. 1–2). The experiment at Tufts
University was highly appreciated by participants, although some of them remarked that “learning experience was more effective but
had less depth”, since the time-consuming effort to write creatively prevented them from reflecting enough upon several concepts;
perhaps this criticism would be perceived differently by undergraduate students involved in similar experiments (Davis, 2019, pp.
5–6). Also in our experience students devote time to writing. Writing and performing activities are considered as a part of the learning
process, which changes students’ attitude towards study, and helps them to reflect more profoundly on the macroeconomic contents
they are dealing with. The emotions that are aroused when playing a role or preparing an “economic play”, and the knowledge and
understanding needed to write and perform it satisfactorily, involve different abilities that we can trace back in the aforementioned
two hemispheres.
The use of emotions to engage with learning is introduced also by Goebel and Maistry (2019). They realised that students had
difficulty in thinking “like an economist” in case studies depicting their everyday life, and perceived it as an actual identity shift.4 The
authors coped with the problem thanks to a specific conceptual tool: the Threshold Concepts Framework (TCF). According to it, certain
concepts are seen “as portals to transformed understandings that define disciplinary ways of thinking” (Goebel and Maistry, 2019, p.
3). Understanding such affective “threshold concepts” and crossing them is a sort of “rite of passage”, which generates uncertainty and
unease; the outcome may be a new worldview, or, on the contrary, total defensiveness. The experiment consisted in discussion groups
(four-six people) focused on real world examples. The reaction of the students was positive. In participants’ words, collaborating with
others and applying disciplinary ways of thinking developed “a sense of well-being, belonging and contentment” (Goebel and Maistry,
2019, p. 6). The microeconomic concepts gave them a new way of understanding and explaining the observed behaviour thanks to a
disciplinary perspective. This experience of discussing in small groups of students real world examples is very near to our theatrical
experiments in Pisa and Genoa, because in the phases of writing scripts the various groups of students are involved in in-depth dis­
cussions on real world examples. Moreover, in both cases cooperation among students fosters learning. However, some differences
must be noted. In writing and performing theatrical readings, students should not identify themselves with any of the competing
economic schools, since one of the purposes of our teaching is to make them aware of pluralism in economics. Indeed, supervisors
strive to teach students a method to analyse economic issues and highlight new standpoints to discuss macroeconomics with reference
to economic policies, rather that applying the “economic way of thinking” to their daily experience.
Finally, let us consider sitcoms that are also used for learning economics. Conaway and Clark (2015) and, recently, Wooten and
Staub (2019) use the sitcom Parks and Recreation to explain basic economic concepts with an entertaining approach, in an “interesting
pop cultural twist” (Conaway and Clark, 2015, p. 42). Our experiment is basically different, because the theatre requires a really active
role for students. The characters, which are created by students, act in various economic situations applying different, and sometimes
conflicting, economic theories. The aim is to develop an attitude to economic investigation through an entertaining approach, but
without any “pop cultural twist”.

3. How to implement theatre into teaching economics: some guidance

This section offers some guidance to colleagues who wish to use theatrical activity in addition to traditional lectures, by
encouraging students to form groups engaged in writing the scripts and reading them in class and in a public event. Since the specific
feature of this supplementary activity inevitably depends on the particular didactic organisation and rules of different universities, we
can provide only general indications on how to implement such activity, based on our experience linked to the Italian system on
courses in Economics.
We suggest that students’ activity of didactical theatre should be voluntary. For instance, 20 participants, divided in four groups,
should require 10 h of joint supervision by a theatre expert (theatre director or playwright) and a lecturer in Economics. If the number
of supervisors or hours increases, the number of students can increase in proportion. Students’ active participation should be rewarded
and assessed properly.
The activity of didactical theatre should take place in addition to the main course. Supplementary hours eliminate a possible trade-
off between the traditional course and the didactical theatre activity. The syllabus and the number of hours of the main course remain
unchanged. The additional engagement required in the extra-activity, consisting in writing, discussing and performing theatrical
readings, is offset by the new and stimulating experience.
Didactical theatre involves several distinct activities: to form a team, to choose a theme related to real-world situations; to study
materials on the issue, to write the script, to speak in public and to discuss the real-world examples addressed in the reading with the
audience.5 Let us consider the following six steps of the activity of organising theatrical readings.

i) Creation of teams
The creation of the group is the basic starting point. This is a very important step, because the cooperation among students

4
On the application of the economic way of thinking to the daily life of students, see Heyne et al. (2010, p. 6).
5
We may note that this method is Marshallian in spirit. Marshall (1920, p. 1) used to define economics as “a study of mankind in the ordinary
business of life”. The formal apparatus he provided was to be learnt in order to better understand the entire human life, which is the behaviour of
both individuals and society. On discussion groups focused on real-world examples related to microeconomics concepts, see Goebel and Maistry
(2019).

