Drama Tuesday - A Call To Action

/

The Reykjavik Manifesto

Being mindful of the goals, strategies and action items of the UNESCO Seoul Agenda’s Goals for the Development of Arts Education and acknowledging the principles expressed in the Frankfurt Declaration and the Winnipeg Declaration,

We understand that Drama/Theatre Education 

  • is a powerful, creative process and subject for multi-dimensional learning in formal, non-formal and informal education; a platform for inclusivity and decolonisation; venue and methodology for research; an agent for enhancing health and wellbeing, and

  • introduction to this art form, including drama in education and diverse theatre traditions around the world, and

  • opportunity for enhancing social awareness, empathy and collaboration and personal and community development, and

  • platform for expression and action on matters of local, global and intercultural concern such as Peace, Sustainability, Equality and Economic empowerment.

We, the participants at the 9th IDEA World Congress in Reykjavik, Iceland under The theme “Drama for All, Drama for Tall and Small” meet in the context of drama in the changing world.

We pledge our commitment to raise awareness to contribute to the implementation of the objectives and practice of Drama/Theatre Education.

We call upon all levels of government to make official legislation to support this materially, and in spirit, to ensure equitable access to high quality Drama/Theatre Education for all children, youth and life-long learners as part of a full, human education.

8th July 2022

Drama Tuesday - IDEA 2022 Congress UPDATE 

/

IDEA gathered for a Congress in Reykjavik, Iceland, July 4-8. after a hiatus caused by Pandemic and troubled times, it was a great pleasure to be with friends in person and face-to-face.

This is a link to my report from Drama4All.

I set out to capture experiences of the Congress through images, video clips and words. It is published as an ePub so that we can use technology to share some of the moments of the Congress particularly for people who could not travel to Iceland because of the COVID-19 Pandemic and other circumstances.

How do you access this Report?

StagePage has published this Report on Apple Books.

Here is the link to the Apple Books

https://books.apple.com/au/book/idea2022/id6443526061

You will be able to download to your computer and view on screen (fingers crossed the technology works for everyone) 

Part of a larger project for IDEA30

This report is a chapter from a larger project I am undertaking to celebrate 30 years of IDEA. IDEA Remembered is a personal memoir (Link here for opening pages of that project).

This chapter is shared free of charge as a service to the drama education community and IDEA. 

When IDEA Remembered is finalised in the next few months, it will be available to purchase by donation with proceeds to IDEA.

Drama Tuesday - This is my IDEA DREAM from the IDEA 2022 Congress.

/

With 30 years of IDEA there is still one unresolved issue of drama/theatre education… (well, to be honest, probably more than one, but let’s focus on just one!)

The issue is captured in the awkward English naming of IDEA – the International Drama/Theatre and Education Association. It’s a mouthful in English. And it is avoided in other versions of the association name.

What is the name of the field?

Is the term “drama”?

Or, is it “theatre”?

Does it matter!

Is it just an issue of language and terminology? Or are there underlying cultural, social, pedagogical and even political issues and tensions that are fundamentally significant.

IDEA seeks always to be inclusive. And strives to be careful in the use of language. Hence the difficult wording in the English naming of IDEA. But my tongue stumbles over it every time. It has been a long discussed project but now, I suggest, a necessary one.

IDEA could be the point where there is a bringing together a commonly shared and understood language about our field. One starting point, I suggest, is to collect from all places and points of view the ways that drama education is named and explained. Putting it all in one place would be a starting point.

What sorts of questions would be the starting point?

  • What do you call your work: drama education? Or theatre education? Or, something else?

  • List (and briefly explain) 5 key terms that you use that are central to your practice.

  • Identify (and briefly say why) up to 5 significant practitioners in your field that shape your work.

What other questions would we ask ourselves as a community?

This is above all not about trying to homogenise the language. Not to normalise or make practice common. It is rather, the need to recognise and celebrate our differences and recognise our shared connections while making our dialogues even easier and creating community.