The first aim of the dissertation is to shed light on how communication at a drama college may obstruct the students’ involvement. There are three studies on this subject in the dissertation. The first study deals with the students’ involvement in their education in general. The second study deals with the applicants’ involvement in the entrance examination to the college. The third study deals with the students’ involvement in a basic acting course at the college. The main theoretical framework is Etienne Wenger’s theories on social practices and social configurations, Per Linell’s activity type theory, and Herbert Clark’s theories on joint projects. The studies reveal a number of potential communicative obstacles, due to different basic communicative circumstances, communicative procedures and normative formulations. The second aim of the dissertation is to offer analytical tools which drama colleges and similar organizations can use to shed light on their own communication. The analytical concepts and the method used in the studies have the potential to be useful for such organizations: the concepts are relatively comprehensible and do not require a specific type of data, and the method offers steps in which to conduct an analysis. The third aim is to develop forms for what in the dissertation is called a practice-oriented communication analysis, in order to contribute to the discussion on how to study language use as part of broader communicative and social contexts, and how to collaborate with those whose communication is studied. The dissertation offers an orderly way to handle such questions, by formulating guidelines for the selection of theories, methods, and data, and by arguing for certain theories, methods, and data in regard to the guidelines.