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M. Morroni and R. Soliani International Review of Economics Education 39 (2022) 100229

Table 1
Theatrical readings in the classroom: 2017–2019.
Title, Author and Director Year and Venue

Nulla è come appare

Free adaptation from Morroni (2018) 2017 Genoa Univ.

2017 Pisa Univ.a
Script by Mario Morroni

Director: Riccardo Soliani

Director: Patrizia Pasqui

Eurostarnomics 2018 Pisa Univ.a

Script by students – Director: Patrizia Pasqui

The Economic Consequences of the Peace: 1919–2019 2019 Pisa Univ.a

Free adaptation from Keynes (2019, 1931, 1933a, 1933b); Marcuzzo (2011); Massini (2014; 2016)

Script by Riccardo Soliani – Director: Patrizia Pasqui

Mai stati uniti (the crisis of the E.U.) 2019 Pisa Univ.a

Script by students – Director: Patrizia Pasqui

Breakfast Club (state and market) 2019 Pisa Univ.a

Script by students – Director: Patrizia Pasqui

A Wicked Problem for a Dismal Science (climatic change) 2019 Pisa Univ.a

Script by students – Director: Patrizia Pasqui

a
Videos are available at: https://teatrodidattico.sp.unipi.it/.

becomes a key element that fosters learning and develops a self-education process.6 The difficulty is to balance, on the one hand,
the freedom of students of choosing their fellows and, on the other, to obtain an equilibrium among different groups regarding
the number and the composition. For example, totally women/men groups should be avoided, and each group should gather
students with various level of performance.
ii) Choice of themes
Students’ teams have to choose the subject of the script. Each group presents one or more themes for discussion by the whole
class. In this phase the interests, the ideas and the imagination of students emerge. The discussion among students is carried out
under the supervision of teachers who provide suggestions on how to focus in a consistent way on a subject within the time span
of the reading that usually should be around 10 min.
iii) Writing the script
The various groups of students write their own draft that is discussed with the instructors (the teacher and the stage director).
The correction of the scripts must respect the ideas of students, that are sometimes quite original, and at the same time must
check the consistency and the quality of the economic content.
iv) Students’ proofs in the classroom
Students perform some proofs of their script in the class. This is an important step that offers the opportunity to revise the text
and to start to learn public speaking. During this phase, supervision should aim at helping students to communicate the original
contents in a witty and brilliant way. To this end student are trained to perform the public reading of the scripts.
v) Students’ final performance and presentation
The various theatrical readings are presented and recorded in a public event. The reading is followed by a discussion on the
economic issues treated in the scripts.
vi) Student marks at the final exam
In the marks of the final exam of the course, teachers take into account the results and contribution of the students who have
been actively involved in all aspects of writing and staging. The different abilities determining the final mark must be previously
indicated by teachers. The marks’ system varies from one university to another.

6
On the interactive learning through student-created content, see Bransford et al. (1999).

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M. Morroni and R. Soliani International Review of Economics Education 39 (2022) 100229

