More interesting articles…
…to keep you busy while I plug away at updating the website… =)
I recently discovered the blogs of two university theatre professors who (I think) have the right idea about what theatre education should be like. Tom Loughlin at A Poor Player wrote an article yesterday about whether theatre departments today are inspiring their students to create, or just to re-create. In response to Tom’s article, Scott Walters at Theatre Ideas talks about creating a learning environment, rather than focusing on producing “good shows”.
These articles are both part of a longer series that Tom and Scott have written on the current state of theatre education, and I think a lot of it is relevant to the Drama Farm and what we’re trying to achieve. Take a look, and let me know what you think!
David said,
September 14, 2007 at 4:49 pm
Discovered where?
db
Tom Loughlin said,
September 16, 2007 at 7:20 am
Hello Sarah,
Thanks for stopping by and reading my posts. I’ve just spent the last half-hour combing through your site, and I find the whole crazy scheme absolutely enthralling. It seems to me that what you’re planning to do is pretty close to what I think most theatre departments should be doing most of the time. I truly hope you can make this work; it’s pretty monumental in scope, but I think you know that. At the very least I’ll be following your journey. I’d be interested in finding out exactly how concrete things are at the moment. Perhaps some of your posts will let us know how that’s going. Good luck! -twl
Sarah said,
September 16, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Discovered at News from the Real World, the best roundup of theatre news around! (Thanks, David!) =)
Sarah said,
September 17, 2007 at 8:52 am
Tom,
Thanks for coming by and checking out the site! I’m glad you like the idea - it is a pretty huge undertaking, but we’re taking it one step at a time, and hopefully we’ll find a way to make it work!
The short answer to how concrete things are right now: We’ve got a small group of people who are interested in being involved, and we’re working on creating a small pilot program for next summer. In the next few weeks, we’re going to start a major push to find current college students and other theatre professionals who are interested in collaborating with us - we want their input and help to create the structure of the pilot program, and then hopefully some of them will come out to CA to take part in it next summer.
We’ve got some big things in the works to facilitate all of this (we’re doing an overhaul of the website, setting up a forum so we can have discussions about it, etc.), so keep an eye on our blog - we’ll be announcing everything very soon!
And thanks again for your support - it’s great to hear that there’s an interest in this sort of program out there! =)
Scott Walters said,
September 20, 2007 at 8:24 am
This is a great idea! Like Tom, I am enthralled. Thanks for the links to our posts, and to the “Informal Learning” book. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
Sarah said,
September 21, 2007 at 8:00 am
Hi Scott,
Thanks for the support! It’s great to know that there are theatre educators out there who like the idea and want to be involved! Right now, the best thing you can do to help is spread the word - if you have any students who might be interested in something like this, or if you know of other theatre professionals who might want a part in helping us build the program, send them our way! In the next few weeks there will be even more specific ways to get involved and help us figure things out, so stay tuned - we’d love to have you as a part of it!
Informal Learning is a really interesting book - its primary focus is on finding new ways for companies to train their employees, but I think a lot of the ideas can be applied to other kinds of education too. Definitely worth a read for anyone who’s interested in how to create alternative kinds of learning environments…
And thanks again for stopping by - it’s great to meet you! =)