DOCSLIB.ORG

Educational Verbatim Theatre

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Educational Verbatim Theatre Educational Verbatim Theatre: Developing student-centred playwriting for process and performance Thomas A. A. Coultas This work contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text. I give consent to this copy of my thesis, when deposited in the University Library, being made available for loan and photocopying online via the University’s Open Access repository eSpace. Signed by the candidate and dated. Dedication With immense gratitude, I acknowledge the astute support provided by my Principal Supervisor Dr Gemma Blackwood, whose dedication and encouragement of this topic has been invaluable to me across this study. I would also like to acknowledge the support of my Associate Supervisors Dr Christian Bök, Dr Aurora Scheelings and Professor Wayne Cristaudo, who have all given careful attention across the various stages of this project. I give much gratitude and love to my wife Lisa and my two children Kasia and Poppy, for their ongoing love and support throughout my research and writing. I give a special thank you to my father John: both for his editing assistance; and for taking me along to many plays as a child, which sparked my interest in the performing arts. Finally, I give many thanks to the staff and students of St Aloysius College in Adelaide, for their continued support of my study. Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 3 Chapter One: Literature Review .................................................................. 15 Part One – Children and Educational Theatre ................................... 15 Early Developments ................................................................... 15 Early Twentieth Century Approaches ........................................ 16 Developing Process Drama ....................................................... 20 Contemporary Twenty First Century Educational Theatre ...... 24 Entertainment and Education.................................................... 27 Part Two – Verbatim Theatre ............................................................ 29 Verbatim and Originality .......................................................... 38 The Fourth Estate? Verbatim theatre as Journalism ................ 41 Verbatim Ethics ......................................................................... 44 Local Verbatim: Australian Verbatim Theatre ......................... 50 Verbatim Techniques ................................................................. 53 Verbatim as Ethnodrama? ......................................................... 61 Chapter Two: Educational Verbatim Method ............................................. 67 Verbatim Methods and Ethnodrama/Process Drama Approaches .. 68 Results of Verbatim/Ethnographic Research ..................................... 75 Writing the Script: Teacher-led Creative Writing ............................. 80 Characterization ........................................................................ 83 Creating Conflict ......................................................................... 87 Chapter Three: Performance ....................................................................... 91 Audio-Visual Technologies ................................................................. 91 Post-Performance Student-Actor Evaluations .................................. 94 Conclusion ........................................................................................... 97 Chapter Four: Creative Work .................................................................... 103 Synopsis: An Image of Grace ............................................................ 103 An Image of Grace ...................................................................................... 106 References .................................................................................................. 201 Appendices ................................................................................................ 224 Appendix A – Key Verbatim texts .................................................... 224 Appendix B – Verbatim Theatre Resources .................................... 230 Appendix C – List of student questions for verbatim interviews ..... 231 Appendix D – Photos from An Image of Grace production ........... 232 Appendix E – Key Verbatim Practitioners, Playwrights and Companies ......................................................................................... 235 Appendix F – Types of Ethnographical Theatre .............................. 243 Abstract This project examines how to write a play about the “real-life” of young people within a secondary education framework. I have developed an approach that blends text drawn upon the “verbatim” theatre style of word-for-word sources in combination with creative writing informed by my pedagogical methods as a high school drama teacher and active practitioner within the South Australian secondary education system. The rationale for this new form is to understand the perspectives of young students, and to consolidate these perspectives by teacher-led responses that can shape the learning processes for the student cast and crew of the play, as well as the subsequent audience. I have named this hybrid form of playwriting “educational verbatim theatre”. The creative work produced in this project is a play script called An Image of Grace, performed by a student drama group in October 2016. I selected the topic of the play to connect to the “everyday life” of a secondary school-aged female Australian student, and hence to explore a topical issue that might not have found a place in the traditional classroom. The play examined the ongoing popularity of social media technologies, and in particular legal notions of consent in relation to image sharing on social media. I developed the script from verbatim interviews with a range of stakeholders – including students and teachers – and ethnographic methods. The play was workshopped with the student actors who would perform the play. My findings suggest that bringing a dual approach of verbatim technique and teacher-led creative writing becomes a valuable 1 approach within the context of high school teaching, and ensures that discussions of topical issues to students can take place within the appropriate ethical frameworks established by the secondary school education system. 