ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book demonstrates that many of the strategies which can be used by drama teachers and pupils in the classroom have close affinities with the techniques used by playwrights in the construction of dramatic texts. It presents a description of twenty-five ‘topics’, ‘techniques’ or ‘conventions’ and an exploration of the way these can be adapted and used by drama teachers and pupils. The book provides a practical contribution to the teaching of drama, it also presents an argument and point of view about the nature of drama, the concept of drama as an art form and the idea of teaching drama itself as an art. It aims to deepen understanding of the rich rather than mechanised use of drama conventions by describing their use in play texts.
