ABOUT THIS BOOK

There is no one-size-fits-all way to keep pace with the changes affecting students and those who educate them. That’s why Joan Lazarus has gathered here the insights of hundreds of theater teachers and teaching artists on how they have responded to the shifting demands of theater education in today’s schools. She paints a portrait of active, dynamic professionals who build vibrant programs and confront challenges in a variety of ways—from inclusive, interactive lessons to comprehensive programs that address the impact of poverty, race, gender, and spirituality on students’ lives. In the process, she shows how real teachers bring about real change. An accessible and up-to-date guide to best practices in theater education, this expanded and revised edition encompasses new hands-on activities—drawn from the author’s in-depth interviews and research.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Joan Lazarus is a professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Texas at Austin where she heads the BFA Theater Studies program and works with graduate students in youth theater, theater education, and related fields.

REVIEWS

"Lazarus is a veteran theatre educator and a leading voice in rethinking secondary school theatre education. . . . The wisdom in this book has great potential to make a huge impact on the training of North American secondary school theatre teachers, both new and experienced. "

— Theatre Research in Canada, on the first edition

"This book should be put in the hands of every person who has the inclination and opportunity to make theatre with young people. It is a 'must-have' in theatre-training institutions."

— Julia Perlowski, Reba R. Robinson Outstanding Secondary School Drama Educator

"This is an accessible guide to contemporary theatre education practice in the United States. In seven chapters this book encompasses interviews from 140 drama teachers. This is one of its greatest strengths, we not only hear the voice of the author, who defines and analyses modern drama education practice with an intention to continually reinvent it; but also she shares the views of many professional colleagues from differing backgrounds."

— Dramatherapy

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword to the Revised and Amplified Edition by Lin Wright
Foreword to the First Edition by Jo Beth Gonzalez
Acknowledgements

Introduction: A Yearning for Change
Chapter 1: Signs of Change and the Need for Change
Chapter 2: Learner-Centered Practice
Chapter 3: Socially Responsible Practice
Chapter 4: Comprehensive Theatre Education
Chapter 5: Theatre Education Outside the Box
Chapter 6: Breaking the Mold: Best Practice in Theatre Teacher Education
Chapter 7: On the Frontier of Change: Visions for the Field

Works Cited
Index