2 Introduction This project examines how to write a play about an authentic “real-life” of young people within a secondary educational framework that assists in a learning experience. In the context of my work role as a high school drama teacher and active teacher-practitioner within the South Australian secondary education system, I set out to create a play script that could draw not only upon the real voices of students, but could also operate as a learning device about a pertinent real-world and cutting-edge issue that was not being addressed in traditional classrooms1. To do this, I wanted to see how established verbatim theatre techniques – especially in relation to research and data acquisition, as well as for subsequent play writing – could be utilised in a secondary educational context for the preparation of an educational play. Verbatim theatre has developed as a form of documentary theatre, and generally draws scripts from the spoken words of real life people. It has the potential to voice the concerns of marginalised and forgotten members of a society or culture, with the ability to focus on stories that might not reach the real media. Verbatim theatre is often thought to be akin to a form of investigative journalism, where words drawn from courtroom testimonies, crime investigations or an archive of letters (as some examples) are able to provide a refreshed perspective on a significant issue. Verbatim theatre may also provide an ethnographic lens onto a specific community, group 1 The work that is presented in this Masters Research project entirely aligns with the teaching and learning regulations and guidelines of the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE). 3 or even historical era through ethnodramas or ethnotheatre (Brown and Wake, 2010; Garton, 2005; Hobson, 2012; Saldaña, 2011). While verbatim theatre often has an educational or didactic function – often informing or teaching its audience about real life issues or historical facts – there has been little research to apply such methods in the educational framework of secondary school education programs. My Masters by Research project was connected with the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE), through the latter’s focus on student capabilities and learning requirements. The capabilities connect student learning within and across subjects in a range of contexts. They include essential knowledge and skills that enable people to act in effective and successful ways. The specific capabilities I focused this project upon were citizenship, personal development and learning. In Drama, students develop their capability for “citizenship” by nurturing their ability to empathise with others as they explore a variety of stories through dramatic texts and workshops
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Timeline: Royal Court International (1989–2013) Compiled by Elaine Aston and Elyse Dodgson
    Timeline: Royal Court International (1989–2013) Compiled by Elaine Aston and Elyse Dodgson The Timeline charts the Royal Court’s London-based presentations of international plays and related events from 1989–2013. It also records the years in which fi rst research trips overseas were made and exchanges begun. Writers are listed alphabetically within recorded events; translators for the Court are named throughout; directors are listed for full productions and major events. Full productions are marked with an asterisk (*) – other play listings are staged readings. 1989: First international Summer School hosted by the Royal Court 1992: Court inaugurates exchange with Germany 1993: Summer School gains support from the British Council Austrian & German Play Readings (plays selected and commissioned by the Goethe-Institut; presented in October) Rabenthal Jorg Graser; Soliman Ludwig Fels; In den Augen eines Fremdung Wolfgang Maria Bauer; Tatowierung Dea Loher; A Liebs Kind Harald Kislinger; Alpenglühen Peter Turrini 1994: First UK writers exchange at the Baracke, Deutsches Theater, Berlin, coordinated by Michael Eberth. British writers were Martin Crimp, David Greig, Kevin Elyot, Meredith Oakes and David Spencer. Elyse Dodgson, Stephen Daldry and Robin Hooper took part in panel discussions 1995: Daldry and Dodgson make initial contacts in Palestine Plays from a Changing Country – Germany (3–6 October) Sugar Dollies Klaus Chatten, trans. Anthony Vivis; The Table Laid Anna Langhoff, trans. David Spencer; Stranger’s House Dea Loher, trans. David Tushingham; Waiting Room Germany Klaus Pohl, trans. David Tushingham; Jennifer Klemm or Comfort and Misery of the Last Germans D. Rust, trans. Rosee Riggs Waiting Room Germany Klaus Pohl, Downstairs, director Mary Peate, 1 to 18 November* 1996: Founding of the International Department by Daldry; Dodgson appointed Head.