4. Theatre in the classroom: an overview of our experience

This section focuses on our activities in the classroom.7 The first experiments of didactical theatre in the classroom took place in
2017 with two readings of Nulla è come appare (Nothing Is as It Seems) in courses of Economics at the University of Genoa8 and at the
University of Pisa.9 The encouraging outcomes of these initial experiences and students’ enthusiasm suggested inviting students to pass
from the role of “readers” to the role of “authors” performing their own scripts. In 2018, a group of volunteer students, attending the
course of Economics in Pisa University, wrote and staged, under the direction of the playwright Patrizia Pasqui,10 a dialogue on
controversial socio-economic topics during a train journey. In this dialogue, entitled Eurostarnomics, the students-actors discussed and
applied, in a dramatic form, the concepts of macroeconomics that they had learned in the course (see Table 1).11
In 2019 the theatrical reading The Economic Consequences of the Peace: 1919–2019 was performed by economists-actors within the
course of Economics at Pisa University to celebrate the centenary of the publication of Keynes’ book.12 The reading was warmly
welcomed by the audience and followed by an interesting debate with several questions and remarks from the floor.
In 2019, a project of learning theatre received financial support from the University of Pisa. The project aimed at the realisation of a
series of scripts readable in public, addressing specific topics within the course of Economics. The students were encouraged, although
not compulsorily required, to participate in the theatrical training, which consisted of an integration of fourteen extra class hours into
the main course. The number of participants was higher than expected, and they worked for many more hours than scheduled; fifty-
seven students, divided into seven sub-groups, wrote and performed dialogues that covered several economic issues.
In the first phase, each group was assigned to choose a topic and prepare a short dialogue, which had to be correct, lively and easily
comprehensible to their classmates. The texts were analysed, discussed and revised under the supervision of Patrizia Pasqui and Mario
Morroni, until they were consistent and suitable for the theatrical performance. Students discussed with Mario Morroni the learned
concepts of economics and their explanation in a dramatic form. Patrizia Pasqui taught students the basic rules of writing a theatrical
text. The second phase was dedicated to training the students for the public reading of the scripts.
At the end of the semester, each group was engaged in the performance before the class. All students voted for the most interesting
and effective readings; three of them were selected and recorded. They dealt with the crisis of the European Union; the relationship
between state, market and finance; and the consequences of climate change.13 The educational theatre project was considered by a
Commission established by the Vice Rector of the University of Pisa Marco Abate, together with three other projects, as the most
innovative teaching projects out of about 60 projects presented in the academic year 2018–2019.
Managing such a large group was a challenging task, but the final result was positive, thanks to the effort of both supervisors and the
enthusiasm of the students. Although it is almost impossible to indicate a maximum number, on the basis of our experience we believe
that working with more than sixty students would be difficult.
In 2020, due to the diffusion of Covid-19 and the lockdown, personal contacts have been prevented and lectures were provided on
line. 15 volunteer students on the course in Economics at the University of Pisa, divided into four groups, participated in the activity of
writing and reading scripts through meetings and seminars online under the direction of Patrizia Pasqui. The final performance, with
the recording of the reading in the classroom, could not take place.
For all the three academic years considered, the participants of the didactical theatre were voluntary students among around 200
students attending the course dedicated to microeconomics and macroeconomics. This is a course in the first years of the B.A. in
Political Sciences and students are 19–21 years old. The didactical theatre courses required, each year, an engagement of 10 h of
seminars in addition to the usual 72 h of the main course. During the didactical theatre courses the first 4 h were dedicated to teaching
how to write a short theatrical reading and to discussing the ideas proposed by students regarding the scripts to perform. In the last 6 h
training activities took place concerning breathing and diction exercises, gestures and scripts development.
Students who actively participated in the didactical theatre activity received the maximum mark of 3 out of 30 for their active
participation. These 3 marks were added to the marks gained in the final written and oral exam of the traditional course in Economics.

7
We have used theatrical readings not only in the classroom but also in academic conferences and in open events that were addressed to non-
specialist audiences. Theatrical representations of economics debates have become a key feature of the annual conference of the Association for
the History of Political Economy (STOREP). For a full account of these different strands of activities as a way to engage scholars and the general
public with economic debates, see our website dedicated to didactical theatre: https://teatrodidattico.sp.unipi.it/.
8
The course was held by Giovanni Battista Pittaluga. The reading at Genoa University was organised by Riccardo Soliani and performed by the
economist-actors Alessia Bruzzo, Hilda Ghiara, Marta Santagata e Riccardo Soliani, with live musical improvisation by the economist and musician
Marco Mazzoli. At the end of the reading there was an animated debate.
9
The course was held by Mario Morroni. Nulla è come appare (Nothing Is as It seems) is a free adaptation from Morroni, 2018. The video of this
theatrical readings and full English text are available at: https://teatrodidattico.sp.unipi.it/.
10
Patrizia Pasqui is a playwright and theatre director, educated at the Acting School of the National Theatre, Genoa. Her texts focus on war,
poverty, human rights and peace; a few of them are used in the educational projects of the Italian NGO ‘Emergency’.
11
The course was held by Mario Morroni. The video of this play is available at: https://teatrodidattico.sp.unipi.it/.
12
The Economic Consequences of the Peace: 1919–2019 is a free adaptation by Riccardo Soliani on texts from Keynes (2019, 1931, 1933a, 1933b);
Marcuzzo (2011); Massini (2014; 2016). It was performed by Patrizia Pasqui, playwright, and two economists-actors, Hilda Ghiara and Riccardo
Soliani from the University of Genoa. Riccardo Soliani, besides being Professor of History of Economic Analysis, received a training in staging and
acting. Live music was expressly composed and played by Luigi Traino. The script of the theatrical reading and the video is available at: https://
teatrodidattico.sp.unipi.it/.
13
The videos of these three theatrical readings are available at: https://teatrodidattico.sp.unipi.it/.

