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The Impact of Theatre Performance in a School Setting on Children's The Impact of Theatre Performance in a school setting on Children’s Learning (Vol. 1 of 2) Submitted by Elaine Linda Faull, to the University of Exeter, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Drama, May 2020. This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that any material has been previously submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University has been acknowledged. Signature--------------------Elaine Faull----------------------------- 1 ABSTRACT This thesis asks how does school-based theatre performance help primary-aged children learn, how is the learning altered or enriched by teacher intervention and how does the impact of the performance change over time? Drawing upon three case-study productions between 2016 to 2018 of Devon based performance company Theatre Alibi, this inter-disciplinary research explores the relationship between the company, schools and centrally the children who have experienced their performances. Using a child-centred, mixed method approach, incorporating quantitative and qualitative analysis and arts-based methods to capture research from over 900 children aged between 5-11 years, this thesis provides new insights into audience reception, educational and longitudinal impact. It also gives feedback on under-researched audiences for theatre makers, educators, academics and policy makers on the impact of theatre on children. This thesis traces the connection between theatre and learning, looking in turn at: the company’s contribution and distinctiveness in the field of Educational Theatre; the emotional impact of a one-off experience; the impact of teacher mediation; and finally, the after-life of the performance. This inter- disciplinary research argues the emotional impact of theatre performance is long- lasting, refuting the ‘common-sense’ assumption that performance is transient, disappearing the moment its eventfulness is over. It offers the academy, theatre practitioners, teachers and policy makers’ research into unheard voices of children, particularly non-traditional theatre goers in the setting of their own school, seeing a performance not as a one-off experience, but as an untapped source for further learning and particularly creativity. It also offers rare insight into longitudinal findings by following the impact on children of a performance of no more than an hour’s duration over a two-year period. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am very grateful for funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council which enabled me to undertake this research. I am aware there are so many people that have helped me along my PhD that has made the completion of this thesis possible. Particular thanks go to Cathy Turner at the University of Exeter who has tirelessly guided me during supervision and to Nikki Sved who has caringly guided me at Theatre Alibi. I shall be ever grateful to both for the generosity of time, support, understanding and encouragement they have provided, particularly when I doubted I would ever complete the task. Thanks also go other lecturers within the Drama Department for their academic support and mentoring particularly Katie Beswick, my second supervisor, for very useful comments on my final draft. I am also very grateful to the Theatre Alibi team Nikki, Mary, Annie, Debbie, Rachael, Ruth and Pilar for all your help with endless answering of queries, cups of tea and laughs which have improved my well-being and kept me sane on my weekly visits. To Dan Jamieson, Tom Johnson and the actors from the school tours over the last three years, thank you for your creativity and help throughout my field-studies. The photographs in this PhD help the reader visualise the high- quality production features of Theatre Alibi productions and I am very grateful to Steve Tanner for granting permission to include them. Conducting a historiographic account of Theatre Alibi’s work over the last 37 years would not have been possible without the help of Tim Spicer, Alison Hodge, Dorinda Hulton, Peter Thomson and Annemarie MacDonald. Additional gratitude is given to Annemarie for her methodical checking and further clarifications. I also acknowledge the work of Peter Hulton who compiled the Theatre Alibi digital archive in 2013 situated in the Drama Department of Exeter University and at Theatre Alibi. So many other people have helped with my research, particularly those Headteachers and teachers who allowed me to conduct my research with the children in their schools, particularly Becky Budden, Scott Pitt, Debbie Thomas, 3 Clare Rowe, Carina Francis, Christine Carter, Pauline Maynard and Samantha Smith who allowed me to repeatedly revisit their classes. I need to thank all the actors, teachers and children I have spoken to or worked with. Without your comments this PhD would have not been possible. Thanks also to my friends and fellow PhD students in the Drama Department, particularly Kate, Tom, Giselle, Mal, Nick, Francesco and Aparna for being part of the journey, sharing ideas and the emotional highs and lows. And finally, this PhD thesis would not have been possible without my immediate family, Simon, Jessica, Jonny, Briannie, Daniel and friends, Phil and Pip. Thank you for sustaining me throughout; for your numerous discussions to help me clarify my ideas, the endless proof-reading, help with my graphics and most importantly never stopping to believe I could do it. I couldn’t have completed my thesis without you. 4 This thesis is dedicated to the memory of Alison Hodge, co-creator of Theatre Alibi. Without her passion and inspiration for co-creating exceptional theatre this PhD would not have been possible. I wish she had been here to see its completion. 5 Table of Contents Chapter One – Introduction ......................................................................... 12 1.Aims and Research Questions ................................................................. 13 2.An under-represented area of research .................................................... 15 3.School–based performance ..................................................................... 16 4.Positionality .............................................................................................. 20 5.Structuring the Thesis .............................................................................. 21 Chapter Two – Exploring the Background and distinctiveness of Theatre Alibi ............................................................................................................... 23 Part One ..................................................................................................... 25 1.Theatre Alibi: Background ........................................................................ 25 2.Birth and the Early Years ......................................................................... 32 3. Growing Up and Teenage Years – Experimentation, Education and Expansion ................................................................................................... 42 Part Two ..................................................................................................... 61 4.Development and Distinctiveness (1994-present day) .............................. 61 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 77 Chapter Three – Methodology: Measuring the hard to measure ............... 80 Part One: Research Context ...................................................................... 80 Part Two: Challenges and Tensions ........................................................... 90 Part Three: Addressing the Research Challenges .................................... 103 Part Four: Key words and concepts......................................................... 115 Part Five: Ethical issues when conducting research with children in a primary school setting ............................................................................... 123 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 125 6 Chapter Four – The value of the ‘one-off’ performance ........................... 128 Summary of findings from watching a one-off Theatre Alibi performance .. 128 Summary of Apple John ............................................................................ 129 Catering for audiences with additional needs ............................................ 132 Part One: The Audience ............................................................................ 137 Part Two: Moods, Emotions and Happiness .............................................. 147 Part Three: Findings and Method evaluation – How does watching a performance enhance children’s personal, social and emotional well-being? .................................................................................................................. 152 Part Four: Other methods - Quantitative data is ‘just the tip of the iceberg’. Exploring what lies below the surface........................................................ 165 Part Five: Comparison between Apple John and The Boy Who Climbed Into The Moon .................................................................................................. 181 Conclusion – More than a good laugh! The value of the one-off performance .................................................................................................................
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