    [Show full text]
  • Sarah Kane's Post-Christian Spirituality in Cleansed
    Central Washington University ScholarWorks@CWU All Master's Theses Master's Theses Winter 2020 Sarah Kane's Post-Christian Spirituality in Cleansed Elba Sanchez Central Washington University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd Part of the Performance Studies Commons, Playwriting Commons, and the Theatre History Commons Recommended Citation Sanchez, Elba, "Sarah Kane's Post-Christian Spirituality in Cleansed" (2020). All Master's Theses. 1347. https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/1347 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses at ScholarWorks@CWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@CWU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SARAH KANE’S POST-CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY IN CLEANSED __________________________________________ A Thesis Presented to The Graduate Faculty Central Washington University __________________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Theatre Studies __________________________________________ by Elba Marie Sanchez Baez March 2020 CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY Graduate Studies We hereby approve the thesis of Elba Marie Sanchez Baez Candidate for the degree of Master of Arts APPROVED FOR THE GRADUATE FACULTY _____________ __________________________________________ Dr. Emily Rollie, Committee Chair _____________ _________________________________________ Christina Barrigan M.F.A _____________ _________________________________________ Dr. Lily Vuong _____________ _________________________________________ Dean of Graduate Studies ii ABSTRACT SARAH KANE’S POST-CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY IN CLEANSED by Elba Marie Sanchez Baez March 2020 The existing scholarship on the work of British playwright Sarah Kane mostly focuses on exploring the use of extreme acts of violence in her plays.
    [Show full text]
  • A Study of the Royal Court Young Peoples’ Theatre and Its Development Into the Young Writers’ Programme
    Building the Engine Room: A Study of the Royal Court Young Peoples’ Theatre and its Development into the Young Writers’ Programme N O Holden Doctor of Philosophy 2018 Building the Engine Room: A Study of the Royal Court’s Young Peoples’ Theatre and its Development into the Young Writers’ Programme Nicholas Oliver Holden, MA, AKC A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Lincoln for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Fine and Performing Arts College of Arts March 2018 2 DECLARATION I declare that this thesis is my own work and has not been submitted in substantially the same form for a higher degree elsewhere. 3 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisors: Dr Jacqueline Bolton and Dr James Hudson, who have been there with advice even before this PhD began. I am forever grateful for your support, feedback, knowledge and guidance not just as my PhD supervisors, but as colleagues and, now, friends. Heartfelt thanks to my Director of Studies, Professor Mark O’Thomas, who has been a constant source of support and encouragement from my years as an undergraduate student to now as an early career academic. To Professor Dominic Symonds, who took on the role of my Director of Studies in the final year; thank you for being so generous with your thoughts and extensive knowledge, and for helping to bring new perspectives to my work. My gratitude also to the University of Lincoln and the School of Fine and Performing Arts for their generous studentship, without which this PhD would not have been possible.
    [Show full text]
  • Tom Stoppard
    Tom Stoppard: An Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Center Descriptive Summary Creator: Stoppard, Tom Title: Tom Stoppard Papers 1939-2000 (bulk 1970-2000) Dates: 1939-2000 (bulk 1970-2000) Extent: 149 document cases, 9 oversize boxes, 9 oversize folders, 10 galley folders (62 linear feet) Abstract: The papers of this British playwright consist of typescript and handwritten drafts, revision pages, outlines, and notes; production material, including cast lists, set drawings, schedules, and photographs; theatre programs; posters; advertisements; clippings; page and galley proofs; dust jackets; correspondence; legal documents and financial papers, including passports, contracts, and royalty and account statements; itineraries; appointment books and diary sheets; photographs; sheet music; sound recordings; a scrapbook; artwork; minutes of meetings; and publications. Call Number: Manuscript Collection MS-4062 Language English Access Open for research Administrative Information Acquisition Purchases and gifts, 1991-2000 Processed by Katherine Mosley, 1993-2000 Repository: Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin Stoppard, Tom Manuscript Collection MS-4062 Biographical Sketch Playwright Tom Stoppard was born Tomas Straussler in Zlin, Czechoslovakia, on July 3, 1937. However, he lived in Czechoslovakia only until 1939, when his family moved to Singapore. Stoppard, his mother, and his older brother were evacuated to India shortly before the Japanese invasion of Singapore in 1941; his father, Eugene Straussler, remained behind and was killed. In 1946, Stoppard's mother, Martha, married British army officer Kenneth Stoppard and the family moved to England, eventually settling in Bristol. Stoppard left school at the age of seventeen and began working as a journalist, first with the Western Daily Press (1954-58) and then with the Bristol Evening World (1958-60).