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M. Morroni and R. Soliani International Review of Economics Education 39 (2022) 100229

In the Italian marking system, the maximum mark is 30 out of 30. For example, if a participant receives 18 marks out of 30 in the main
course and 3 marks in the activity of theatrical readings, the final total mark of the course in Economics is 21 out of 30. If he/she
receives 30 marks out of 30 in the main course and 3 marks in the activity of theatrical readings, the final total mark is 30 out of 30 cum
laude (the laude corresponds to a mark of 33 out of 30).

5. Pedagogical benefits of using theatre as a teaching tool

This section discusses the pedagogical benefits of these innovative experiences of writing theatrical readings and performing them.
In the script on The Economic Consequences of the Peace: 1919–2020, the personal and political forces behind the Versailles Treaty
were depicted in a theatrical dimension. Keynes magisterially describes the atmosphere of the Paris Conference and highlights the
contrast between ‘reason’ and ‘reasonableness’ regarding the weight of the war reparations to be paid by Germany.14 The script of the
theatrical reading traces a parallel between the mortification of the German economy by the Versailles Treaty “based not on any
reasonable calculation of what Germany can, in fact, pay” (Keynes, 2019 [1919], p. 205) and the US government decision to let
Lehman Brothers go bankrupt. In both cases a group of men, through choices partly dictated by personal motivations, came to decisions
resulting in fatal consequences all over the world in the years to come.
The aim of this reading was twofold: to show students how to perform a theatrical reading and to discuss with them the economic
implication of the Versailles Treaty in the light of the global financial crisis that started in 2008. By watching The Economic Conse­
quences of the Peace: 1919–2019, students were able to interpret Keynes’ words in a historical perspective, as a key to grasp main
aspects of the genesis and the features of the current economic crisis. Watching this interpretation increased learning and interest in the
various economics topics. Students improved their knowledge, thanks to the texts quoted during the reading and the slides projected.
Students were helped to engage with the learning outcomes of the course, focusing on the relationship between historical facts and
economic analysis. Indeed, not only does the Economics course require students to know the theoretical foundations of the discipline,
but also stimulates them to continually compare theory with reality. The economic consequences of the Versailles Treaty show the
close link between public debt, aggregate demand and growth, that will be the subject of Keynes’ later analysis in the ‘20s and early
‘30s; while considering the decisions taken by the U.S. government in relation to the Lehman Brothers’ crisis allows students to un­
derstand the important role of the ‘domino effect’ that is overlooked in many macro-econometric models.
In order to perform a reading of Nulla è come appare (Nothing Is as It seems), students undertook training in “theatrical economics”
and public speaking under the direction of Patrizia Pasqui. The storyline of Nulla è come appare concerns the live discussion between
three economists, who meet by chance in the lounge of an airport. A young anthropologist asks them apparently naïve questions on the
causes and consequences of the financial crisis burst in 2008. In their answers, the three economists try to avoid their usual abstract and
specialist jargon. This makes the discussion comprehensible even to the lay people who want to get to the truth of recent economic
events. During the conversation, the personal relationships between the economists and the different scientific and political ap­
proaches emerge, giving fresh flavour and creating a bit of suspense. The implications of the different macroeconomics theories
(neoliberal, post-Keynesian and ecological approaches) become clear in the course of the heated discussion among the protagonists of
the dialogue. The audience tends to identify itself with the student who poses the questions, and feels involved in the debate. Since this
dialogue addresses the 2008′ s global financial crisis and the different economic theories that explain its causes and effects, it is easy to
integrate into the syllabus of a course of Economics.
In the reading, the characters discuss different economic theories and policies. Students are required to personify, without iden­
tifying themselves, three characters. The dissimilarities among their positions are very well represented on stage and can be grasped
immediately. As a consequence, students gain an awareness of pluralism in economics that implies engaging in conversation with
different economic theories.15
This is confirmed by students’ comments and feedback from the evaluation questionnaires on their activity of theatrical readings,16
e.g:
“It was a very interesting experience, which helped me to approach in a proactive way a subject that was quite complicated for
me. Furthermore, it gave me the opportunity to get to know my classmates better and to have a much more direct relationship
with Professor Morroni, who has always been very kind and helpful.”
“Original and engaging activity, very useful in exploring issues that are sometimes complicated to both understand and
explain.”
“The formation of different groups has allowed the production of various texts, bringing out the different interests and the
different priorities ascribed, as a group and as a single participant, to the themes of the economic debate that had been chosen.”
In order to show students how to control their voice and gestures, we made use of basic breathing and diction exercises, which have
had a significant impact on their perceived communication skills and confidence, as emphasised by students themselves:
“Satisfied with the work done with my colleagues, it allowed me to improve my public speaking skills.”

