Connected Pedagogy in Theatre Training: Embodiment, Empowerment and Empathy, 2021

"Can American theatre training in the 21st Century shed its psychology-based, Cartesian-influenced, hierarchical structure and instead work toward co-engagement, co-learning and co-liberation of students and teachers? The Coronavirus pandemic, coupled with the Black Lives Matter, #MeToo and Youth Climate movements, demands an examination of traditional power hegemonies, including in the training of theatre artists. This qualitative inquiry and associated grounded research looks at the experiences and philosophies of seven experienced theatre teachers whose work represents embodied practice and whose pedagogy stems from a model of co-engagement. The study utilized semi-structured interviews, which were transcribed and coded to create information-rich case studies and cross-case analysis. The teachers engage in connected pedagogy, deemphasize their own expert status, and continue their own personal transformations in aid of deeply serving a diverse population of students. They provide a model of theatre training for self-aware artists who are active participants in their world." -- Abstract