Alan Mandel Butler, 14 January 2017

The discussion we had in this session revolved around the state of current theatre

education in schools and colleges and what could be done in the future to challenge

perception of theatre and performing arts education.

Ideas touched upon included;

Challenging how teachers are trained - from the concept of a self perpetuating cycle of

mediocrity in the training of teachers

Being open - ensuring that there is a constant dialogue and openness to the approach

of education and the real world aspects of theatre that are prevalent to society as a

whole

Sharing your own context - true re-engagement in education and learning must be

from an individual perspective. Each and every student and educator have their own

stories and perceptions for contextual analysis of their situation and how they can

change / develop it. Being an individual should be embraced and not sidelined to fit

into a stauts quo

Being vulnerable - being comfortable in being uncomfortable and being allowed to

make mistakes. Mistakes are a tremendous part of the learning process and should be

embraced. Vulnerability as a performer and as an educator should be encouraged to

continue to break boundaries, ask questions and make change