ABSTRACT
Theatre artists and teaching artists are engaging in work with communities of practitioners and learners that is not necessarily familiar to, or rooted in, the cultures and philosophies of the people studying or making the work. In Marvin Carlson’s chapter, Similarities and Differences in Teaching Western Based Theatre in China and the Arab World, we see an example of his different experiences working with Chinese and Egyptian student artists. This is in part because of the disparate theatre traditions in China and Egypt, as well as the histories of theatre development in those two countries. Through incorporating Arabic texts into his theatre history courses, encouraging students to attend live performances, and awareness and discussion of students’ comfort levels, Mark Tardi was able to produce a theatrical show that was written, designed and performed by students.
