On the verge of change: New directions in secondary theatre education

This article sheds light on changes in the nature and quality of secondary school theatre teachers’ embodied practices. Drawing from ten years of ethnographic research with over 200 secondary school theatre teachers, the article affords the reader an opportunity to eavesdrop on conversations and learn about holistic theatre education practices that place students at the centre of drama/theatre learning and teaching while considering the impact of diversity in language, ethnicity and culture, ability/disability, socio-economic status, spirituality, race and religion on these practices. Teachers’ authentic work in their classrooms and production spaces is rarely documented. Capturing teachers’ stories, insights, philosophies, practices and inspiration in their own voices and through observations in their classrooms and production spaces proved central to authentically identifying and representing teachers’ best practices. The teacher narratives and researcher notes included here reveal ways in which theatre education in the United States is transforming learning processes for the twenty-first century.