    [Show full text]
  • D:\Atlantis\Artículos Para Publicar 26.1\Editado Por Ricardo Y Por Mí
    ATLANTIS 26.1 (June 2004): 89–100 ISSN 0210-6124 The State of British Theatre Now: An Interview with Michael Billington Mireia Aragay Universitat de Barcelona [email protected] Pilar Zozaya Universitat de Barcelona [email protected] Michael Billington has been drama critic for The Guardian since 1971. He has written Alan Ayckbourn (1984), One Night Stands (1994), and The Life and Work of Harold Pinter (2001), and edited Stage and Screen Lives (2002). He is currently working on a survey of post-war British theatre from 1945 to the present to be published by Faber and Faber. In June 2003, Billington was voted Britain’s “most trustworthy” critic on the theatre website www.whatsonstage.com. The interview that follows was conducted in London on 30 June 2003. What do you think were the causes of the renaissance in new writing for the stage in the early 1990s? Why did it happen precisely then? One of the reasons was a clear reaction against the moral values of the 1980s. The writers who emerged in the 1990s had grown up in England in the 1980s, the period of Thatcherism, materialism, and the belief that profit was the ultimate test of anything’s worth. So we have a whole generation who were brought up in that philosophy, and who mightily repudiated it when they came into their twenties and started writing about it. We see this in the work of Mark Ravenhill very specifically, and to some extent in Sarah Kane, Patrick Marber, and Joe Penhall too. They are very different writers, but they all share a dislike of 1980s materialism.
    [Show full text]
  • Impact Case Study (Ref3b) Page 1 Institution: University of Lincoln Unit
    Impact case study (REF3b) Institution: University of Lincoln Unit of Assessment: 35 Music, Drama, Dance & Performing Arts Title of case study: Contemporary playwriting: The Lincoln School of Performing Arts’ role in guiding the UK theatre industry’s international outreach through evaluation, analysis and praxis 1. Summary of the impact This case study draws together a number of research projects led by members of the UoA whose work has had shared thematic goals. Collectively, this research has impacted upon the UK theatre industry's understanding of its international influence. This has served to promote and champion a vibrant culture of international new playwriting in the UK, and also to disperse positive practices internationally to encourage equally vibrant playwriting cultures in communities abroad. The research has had effects on the cultural capital of key institutions that support international playwriting and its growth; and formative impact on the praxis of translation and adaptation in the theatre industry. The principal beneficiaries of the impact are key industry institutions and organisations who have a stake in the development of new playwriting, its funding and its outreach (the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre, the Young Vic, the Old Vic, ACE, the British Council, etc.). Direct impact is in the transfer of knowledge to industry and NGO stakeholders. Secondary impact is in the implementation of policy and procedure by those organisations (establishing initiatives; moving into new territories). Indirect and long-term impact will be felt by arts practitioners, audiences and theatres internationally. Additional spin-off and associated research enquiries are also likely to use this research as a springboard for further enquiry.
