ABSTRACT

To most people outside education, drama means reading and performing plays. In school, however, (particularly up to the age of 15-16) drama is more likely to involve various forms of role taking, dramatic play and improvisation rather than work from text. The extreme divisions between ‘drama’ and ‘theatre’ practice which were characteristic of the seventies and eighties have given way to a more inclusive view of the subject which sees a place for all manifestations of drama in schools. This book takes that view further by demonstrating 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. By exploring the way those techniques are used by dramatists, insight can be gained into the nature of the art form which in turn will inform classroom teaching.