Theater in Education

Theater in Education (TiE) describes the use of theater as a tool for youth education and empowerment. Fitting with many of the models of experimental pedagogy discussed in the module and drawing upon Paolo Freire, bell hooks, and others, Theater in Education poses participation as a contrast to the vision of students as “empty vessels” for knowledge and presents emotion as a viable way of knowing in contrast with traditional education’s focus on rationality. The field is especially strong in the UK, where it developed from a program in Coventry and spread throughout the country. Wonderful books written by British TiE practitioners include Anthony Jackson’s Theatre, Education, and the Making of Meanings and Helen Nicholson’s Applied Drama: The Gift of Theatre. The field exists all over the world and by no means is limited to the UK, but TiE has been particularly codified and studied in the UK.