    [Show full text]
  • Studies in International Performance Published in Association with The
    Studies in International Performance Published in association with the International Federation of Theatre Research General Editors: Janelle Reinelt and Brian Singleton Culture and performance cross borders constantly, and not just the borders that define nations. In this new series, scholars of performance produce interactions between and among nations and cultures as well as genres, identities and imaginations. Inter-national in the largest sense, the books collected in the Studies in International Performance series display a range of historical, theoretical and critical approaches to the pan- oply of performances that make up the global surround. The series embraces ‘Culture’ which is institutional as well as improvised, underground or alternative, and treats ‘Performance’ as either intercultural or transnational as well as intracultural within nations. Titles include: Khalid Amine and Marvin Carlson THE THEATRES OF MOROCCO, ALGERIA AND TUNISIA Performance Traditions of the Maghreb Patrick Anderson and Jisha Menon (editors) VIOLENCE PERFORMED Local Roots and Global Routes of Conflict Elaine Aston and Sue-Ellen Case STAGING INTERNATIONAL FEMINISMS Christopher B. Balme PACIFIC PERFORMANCES Theatricality and Cross-Cultural Encounter in the South Seas Matthew Isaac Cohen PERFORMING OTHERNESS Java and Bali on International Stages, 1905–1952 Susan Leigh Foster (editor) WORLDING DANCE Karen Fricker and Milija Gluhovic (editors) PERFORMING THE ‘NEW’ EUROPE Identities, Feelings and Politics in the Eurovision Song Contest Helen Gilbert and Jacqueline
    [Show full text]
  • The Art of Cultural Exchange Translation and Transformation Between the UK and Brazil
    The Art of Cultural Exchange Translation and Transformation between the UK and Brazil Edited by Paul Heritage Queen Mary University of London, UK Ilana Strozenberg Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil Curating and Interpreting Culture a project by in partnership with Funded by People’s Palace Projects is funded by Copyright © 2019 by the Authors. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Vernon Art and Science Inc. www.vernonpress.com In the Americas: In the rest of the world: Vernon Press Vernon Press 1000 N West Street, C/Sancti Espiritu 17, Suite 1200, Wilmington, Malaga, 29006 Delaware 19801 Spain United States Curating and Interpreting Culture Library of Congress Control Number: 2018967188 ISBN: 978-1-62273-438-2 Product and company names mentioned in this work are the trademarks of their respective owners. While every care has been taken in preparing this work, neither the authors nor Vernon Art and Science Inc. may be held responsible for any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in it. Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition. Table of contents Authors in alphabetical order vii Foreword xiii Graham Sheffield Preface xv Martin Dowle Introduction xvii Paul Heritage Part 1.
    [Show full text]
  • My Name Is Rachel Corrie Study Guide
    My Name is Rachel Corrie Study Guide 1 Study Guide for Educators Table of Contents: 1. About the Play: An Excerpt from ―The Second Life of Rachel Corrie.‖ 2. Who is Rachel Corrie? 3. Interviews with Allan Rickman and Katharine Viner 2 4. Important terms 5. Timeline on Israeli - Palestinian Conflict 6. Maps 7. Lesson Plan - Peace Conference Project 8. Lesson Plan- Conflict Resolution and Peace 9. Activity - Tolerance 10. Lesson Plan - Taking Action 11. Lesson Plan - Home 13. Writing Exercises/ Discussion questions 14. Further Reading ABOUT THE PLAY An excerpt from The Second Life of Rachel Corrie, By Jason Fitzgerald ―[Rachel Corrie‘s story] caught the attention of actor Alan Rickman, who, with the support of the Corrie family and journalist Katharine Viner as co-editor, turned her diaries and emails into a one-woman play. My Name is Rachel Corrie was produced by the Royal Court Theater in 2005. Not long thereafter, New York Theater Workshop announced and then unannounced the play for its 2006-2007 season, creating a storm of 3 controversy. An open petition from members of the theater community was sent to artistic director James Nicola urging him to change his mind and "come down on the side of peace, justice, and open discussion" (available at: http://www.petitiononline.com/nytw/petition.html). Playwright Eduardo Machado, in a speech to the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, denounced the cancellation as "horrifying and the worst kind of censorship imaginable." Perhaps the harshest words came from Vanessa Redgrave, who called the cancellation a "catastrophe" and "The second death of Rachel Corrie." Inside all the newspaper editorials, panel discussions, and email warfare was a self-congratulatory energy from those who cried censorship--a pride that they had found a martyr for the cause of politically relevant drama.
