ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes guidelines for introducing principles of ecocriticism and ecodrama to students with and without backgrounds in theatre and performance. It focuses on pedagogical and dramaturgical strategies developed through programming for both the classroom and rehearsal hall, drawing on experiences teaching theatre history, theatre and social change (a class framed as an introduction to critical theory), and a liberal arts seminar in the first-year experience program. Kammer takes a two-pronged approach to teaching ecocriticism and ecodrama to students: on one hand, as a school of critical theory and “user-friendly” lens for analysis, and on the other, as a launchpad for social and environmental activism, but not always in that order, depending on the needs of the particular class. Addressing issues of inclusion and hosting a diversity of points of view, Kammer introduces strategies for handling classroom situations that arise when investigating environmental issues, such as working with students who do not believe in anthropogenic climate change or who have religious objections to historical or scientific data.
