Lessons from our Students: Meditations on Performance Pedagogy
- Author: Cabaj, Stacey
- Author: Odinov, Andrea
Lessons from our Students: Meditations on Performance Pedagogy
- Author: Cabaj, Stacey
- Author: Odinov, Andrea
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About
Lessons from our Students: Meditations on Performance Pedagogy is a collection of thirty short personal case studies about pedagogical issues that arise in theater classrooms and rehearsals.
Teaching in the acting and performance classroom is rapidly changing in the early 2020s. In the wake of the global pandemic, online education, massive trauma, and a social justice revolution, educators are seeking wisdom, clarity, and reassurance about their pedagogy. The authors speak to the current moment and the unique challenges of teaching theater by presenting a personal, practical, and authentic expression of vulnerability, humanity, and artistry as teachers. Through thirty personal meditations, the authors pose reflective questions and discussion prompts that evaluate the craft of teaching theater, issues that arise, and ideas about how to respond with vision and integrity. Accompanying exercises invite readers to reflect on their own teaching practices.
This book serves as a text for theater teachers and teachers-in-training in search of inspiration, validation, and transformation in drama education and theater pedagogy classes.
Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Dear Reader
- Part 1: Inhalation
- 1. Why Theater?
- 2. An Ecosystem of Love
- 3. I Am, I Feel, I Am Bringing
- 4. Teacher Talking Time
- 5. The Jargon Finger
- 6. Everything but the Kitchen Sink
- 7. Standard Operating Procedures
- 8. Perennial Questions
- 9. To Grade or to Ungrade
- 10. Evaluations and Evolutions
- Part 2: Exhalation
- 11. Prototypes
- 12. The Wisecracker
- 13. Breakdownthrough
- 14. Permission Slips
- 15. The Psychology of Apology
- 16. Ahimsa
- 17. Whole Body Yes
- 18. Hover and Hunker
- 19. Spoons
- 20. I Need a Champion
- Part 3: Transformation
- 21. Whose Need Is It Anyway?
- 22. Lessons from my Dream Students
- 23. Teaching through Chaos
- 24. When the Teacher is Not Alright
- 25. Unspeakable Wounds
- 26. There’s Always One
- 27. There’s More than Meets the Ear
- 28. Lessons from my Recent Role as a Student
- 29. When Death Comes
- 30. Holding Space
- Conclusion: Lessons from my Co-Author
- Bibliography
- Index
