Stephani Etheridge Woodson

Creating an Educational Theatre Program for the Twenty-First Century.

he university in which I work recently hired a new President and his arrival predictably has caused ripples of nervousness. The request that has caused the most anxiety however, is his desire to meet with all deans, department chairs, and program directors for an indepth look at all university degree programs. Combined with a state budget that is anticipated to hit a one billion dollar deficit, this has everyone scrambling to defend his or her territory. Once again artists and arts programs in particular are being asked to provide reasons for their continued existence. According to George Yúdice, what is happening at my university mirrors a national trend. He argues that justifications for art and culture recently have changed from one of basic freedom of expression and communication of an inner vision (“art for art’s sake”), to one of utilitarianism and entrepreneurialism. Yúdice contends: “The arts and culture sector is now claiming that it can solve America’s problems: enhance education, salve racial strife, help reverse urban blight through cultural tourism, create jobs, reduce crime, and perhaps even make a profit.”1 Although I am not sure I believe that justifications for art were ever quite so simple, anyone who fundamentally disagrees with Yúdice’s statement need only visit the National Endowment for the Art’s Web site for a mind-opening experience.2 Yúdice only makes claims about the national dialogues surrounding the arts, of course, not the actual practice of the Arts. But while I agree in kind with Yúdice, I would add that the arts in educational settings seemingly have always depended upon a kind of utilitarianism connected to the manner in which we link education and the arts in our public school systems. Theatre teachers who have had to plead for funding or to prove their programs understand the verbal dance often required to justify arts in school settings. The report, Schools, Communities, and the Arts: A Research Compendium, compiled by the Morrison Institute for Public Policy illuminates the many challenges facing arts education including budget shortfalls and the struggle for core curriculum time. The study’s authors write, “Mixed messages about arts education also complicate its development. For example, survey research shows that a large majority of the public supports arts education. However, this support is difficult to tap because many citizens and policymakers may actually know little about arts education and have a tenuous, if any, personal connection to the arts.”3 This is a song many of us have sung before. Educational Policy and the Theatre Arts

Integration of Theatre Activities in Cooking Workshops Improves Healthy Eating Attitudes Among Ethnically Diverse Adolescents A Pilot Study

The purpose of this pilot study was to integrate theatre elements into interactive cooking workshops and assess if these experiences prompted attitude and awareness changes with adolescents about healthy eating. Over a 3-week period, 6 interactive cooking workshops were conducted by an artist-in-residence with a group of 21 low-income, predominantly Hispanic, high school sophomores. Social cognitive theory was used as a guide for lessons and outcomes assessment. Students prepared, discussed, and shared food, stories, and experiences about culture, health, and meals. Qualitative focus groups were conducted 4 weeks after the workshop series ended. The theatre-based cooking workshops elicited positive comments in attitudes about healthy eating, nutrition education, and enhanced cooking awareness among ethnically diverse youth. Results from preworkshop and postworkshop self-administered questionnaires showed positive shifts in healthy eating behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes. Qualitative statements supported ...

Of Models and Mechanisms: Towards an Understanding of How Theatre-Making Works as an "Intervention" in Individual Health and Wellness.

ABSTRACT Growing from a multi-year and multidisciplinary research and applied arts investigative team based in North America, this essay presents a model of how performative engagements contribute to individual behavioural change in wellness practices. To be even more specific, this essay analyses and theorises the mechanisms involved in the application of one particular art form to one particular pre-condition for health. The art form: applied theatre. The pre-condition: attitudes, behaviours and beliefs about healthy eating. The co-authors ask not ‘what can theatre-making do to have a positive effect on health-related attitudes and behaviors?’ but rather ‘how does it do that?’ and offer a model towards answering that question that might satisfy the needs of researchers in both applied theatre and health science.