ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to offer a perspective on approaches to drama which will help teachers in choosing priorities in the classroom and assist in further reading on the subject. Approaches to drama can be distinguished using different criteria and for different reasons. It can be quite a bewildering task to try to make sense of the various ways in which approaches to teaching drama have been described. Whether it is called 'dramatic playing', 'improvisation' or 'role play', the approach to drama in schools, both as subject and method, that has been highly dominant has involved pupils in the creation of drama without the use of scripts. The three concepts 'dramatic play', 'drama as art' and 'role-play/simulation' provide a helpful means of distinguishing between drama practices. In making appropriate choices for the type of work to be undertaken in the classroom or drama studio, broad decisions will need to be made with respect to orientation, organization, mode and techniques.
