Theatre-in-Education is acknowledged to have started as a separate art form and educational activity at the Coventry Belgrade Theatre in 1965. A group of actors, teachers and social workers were brought together to create a community outreach team, to establish the Belgrade within the growing conurbation of Coventry. The late 60’s and 70’s saw the flowering of the participatory form of Theatre-in-Education, but also the beginnings of its decline. It would be contentious to say that today T.I.E. no longer exists; but it is accurate at least in that the term is now used as an umbrella definition for any theatre work that takes place in schools. We think that it is more useful to use the term Young People’s Theatre as a general description, with the following particular definitions:
Theatre-in-Education (T.I.E.)
Work done by professional actors (sometimes actor/teachers), predominantly in schools.
Its primary aim is to use theatre and drama to create a wide range of learning opportunities across the whole curriculum. Usually these programmes work with no more than two classes and there will be a significant amount of participation and interaction with the audience. Typically the programmes last for at least a half-day and include elements of performance, work in role, and debate. They are supported by printed resource material and some training for participating teachers.
Educational Theatre
Performances of plays by professional actors in school or community settings aimed at young people and with an underlying educational aim, sometimes supported by INSET and resource material.
Theatre - in - Health Education
Programmes of work that may use performances, in-role participatory workshops and/or active learning techniques to deliver very precisely targeted Health Education objectives. Often funded from outside the education system and sometimes working with adults as well as school students and pupils.
Children’s Theatre
Usually performances targeted at younger pupils in schools or theatre buildings. The content is likely to be a traditional nature and the performance mode will seek some token involvement from the audience. Often produced by non-specialist companies and in the schools context performed by those seeking entry into the acting profession.
Youth Theatre
Work created by young people themselves but usually facilitated by a professional theatre/drama worker or through a company or theatre.
Changing Aims
It is interesting to reflect on the stated aims of theatre companies when working with young people particularly in schools contexts. In 1967 a fledgling T.I.E . scheme attached to a regional repertory theatre defined its aims as follows :
- our aim was to stimulate interest in the theatre among young people and to deepen their understanding and enjoyment of it.
During the 80’s a typical TIE company might have had as its aims:
- primarily, to use Theatre and Drama for educational purposes, supporting and enhancing the work of teachers and responding to the needs of pupils and their parents;
- specifically, through Theatre and Drama, to help children and young people to have a better understanding of themselves and the world in which they live;
- to work in close co - operation with the L.E.A. to present work that is integral to the curriculum and complements the work of teachers; to assist in the development of lively and inquiring minds;
- to give knowledge relevant to adult life and to develop respect for the values and culture of other people;
- to reflect and reinforce aspects of the county curriculum including the National Curriculum.
Nowadays a theatre may want a much broader set of aims within which Educational Theatre or T.I.E. might be only a part:
- to promote and develop the Playhouse as a centre of artistic and educational excellence;
- to place the Playhouse at the heart of its community.
Further Reading
Theatre in Education by Tony Jackson (Manchester University Press)
Six TIE Programmes edited by Christine Reddington (Methuen)
Theatre -in-Education Scripts edited by Pam Schweitzer (Methuen) |