14
On the relationship between “reason” and “reasonableness” see Marcuzzo (2011).
15
On the pluralistic methodological position in economics see the discussion and references in Soliani and Morroni (2019, p. 62). On students’
perception of the pluralism debate in economics see the survey by Schweitzer-Krah and Engartner (2019).
16
Full comments for the academic years 2018/19 and 2019/20 are available in Appendix A.

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M. Morroni and R. Soliani International Review of Economics Education 39 (2022) 100229

“It was a very formative experience. In particular, it was a challenge that on the one hand made me aware of my ability to work
in a team, on the other it certainly increased my self-esteem.”
Tutorial group sessions for the preparation of the theatrical reading favour peer interactions and offer the possibility of fun and
discovery, enhancing students’ intrinsic motivation.17 Indeed, this experience of active learning overcomes the shortfalls of the
traditional lectures, such as passivity, invisibility and anonymity.18
The preparation activity also develops the aptitude for critical reasoning and encourages students to compare various economic
theories and policies. Text processing requires students to contrast the various economic approaches, in order to portray the different
characters that each of them must play; at the same time, everyone must listen to and understand the points of view of the other
protagonists of the dialogue, to be able to oppose or share them. Writing concise scripts stimulates students to delve into the topic and
get straight to the core; then students learn to communicate economic issues to a general audience in an accessible way. This is a key
skill for students of economics, which is difficult to develop using traditional assessments.
The theatre requires an active role for students. Students who write texts and stage them change their attitude towards study and
consider more deeply the economic contents they are dealing with. As commented by a 2019/20 student:
“It was an unusual, unprecedented, undoubtedly original experience given the nature of the course and the "traditional" learning
methods. It certainly offered added value to the attendance of the course, as well as a precious opportunity for comparison and
collaboration between students, expanding the interest in the topics covered in class.”
Writing scripts improves students’ understanding of economics issues. Indeed, in the effort to write scripts, they must read addi­
tional papers. Furthermore, joint writing tasks and tutorial group sessions are enjoyable, and make students more capable of teamwork
and, partly, of managing themselves autonomously. This generates a sense of belonging to teams, formed to carry out the theatrical
activity, that facilitates learning processes and self-confidence, fostering personal growth. Theatrical activities demonstrate the
importance of the interactive, social and collaborative character of students’ experiences on learning outcomes.19
No evidence emerged of uncomfortable feeling, nor spirit of strong competition. Theatre is a collective work, where everybody
plays an essential role, and the final outcome depends upon the effort of the group. Students establish more profound relationships. On
this let us see some students’ comments:
“Very rewarding activity that also allowed me to learn and know topics outside the traditional syllabus. Very useful activity also
to better bond with classmates.”
“It allowed me to make new friends, to find mates to compare with before the exam and it certainly helped me to be more
confident in expressing myself in front of an audience. Final judgement: a pleasant experience.”20
These positive results confirm the potentiality of theatrical activity in addition to traditional lectures. Looking at the classical
Bloom’s taxonomy (Bloom, 1956), and its newer version (Anderson et al., 2001), the theatrical approach to teaching economics in­
volves the cognitive, affective, and sensory domains. Performing and playing economic texts expressly written arise emotions, involve
the affective dimension of personal interrelation, make learners aware of the responsibility everybody has for the final attainment, and
engage them in a new, complete sensorial experience. Writing the script, the top of the taxonomy consisting in “knowledge of theories
and structures” is achieved. In Bloom’s language, teams develop analysis, synthesis, and evaluation when they write the lines that
explain the different economic policies, in the spirit of “collaborative elaboration” and the social dimension of learning (McMahon,
1997).

6. Students’ evaluation and feedback

Students were asked to express their evaluation of the didactic theatre activity carried out within the Economics course of the
Department of Political Sciences in 2018 and 2019.21 To this end, a website with an online questionnaire was created, using Microsoft
Form.22 The link to the questionnaire was sent by email after the conclusion of the theatre activity and after the exam sessions of the
Political Economy course. The questionnaire consisted of 8 closed questions and two open ones.
The response rate was satisfying: half of the students who participated in the activity in 2018 and a third of those who participated
in 2019 filled in the online form. Students’ satisfaction was measured according to the Likert’s scale with a score ranging from 1 to 5.
The scores assigned by the students in correspondence with the eight questions of the questionnaire are all very high (Table 2). In 2018,
the overall rate of satisfaction (question h) is maximum (5). The success of the activity carried out in 2018 contributed to the explosion
in the number of students who wished to be enroled in the educational theatre activity in the following year. Their number more than
quadrupled and, consequently, they were followed a little less individually than in the previous year. This is reflected in a slight
lowering of the rate of satisfaction which however remains very high, above the level corresponding to ’very satisfactory’ (4.2 on the

17
See Goebel and Maistry (2019, pp. 9–10).
18
See Goebel and Maistry (2019, pp. 9–10).
19
On the impact of collaboration with peers and the sense of belonging on students’ motivation, engagement and achievement, see: Ahn, Davis
(2020); Zumbrunn et al. (2014); Thomas (2012); Vallerand et al. (2008); Smith and Bath (2006).
20
See Appendix A.
21
We have not collected data regarding 2020 because the activity of didactical theatre was incomplete due to the lockdown that made it
impossible to meet in the classroom. From March 2020 to August 2021 in presence lectures and seminars were prevented in Pisa University.
22
The questionnaire website was created by Giuseppe Cusumano on the basis of the form provided by the course teachers.

