http://hdl.handle.net/2451/75081 2026-04-11T06:12:18Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/75201 Title: Collective Outsider Theatre Practice: Creating an Intercultural Hybrid Form of Practice-Based Conversation Authors: Welsh, Scott; Sheshgelani, Elnaz; McLaren, Mary-Rose Abstract: This paper describes a ten-year exploration of the self and social experience which fused together two disparate theatrical forms, Persian Dramatic Storytelling and Real Fiction, to create an intercultural hybrid performance medium. It harmonised and humanised two artists’ practices, and liberated them. This study outlines both art forms and the collaborative work of Scott Welsh and Elnaz Sheshgelani (2009-2023). It describes their process of creating a cultural and performative hybrid form which opens up new ways of thinking about text, movement and performance. As an example of this hybrid form, the authors draw upon an upcoming performance at La Mama (a Melbourne theatre) about the experiences of a stray pet cat, who spent two years on the street. Titled ‘Moosh the Hobo Cat’, the piece uses practices established through this collaborative artistic work. The authors then apply this form to their work as Higher Education teachers, and consider the pedagogical spaces that it opens up for students and teachers in university classrooms. 2023-06-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/75200 Title: Advocating for a Neurodiverse Audience Authors: Skorupa, Christine V. Abstract: In 2021, I was an actor in a sensory immersive piece at LIU Post titled Branching Out. It was devised with a neurodiverse audience in mind (“neurodiverse” being used as a term for those with neurological differences that are oftentimes put at a deficit because of society’s unfair emphasis on ability). However, this was the first time I ever encountered sensory-friendly theatre, and began questioning the lack of audience inclusivity on Broadway. Upon further research, I learned that in 2022, Broadway’s Theatre Development Fund (TDF, 2022) provided only 3 “autism-friendly” Broadway shows. In response to this, I interviewed 3 women who are spearheading accessibility initiatives on Broadway (Courtney J. Boddie, Jennifer DiBella, and Lisa Carling) to discover what can feasibly be done to diversify theatre spaces. I am proposing a Universal Design for Theatregoing: one that is representative, inclusive, accessible, and ever-changing with research and new technology. This design is inspired by the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Framework (CAST, 2018) that is commonly used in Educational Theatre to ensure that every individual learner receives a meaningful and enriching educational experience. Akin to UDL, the Universal Design for Theatregoing adjusts the audience environment so that audiences may enjoy their theatre experience regardless of ability and without judgement. 2023-06-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/75199 Title: Illuminating SEL Through the Arts: How Can Creative Drama Be Used to Support SEL Education for Young Children? Authors: Isotti, Victoria Abstract: The importance of integrating Social-Emotional Learning into classrooms cannot be underestimated. This study seeks to find the challenges and successes of using creative drama to support SEL for young children. It investigates students’ social and emotional status, the SEL strategies students already use when feeling big emotions, and their opinions of drama lessons. Methods of data collection include a review of literature and research and interviews with five children between the ages of three and seven. Suggestions for teachers’ approaches to SEL education and recommendations for an SEL-based creative drama curriculum are provided. 2023-06-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2451/75198 Title: Three Problems and Three Plays for the High School Stage Authors: Ates, Alex Abstract: There are plays and musicals that are produced consistently every year—even every decade—by United States high schools. This article identifies three problems with that predicament: 1) the educational theater industrial complex, 2) the 24-year delay, and 3) dissonance from contemporary diversity efforts and standards. In the second part of the article, the author engages in reflective practice as a high school educator. The analysis fixates on a “reverse engineering” process where three new plays by professional playwrights are incubated directly for a high school stage in conversation with the school community. 2023-06-01T00:00:00Z