“Learning for Life/Theatre. – Pleasure, Pain and Potentiality” facilitated by A. Budde (lobby of Robert Gill Theatre)
Friday February 3, 2.15pm – 3.30pm
Our round table discussion attempts to explore the intersections, the in-between spaces of the three major conference topics through the experiential lens and the personal learning histories of the participants and audience responses while daring a glance into the future of what we want from one of the most ancient forms of cultural communication – theatre. Theatre as a means to an end, theatre as a means to other ends is worth a discussion enriched by divers cultural and political frameworks of personal experiences, hopes and, yes, frustrations. Let’s talk about why we do what we do and how we would like to do it – in spite of everything.
“Locating Applied Theatre in a Globalizing World” facilitated by Prof. Barry Freeman
Saturday February 4, 2012, 4.00pm – 5.15pm
This will be an informal roundtable discussion about how those who work in diverse forms of ‘applied theatre’ are positioned at the nexus of local and global communities and forces. This will be interpreted broadly, dealing with such issues as working across intercultural boundaries within communities, or with using theatre to galvanize local interest in global issues of far-reaching implication. How is applied theatre being used to make visible and interrogate the multiple phenomena of globalization, which many scholars argue has been accelerating in recent decades? Participants: Kathleen Gallagher, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto; Helen Nicholson, Royal Holloway, University of London; Ruth Howard, Artistic Director of Jumblies Theatre, Toronto; Naomi Savage, Secondary School Drama Teacher, Central Technical School, Toronto.
“Theatre and Learning/Imagination and Change” facilitated by Karen Gilodo
Sunday February 5, 2012, 12.00pm – 1.00pm
What can theatre practitioners, theatre companies, or teaching artists do to create the optimal conditions for students to use their imagination and create change? How can artists and academics collaborate in this pursuit? To what extent should theatre be “educationalized”? Panelists including Allen MacInnis (Artistic Director of Young People’s Theatre), Patty Jarvis (Executive Director of Prologue to the Performing Arts), and Suzanne Osten (Unga Klara, Stockholm) will spend some time discussing these questions and their approach to theatre and education. The chair will moderate and invite participants to weigh-in on the discussion.