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M. Morroni and R. Soliani International Review of Economics Education 39 (2022) 100229

Table 2
Students’ satisfaction level: 2018, 2019(average rating from 1 to 5).
Questions 2018 2019 2018–2019

a.Supervision of economic contents 5,0 4,3 4,7

b.Supervision of theatrical activity 4,8 4,9 4,9
c.Involvement of the group 4,6 4,1 4,4
d.Own involvement 5,0 4,2 4,6
e.Skills development 5,0 3,8 4,4
f.Compliance with initial expectations 4,8 4,0 4,4
g.Congruence with the Economics course 4,8 4,1 4,5
h.Overall rating 5,0 4,2 4,6
i.Average 4,88 4,20 4,54

Rate: 1 dissatisfied; 2 not very satisfied; 3 satisfied; 4 very satisfied 5 very much satisfied.

Fig. 1. Students’ satisfaction level. Percentage shares: 2018, 2019.

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M. Morroni and R. Soliani International Review of Economics Education 39 (2022) 100229

Table 3
Total final marks of students of the course of Economics: 2018–2019–2020.
Participants in didactical theatre activity Number Share Total final mark course of Economics Standard deviation Percentage of failuresa

Yes 58 14.90% 27.91/30 4.10 Less than 10%

No 331 85.10% 24.66/30 4.30 About 30%
a
Estimated data.
Source: Statistical Office of the University of Pisa.

Table 4
Total final marks of students of the course of Economics, males and females: 2018–2019–2020.
Participants in didactical theatre activity Males Females Number Share Total final mark course of Economics Standard deviation

Yes M 24 41.38% 28.00/30 4.18

F 34 58.62% 27.85/30 4.04
No M 160 48.34% 24.74/30 4.32
F 171 51.66% 24.59/30 4.28

Source: Statistical Office of the University of Pisa.

Table 5
Average mark of the script tests and final oral exam in microeconomics and macroeconomics of the course of Economics, University of Pisa:
2018–2019–2020.
Participants in didactical theatre activity Number Average mark Standard deviation

Yes 58 24.91/30 4.10

No 331 24.66/30 4.30

Source: Statistical Office of the University of Pisa.

scale from 1 to 5), with half of the students giving the maximum score (5 – very much satisfying). Fig. 1 reports the percentages of
students for each level of satisfaction.
The answers with the highest score concern the supervision of theatrical activity and the economic content. The open answers,
reported in the Appendix A, are extraordinarily positive in both 2018 and 2019, and we have already commented on some of these in
Section 5 Section 1. The answers show the satisfaction of having learned some techniques of public speaking, and that the students
have increased confidence and self-esteem, and improved their relationship with fellow students; they have a better understanding of
the economic contents, and have acquired new skills in writing short economic texts.

7. Exam scores

We noted, week by week, improvements in understanding economic issues, in public speaking abilities and in team-working skills
of students who participate in the theatrical activity.23 However, is interesting to verify whether the students who undertake didactical
theatre have higher exam scores than students who didn’t.
In analysing evidence on students’ average marks, it was necessary to consider all three years (2018–2019–2020) of the theatre
activity together because, in the Italian university system, students are allowed to sit for the exam the year after the one in which they
attended the course and there are nine appeals per academic year. If a student fails or refuses a mark, he or she can reapply several
times for subsequent exams. The exam for the course consists of written tests in microeconomics and macroeconomics plus a final oral
examination in both subjects. The final mark is the average of the marks obtained in the tests and the oral examination. The maximum
mark is 30 out of 30, a pass mark is 18 and a mark cum laude is 33 out of 30.
As shown in Table 3, the share of students who voluntarily participated in the didactical theatre activity is about 15% of all students
who passed the exam in the three years considered (389).24
There is a significant difference between the two groups in the percentage of failed written tests and oral exams in microeconomics
and macroeconomics.25 It is estimated that students who participated in the educational theatre have a failure rate of less than 10 per
cent, while those who did not participate have a failure rate of around 30 per cent (see last column of Table 3). This considerable