    [Show full text]
  • Translation, Transnational Subjectivity and Mobility In
    Centuries of migration and mobility have left multiple paths across Europe that trace the history of peoples in transit. Narratives of mobility feature strongly in European literature and art, from the nomadic and tribal movements of ancient, classical and biblical times to the great migrations of modernity. Europe is a landscape marked by historic tracks – the Silk Road, the Appian Way and the Via Regia evoke the exotic and legendary journeys that have passed their way. Canonical works of literature and drama from The Canterbury Tales to Gulliver’s Travels and Mother Courage, bear witness to the epic journeys that underpin European culture. Contemporary variations on the theme include Ariane Mnouchkine’s Le Dernier Caravansérail (Odyssées)/The Last Caravan-Stop (Paris, 2003), Enfants de Nuit, organized by a Belgian group, LFK-la Fabriks (Festival d’Avignon, 2002), Ping Chong’s ongoing Undesirable Elements Project (NYC, 1992; Hannover, 2002; Berlin, 2003) and Ros Horin’s Through the Wire (Melbourne, 2005). These works of immigrant, refugee and asylum seeker theatre, together with the theatrical works examined in this article, make important contributions to debates about transitional, postnational cultures and transnational subjects. As Hermann Kurthen points out, Europe’s current nation- states are the “results and causes of migrations and of population movements in times of peace and war,”i and cultural representations both explore and report on these movements. The historic links between migration and the modern nation-state are often subsumed or concealed within discourses of nationalism that stabilise the nation around the rhetoric of a common people, language, values, and culture.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Download
    Próximo dossier temático É notório o caminho através do qual a arte tem estabelecido renovadas (e complexas) Educação e Igualdades: relações com o âmbito da política, ao longo do último século. Desde as vanguardas Políticas, Discursos, Práticas e Investigação históricas, passando pelo debate sobre os avatares do modernismo, pela injunção contra- Maria Isabel Freitas Coordenação: cultural das décadas de 60-70, até ao confronto mais recente entre as linguagens subsu- midas pelo mercado comunicacional e os gestos de resistência que se ampliam a partir do testemunho e da intimidade. O dossiê temático que integra este número da Revista Estudos do Século XX interessa-se por pensar exatamente esta questão, propondo a sua ESTUDOSDOSÉCULO leitura à luz de um movimento de “politização”, “despolitização” e “repolitização” presente no campo das artes, denotando aproximações e desvios em relação à agenda política ESTUDOSDOSÉCULO ESTUDOSDOSÉCULO presente num conjunto diverso de obras, trajetórias artísticas e contextos disciplinares. XX N número 20 • 2020 . XX 20 • 2020 Verificar medidas da capa/lombada Pantone 329 C É notório o caminho através do qual a arte tem estabelecido renovadas (e complexas) relações com o âmbito da política, ao longo do último século. Desde as vanguardas históricas, passando pelo debate sobre os avatares do modernismo, pela injunção contra- cultural das décadas de 60-70, até ao confronto mais recente entre as linguagens subsu- midas pelo mercado comunicacional e os gestos de resistência que se ampliam a partir do testemunho e da intimidade. O dossiê temático que integra este número da Revista Estudos do Século XX interessa-se por pensar exatamente esta questão, propondo a sua leitura à luz de um movimento de “politização”, “despolitização” e “repolitização” presente no campo das artes, denotando aproximações e desvios em relação à agenda política presente num conjunto diverso de obras, trajetórias artísticas e contextos disciplinares.
    [Show full text]
  • Translating Cultures (PDF)
    Royal Court International; AHRC Interim Report; August 2012 The Royal Court’s International Department: Transformative Processes, Impacts & Legacies An interim report funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (Translating Cultures) August 2012 Elaine Aston and Mark O’Thomas This report is an outcome of the AHRC-funded Project, 'Creating Cultural Exchange and Change', conceived in response to the 'Translating Cultures' developmental call and focused on the work of the International Department of the Royal Court Theatre, England’s premier venue for new playwriting. Our Project aim was to enquire after and report on the process that underpins the Court’s commitment to supporting and developing playwriting internationally, looking to the challenges and risks this entails as well as the transformative possibilities, impacts and legacies that might arise for those involved in this method of cultural and creative exchange. Our findings draw on international meetings held in Brazil, Chile and Morocco (June-July 20012), and on a ‘Translating Cultures’ seminar hosted at the Royal Court (June 2012) Report Contents 1.The Royal Court International Department in Context 2. Finding Partners: the Role of the British Council 3. Residencies, the Developmental Workshop and Growing Creative Industries 4. The Role of the Translator 5. Guiding Principles & the Creative Process 6. The Challenge of Form 7. Impact on British Writers, Critics and Audiences 8. International Legacies 2 Royal Court International; AHRC Interim Report; August 2012 1.The Royal Court International Department in Context To contextualise: The Royal Court established its International Department in 1996, appointing Elyse Dodgson as Director. However, those involved in the theatre date its international vision back to 1956: to the arrival of the English Stage Company into the Sloane Square premises (London) that the Court continues to occupy today.
    [Show full text]