Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 1993. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

This thesis is an examination of rehearsal processes and aesthetic outcomes in community theatre practice. It is a qualitative study, focusing on a community theatre project in a small outer suburban primary school near Melbourne, Australia. The researcher is a highly involved reflective practitioner, taking on the multiple roles of researcher, community artist and community member. / At the heart of the thesis is a novella embodying a range of perspectives and experiences from the case study. / The study began with the questions: how is it possible for a community theatre project to satisfy the participants’ artistic and community needs and what are the factors which contribute to the achievement of these ends? The tension between the contrasting needs and experiences of different participants, ranging from theatrically trained artistic facilitators to the children who struggle to be heard, to the parents looking to connect with the school community, informed the study. The inevitable challenges and difficulties of the fieldwork propelled the study into a wider exploration of questions of community participation in the arts as a means of individual and collective expression and as an experience of cultural democracy. / Drawing on an extensive review of theoretical foundations underpinning the practice of community theatre, and a review of practice itself (both the researcher’s own and a range of exemplars), the study proposes an analysis of the key stages of development of community theatre practice. / This analysis has been synthesised into a Community Theatre Matrix. At the core of the matrix is the notion that collective community art-making takes place within an Engaged Space, where key elements of Artistry, Agency, Pedagogy, Pragmatics and Critical Reflection shape and inform the practice. Those who choose to participate in the collective art-making process become a temporary community of art-makers. / This Engaged Space is based on the conceptualisation of a ‘community aesthetic’ - participants engage in collective art-making processes predicated on an invitation to aesthetic and social engagement. Such a space is charged with the potential for a politicising experience as well as a community one. This new understanding is framed by an appreciation of the interplay between artistic invention (and intervention) and pedagogy. In order to give voice to the silent community, the artist employs the tools of emancipatory pedagogy along with modernist and post-modernist theatre understandings. / The thesis concludes with the proposition that community theatre offers individuals and communities the possibility of a shared experience of art-making and the social and artistic possibilities associated with ‘giving voice and being heard’.

This thesis reflects the author's views on the use of the medium of community drama within the method of community social work. Through participant observation, the author gained an insight into the medium over a period of four years in which he undertook some experiments himself, observed experiments undertaken by others, discussed the variables with colleagues and, through a literature search, compared notes. This thesis is an outcome of that research. The author regards community drama as derived from psycho- and sociodramatic principles and roleplay, and as offering part of community theatre; but a unique contribution as a communication medium when facilitated by the social worker (enabler) to enlist local support in working on community needs. Within community social work, the medium consists of the following phases: the introduction and preparation, performance, audience involvement and the follow-up phase. The enabler is viewed as an important link to facilitate the various phases, and guidelines are provided to ensure that the first critical attempt with the medium will be successful. Effective employment depends not only on the enabler following these guidelines, but also relies on the co-operation of others involved with the issue, and calls for a unified objective shared by all participants. For this reason, the 'actor' target group must be carefully selected by the enabler before introducing the idea of community drama to the community. The introduction should follow a sequence of steps to transform the community's shared common idea/need into spontaneous dramatisations.

What constitutes an artistic community? Why do people come together and form a group to make art despite all the sacrifices that they need to make in terms of time, space, and resources? (Why) Do we need Community (and) Theatre? This paper is about an interpretive and auto-ethnographic field research about a local community theatre, The Stage Company, in Carbondale, Illinois. It aims to demonstrate how theatre can be a bridge between community and self and lead them to come closer, change and grow by challenging each other. It provides an extensive description of The Stage Company by focusing on the cultural and performative features of the community theatre and the individual experiences of the company members as well as the journey of the ethnographer in conducting the research. How might a `community theatre' function in the lives of its members within a particular socio-cultural context and why would a researcher, who is a cultural, ethnic, and lingual other in the field, choose to spend a year with that community theatre? What does she find and learn about the various definitions of the concept of the community theatre, the features of community theatre culture in US, the place of The Stage Company within the theoretical definition of community theatre, the role of The Stage Company in the lives of its members and the role of this research in the ethnographer's life in terms of finding her own future path in relation to theatre and community?