23
These results are similar to those obtained by the DICE group (DICE – Drama Improves Lisbon Key Competences in Education, 2010, p. 25)
24
The data set on students’ marks of the exam of Economics has been provided by the Statistical Office of the University of Pisa.
25
The statistical system of the University of Pisa only records the marks of students who pass the exam, i.e. marks above 18 out of 30. The ex­
amination reports do not record students who do not pass the examination or who withdraw. Therefore, unlike all other data presented in this
section that are provided by the Statistical Office of the University, the percentage of failures and withdrawals in the Economics exam cannot be
calculated from the data provided by the University’s statistical system. It is estimated on the basis of the lecturers’ notes taken during the ex­
amination sessions.

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M. Morroni and R. Soliani International Review of Economics Education 39 (2022) 100229

difference could be explained by the fact that students who participated in the drama activity attended the course more assiduously
and, thanks to the drama activity, acquired a greater awareness of their preparation.
The overall average mark, which takes into account the drama activity, is 27.91 out of 30 for students who participated in the
drama activity, while it is 24.66 out of 30 for students who didn’t participate. The standard deviation is slightly lower for students who
participated in the drama activity (4.10 instead of 4.30) indicating less variability in the results (see Table 3).
Female students participated in the drama activity at a higher percentage than males, but with a slightly lower average final mark
and variability (see Table 4).
When comparing the results of the Economics exam, it should be borne in mind that the two groups of students, participants and
non-participants, are not qualitatively homogeneous because the former are willing to take part in an additional activity that requires a
greater commitment in terms of hours both in and out of class. However, among the non-participants there may be some excellent
students who prefer to concentrate their efforts on preparing for the written tests and the oral examination without any additional
commitment.
The striking difference in favour of the participants in the average mark, both male and female, that emerges from Table 3 is due, in
our opinion, to three main reasons:

i) Students who actively participated in the educational theatre experience received 3 points out of 30 more than the average mark
achieved in the written microeconomics and macroeconomics tests and the final oral examination for active participation and
increased engagement in a non-compulsory activity. These three points reward the time students have devoted to a non-
compulsory teaching activity and recognises the acquisition of skills that this activity has created. However, the three points
were only added if the student achieved at least a pass mark in the average mark of the written microeconomic and macro­
economic tests and the oral examination.
ii) Participating students received a larger share of maximum marks cum laude: 24.14% of the students who attended the
educational theatre activity achieved maximum marks cum laude compared to 8.16% of those who did not attend this activity.
iii) Participating students attained a slightly higher average mark in the microeconomics and macroeconomics texts and in the oral
examination than students who did not participate: 24.91 out of 30 versus 24.66 out of 30 (see Table 5).

This last aspect deserves some comments. The small difference between the two groups of students in the written tests of micro­
economics, macroeconomics and in the final oral examination can be explained by the fact that, although the skills acquired through
the theatrical activity are in themselves relevant and are perceived as very useful by the students, as highlighted in the previous
section, not all these acquired skills positively influence the mark of the written tests and the oral examination of micro. Firstly, written
and oral exams are individual; thus having acquired a greater ability to work in groups does not have a direct effect on their marks. In
addition, improved public speaking skills have no effect on the mark in the written tests. Lastly, the educational theatre activity
concerns macroeconomics topics and therefore does not affect the preparation of the microeconomics section. Despite these limita­
tions, the final mark, without taking into account the three points due to the drama activity, is nevertheless higher.
In conclusion, students who participated in the activity of didactical theatre had a lower probability of failing the exam and higher
scores than those who didn’t.

8. Concluding remarks

In this paper we have presented a fruitful and innovative experience of the theatre as a tool to teach economics and disseminate
economic contents. Experiences of didactical theatre can be easily replicated because their set up does not require large economic
resources. What really matters is the involvement of lecturers and instructors. Indeed, in our case, this catalysed and enhanced the
interest of the students, who joined with unexpected enthusiasm and active participation. Based on our experience, we can conclude
that the dialogic/theatrical form in the wide field of economics and history of economic analysis is an effective and flexible means to
favour collaborative learning among students, to increase motivation, to reinforce their cognitive and communication capabilities, and
to develop discipline-specific, vocational skills, through an emotional engagement in a multi-faceted, fascinating adventure.
“Theatrical political economy” proves to be affordable, simple, rigorous and greatly appreciated also by non-economist audiences,
who understand the issues at stake and the different economic approaches and participate actively in the debates that follow the
readings. It is a positive experience of collaboration and integration between economists with theatrical experience, and professionals
cultivated in history and humanities. Indeed, from both sides there is a sincere will to discover one another and combine respective
capabilities to achieve the common goal: dissemination of knowledge.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Mario Morroni: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Visualization,
Supervision. Riccardo Soliani: Methodology, Validation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Visualization.

