George Belliveau

Delineating a Spectrum of Research-Based Theatre

This article builds on existing definitions and classification systems of research-based theatre to offer a way to define subgenres within the field. In order to identify similarities and particularities of theatrical performances based on research, the authors first consider definitions from practitioners working within the academy and those creating theatre for the general public. After reviewing these existing traditions and definitions, the authors delineate a spectrum of research-based theatre. This spectrum is based on two defining continua: the research continuum, which distinguishes among many types of research used to inform research-based theatre, and the performance continuum, which distinguishes among different kinds of performances, audiences, and purposes of a given research-based theatre piece. The spectrum of research-based theatre formed by combining these continua may assist practitioners in determining and honoring the goals and outcomes of their own work, while not making unnecessary comparisons with those working toward different goals and outcomes.

Teaching style and learning in a quantitative classroom

Education research over the last few decades has focused on the debate over which classroom pedagogies best encourage learning: teacher-centred or student-centred. Although research appears to support the philosophy that student-centred teaching provides for better learning, the supporting research is frequently limited to observational studies or limited in experimental design. Despite this, the trend has been to encourage teachers to adopt a more student-centred approach both in the teaching of the course material and as a model for future teachers. A pilot study was conducted in an introductory university statistics course using a Latin Square Design to experimentally collect both quantitative and qualitative data pertaining to student performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of teaching style on learning, assess these approaches in quantitative courses, and establish protocols for such studies using a statistically controlled design.

Turning Points: A Transitional Story of Grade Seven Music Students' Participation in High School Band Programmes.

As a framework for our study, a broad set of themes related to the retention of students in music programmes are presented to enhance our understanding of how to retain band students. Data were collected from grade seven students comprising four focus groups. We used ethnodrama, an arts-based educational research approach, to represent results as a research script. We found that assumptions made in previous research have little in common with what grade seven and eight students feel. Life experiences may strongly impact their decisions, band students like music and find it ‘fun’, and peers define band students as smart, successful, and strong individuals. The impact of the band teacher is minimal. Finally, students who choose not to continue in band often made the choice to avoid music rather than a choice to take other options.

Multiple perspectives, loyalties and identities: exploring intrapersonal spaces through research‐based theatre

This paper recounts the investigative journey of a small group of faculty and graduate students at the University of British Columbia who extensively employed research‐based theatre methods to collaboratively and performatively explore three distinct but related contexts that represent critical ‘moments’ in the professional lives of educators and artists. By blending participatory action research with theatre‐based inquiry, the researchers explored some of the complex interpersonal and intrapersonal dynamics that significantly shape the manner in which everyday dialogues unfold between professionals in both educational and artistic spaces. Through the process of theatricalizing data into an integrated script, and then rehearsing and performing this material in front of several different audiences, various realities were uncovered that elicited a heightened awareness of the multiple voices, loyalties and perspectives that commonly characterize professional and personal interactions. This paper discusses some of the ethical and methodological challenges associated with this work, as well as some of the implications it may have for further investigating the relational dynamics that commonly occur within organizational settings.

Research-Based Theatre in Education

The use of theatre in educational research has grown over the past three decades froma novel method for disseminating research results into an emerging methodologythat has the potential to simultaneously gather, analyze, and disseminate data (Norris,2000). This entry explores some of the literature on research-based theatre, lookingat ways the work has been defined and some of the current debates and issueswithin the field.

Audience responses to Contact!Unload: A Canadian research-based play about returning military veterans

Abstract Contact!Unload, a research-based play co-developed with veterans and community members, depicts the experiences of a group of veterans serving in Afghanistan (and elsewhere) and their transition home after overseas combat. The play was first produced in April 2015 in a professional theatre venue in Vancouver, and has subsequently been staged 15 times across Canada. To date, eight veterans have taken part as performers in this theatre initiative led by researchers in counselling psychology and theatre. This article takes a close look at the impact the theatre project has had on audience members and their perceptions of the play. Audience impact was measured through a mixed methods approach, using three focus group sessions, four interviews and a post-production written survey by audience members.

Staging Therapeutic Enactment with Veterans in Contact!Unload

ABSTRACT This article shares an excerpt from the research-based theatre production Contact!Unload. The play, developed with military veterans using community theatre approaches, explores experiences of veterans transitioning from active service and living with trauma-related stress injuries. The excerpt included in this article provides a theatricalized example of therapeutic enactment (TE), a central intervention of the Veterans’ Transition Project (VTP). After contextualizing both TE and VTP, the script provides a visceral example of one veteran’s experiences both in service and in a TE. This article provides an example of using TE with veterans living with traumatic stress injuries and, in doing so, demonstrates the potential of research-based theatre as a methodology for engaging in and sharing psychological research.

Discovering the Role(s) of a Drama Researcher

This article explores a researchers experience in a drama-based project that focused on community building and conflict resolution strategies within an elementary school setting. The researcher questions the nature, place, role and expectations of a researcher/observer. In re-examining and reflecting on her field notes she realizes how her situation as a researcher holds parallels to the role of a bystander in bullying situations. Through literature on bullying, drama education, Shakespeare, as well as autobiographical reflections, the article shares a context that sheds light on the complexity of being a researcher.