http://hdl.handle.net/2451/75065 2026-04-11T04:28:51Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/75531 Title: Book Review: Temporary Stages III: How High School Theatre Fosters Spiritual Strength and Critical Consciousness by Jo Beth Gonzalez Authors: Gorelov, Lauren Abstract: In reviewing Jo Beth Gonzalez’s Temporary Stages III: How High School Theatre Fosters Spiritual Growth and Critical Consciousness, Lauren Gorelov demonstrates how Gonzalez situates theatre pedagogy within a critical spiritual framework that unites students’ inner development with their growing awareness of social structures and inequities. 2025-12-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/75530 Title: An Unlikely Sanctuary: Examining the Impact of Church-Based Youth Arts Programs in the Current Educational Theatre Landscape Authors: Lahey, Carla Abstract: When school leaders opened the doors to greet students at the start of the 2025-26 academic year, they also encountered a new set of circumstances impacting public education. Stakeholders across the country are engaging in conversations about the potential ramifications of decreasing student enrollment due to population decline, the end of COVID-era relief funds, and shifts in governmental policies that could deeply impact school funding. For many arts educators, however, these conversations debating school budget cuts, as well their potential implications for arts programs, are all too familiar. Yet even in these times of uncertainty for arts education, some students are finding opportunities to take the stage in an unlikely place—the evangelical Christian church. In this essay, I examine the way some evangelical churches provide spaces for children and teens to engage in the arts, especially focusing on large-scale Christmas spectaculars and innovative arts festivals. These faith-based performance opportunities hold the potential to shape how young people think about the nature, scope, and purpose of theatre in ways that could impact these future artists and theatregoers. 2025-12-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/75529 Title: Classroom as the 'Third Theatre': Engaging with Badal Sircar's Theory and Praxis of Drama Authors: Chakraborty, Nabanita Abstract: The paper examines the theory and practice of Badal Sircar, one of the pioneers of theatre practice in postcolonial India. It contends that Sircar's 'third theatre' or 'intimate theatre'—characterised by its abandonment of traditional theatre conventions and its strong political resonance for Indian audiences—provides a compelling model for transforming literature classrooms into participatory spaces. Drawing inspiration from Sircar's group Satabdi and their innovative, mobile, and non-commercial performances in everyday spaces, the paper argues that replicating the principles of third theatre in classroom settings can radically shift drama reading into a collaborative, purposeful, and socially engaged practice. By modifying spatial arrangements and fostering collective action, the classroom itself can become a site of social resistance and emancipation. This paper outlines three specific ways Sircar's experimentation offers a model for vibrant and democratic drama pedagogy, in which the class can work as a community, thinking, speaking, and acting together to bring about social action. 2025-12-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/75528 Title: Dramatic Sonata: A Musicking Authors: Hayden, Luke Foster Abstract: Couched in the politics of a Southern Indiana school district, this paper explores how Christopher Small’s concept of “musicking” can be used as a methodological framework for critical pedagogy. The paper is presented in sonata form and with dialogue detailing the author’s experiences advocating for his students to perform Ride the Cyclone: High School Edition in front of his local school board. It begins with a brief discussion on the political climate in Indiana, followed by exploring how musicking can be used to counteract these policies and how these policies impact the lives of students. The dialogue portion demonstrates musicking in action as all participants can music together. 2025-12-01T00:00:00Z