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M. Morroni and R. Soliani International Review of Economics Education 39 (2022) 100229

Appendix A. Didactical Theatre Activities. Students’ Open Answers in the Evaluation Questionnaire: 2018–2019

1). Overall evaluation of the didactic theatre activity

2018

• Satisfied with the work done with my colleagues, it allowed me to improve my public speaking skills.
• Very rewarding activity that also allowed me to learn and know topics outside the traditional syllabus. Very useful activity also to
bond better with classmates.
• I found the activity very valid: in addition to deepening economic issues, we acted as real actors, with a well-made set design and
script.

2019

• It was a very interesting experience, which helped me to approach in a proactive way a subject that was quite complicated for me.
Furthermore, it gave me the opportunity to get to know my classmates better and to have a much more direct relationship with
Professor Morroni, who has always been very kind and helpful.
• It was a very formative experience. In particular, it was a challenge that on the one hand made me aware of my ability to work in a
team, on the other it certainly increased my self-esteem.
• Original and engaging activity, very useful in exploring issues that are sometimes complicated to both understand and explain.
Initially I expected a real public speaking course (with lessons on bearing, breath, intonation, etc.), but the advice of Dr. Pasqui
performed the same function, combining the usefulness of deepening study and of discovery, with the delight of acting.
• The formation of different groups has allowed the production of various texts, bringing out the different interests and the different
priorities ascribed, as a group and as a single participant, to the themes of the economic debate that had been chosen.
• It was certainly an interesting and fun experience, which brings you closer not only to the topics that are covered but also to other
students in your course.
• I believe that this project was also very useful for the approach to political economy itself, because, through this very "interactive"
work, we students were able to get closer to and better understand the subject, without it being too complex or too abstract.
• It was an unusual, unprecedented, undoubtedly original experience given the nature of the course and the "traditional" learning
methods. It certainly offered added value to the attendance of the course, as well as a precious opportunity for comparison and
collaboration between students, expanding the interest in the topics covered in class.
• Totally positive judgement.
• It allowed me to make new friends, to find mates to compare with before the exam and it certainly helped me to be more confident
in expressing myself in front of an audience. Final judgement: a pleasant experience.
• Excellent, it allowed me to acquire skills and understanding of the subject that I probably would not have had access to with a
classical study.

2). Suggestions regarding the future activity of didactic theatre

2018

• Nothing to improve, the project is valid by itself.

• None, I was fully satisfied with the experience lived.
• All perfect.

2019

• Shorter lessons but several times a week.

• Ensure greater collaboration between participants, including through short individual interventions by the professor or expert.
• The self-evaluation experiment is very interesting, both as a revision of the scripts during the meetings and at the end as a choice of
the most significant texts. It is also advisable to maintain a "final judgement" of the texts based on criteria more focused on academic
rigour.
• Try to carry out more supervision when students have to find the link between the element of economics and the story to be built on
it.
• I am very satisfied with my experience and I cherish my memory. I cannot think of any additional comments on any future changes,
because I believe it has been structured in the most appropriate way.
• For me the experience was really perfect, I can’t think of any improvements to make.

Appendix B. Statistical Appendix

In order to determine whether there is a statistically significant difference between the means of the two groups of those who

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M. Morroni and R. Soliani International Review of Economics Education 39 (2022) 100229

Table B1
Levene’s test and t-test applied to the two groups.
Independent Samples Levene’s t-test for Equality of Means
Test Test for
Equality of
Variances

F Sig. t df Sig. (2- Mean Std. Error 95% Confidence Interval of

tailed) Difference Difference the Difference

Equal variances not .158 .692 -4.323 143 0.000 -2.971 .687 -4.330 -1.613
assumed -4.293 119.355 0.000 -2.971 .692 -4.342 -1.601
Equal variances
assumed

participated and those who did not participate in the theatre activity, we used the Student’s t-test for independent samples (see
Table B1).
As is known, the 2 groups are comparable with this test if the numerosity N of the larger sample is no more than 1.5 times that of the
smaller one. Therefore, we extracted a random sample of 87 individuals from the group of those who had not participated in the
supplementary teaching activity.
Furthermore, the use of the t-test requires that the variances of the groups are homogeneous. In order to check this, we first carried
out Levene’s test for equality of variance between the groups. The test was not significant (Sign > 0.05), so we adopted the version of
the t-test for independent samples without Welch’s correction, which takes into account the inhomogeneity of the variances. Then, in
Table B1 equal variances are assumed.

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