Older women and men were participants in this qualitative research of three case studies of community theatre. Their stories, gathered through in-depth interviews and participant observation of the theatre projects over a four year period, informed the development of a theoretical model of leisure as process. Through devising and presenting their theatre pieces, 50 older people, ranging in age from 45-8 5 years, with differing cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, reflected on personal experiences, negotiated their own processes for working collaboratively, and presented the stories of theft lives publicly in a way which affirmed their actions and understandings of themselves and theft world. Interviews with more than 30 of these people allowed an analysis of the ways in which older people negotiated the processes of play-building and constructed meaning in their lives at a time when the social structures of paid work and family were becoming less central as people moved into their third age. This research has located the study of individual agency through leisure in the context of the social structures which shape constraints to leisure and in turn limit individual agency. As such, the research has been concerned both with the self and with social relationship and has theorised leisure as a process of negotiation. Since process implies change over time, the research methods used and the leisure context selected for study were also process oriented. The research methodology was emergent and took on qualities of action research as the study progressed. By focusing on community theatre as the social context for leisure, the nexus between community development, community theatre and action research was examined and found to inform a broader understanding of leisure as process. The research has also expanded knowledge of community theatre as a collaborative process which draws on individual and collective reflections to build public presentations of issues of concern to participants. The processes of community theatre have received no attention to date in the leisure literature. The negotiation of self takes place in different social contexts for women and for men, for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians, for old and young, and for people from different socio-economic backgrounds. This research demonstrated that changes in personal situations as a result of the aging process, changes in family context and changes in work context are associated with changes in the negotiation of self, and these changes are expressed through leisure activity as well as other involvements less clearly classified as leisure. Purposive aspects of leisure assumed greater significance as people grew older and this was expressed in the culture of busyness and a pride in 'never being home'. Older women, in particular, developed friendships and community networks outside the family unit as relationships with husbands and children changed. These social connections were found to facilitate difficult transitions such as divorce or the death of a spouse. Community theatre supported the development of community networks, and presented an opportunity to claim a voice in the public arena and challenge the invisibility of older age. The research added to knowledge about constraints on leisure involvement by older people, and identified personal, social and material constraints. The most significant of these were the personal constraints of fear and of ill-health. However, participants in this research continued to negotiate a path through constraint in order to live their lives to the full. Analysis of their stories indicated that whilst constraint sometimes operated as a hierarchical process of control pushing people into isolation, people who were supported in their efforts to negotiate constraint through the development of community networks gained self-confidence and a heightened sense of agency. The processes of community development used in community theatre were found to facilitate the negotiation of constraint by developing personal skills and strengthening social support. The constructivist orientation of the research acknowledged the dialectical nature of knowledge construction and the possibility of social change through research. Aspects of action research were demonstrated in the processes of community theatre, which also seeks social as well as personal change. The research has a political motivation in that it seeks to strengthen the position of participants. Concern with the power relationship between researcher and researched facilitated a deeper understanding of the role of power in the process of leisure. The research opens up one small window on the processes whereby people may continue to live life to the full through active engagement in life and leisure.

This paper is a qualitative study based on a phenomenological perspective. The purpose of the study has been to examine how the artistic work with a Community Theatre can visualize the beliefs held by young girls in Skellefteå today regarding the power structures that exist in their lives and how they affect them. Furthermore, the study aims to examine how the work of a theater can provide participants with the opportunity to visualize these structures of power to the public. Questions raised in the study concerns the power structures the young girls are experiencing in their daily lives, how they affect them, how to through a theater approach them in an artistic practice and how the participants' experience of existing power structures is influenced by the work of a theater. The study began with a focus conversation about the participants' view of power in different areas. Based on the conversation, we decided to revise and orchestrate a part of Shakespeare's Othello, focusing on jealousy and men's violence against women in intimate relationships. This was rehearsed and performed to an audience during Trästockfestivalen in Skellefteå. The study ended with a further focus conversation which concerned the work of the theater production and how it affected the participants' view of power. The results show that participants believe that it has been useful to work with the power structures in this way. In particular, they have appreciated the discussions and the opportunity of amateurs to work with the profession, and in this work get visibility to real-life, current issues for an audience.

ABSTRACT A detailed account of the working life and achievements of the English actress/manager, Lena Ashwell, between the years 1891 and 1929, set in the context of the theatrical and social environment of these four decades. The thesis presents a chronological record of Ashwell's stage career, her development as a theatrical manager and her contributions to progress in her profession as well as to the changing perception of the role of women in society. It also records Ashwell's contribution during the First World War, taking entertainment to the war zones to boost the morale of soldiers and to provide employment for actors and musicians. It continues with an account of the post-war pursuit of her aim of making theatre accessible to the whole community through dedicated commitment to the British Drama League and the idea of a National Theatre and the creation and management of the Lena Ashwell Players. The thesis proposes that Ashwell has been unjustly neglected in histories of this period and that her considerable achievements are worthy of recognition and inclusion in accounts not only of the acting profession and the achievements of women playwrights, but also of the Suffrage and women's movement, the First World War, the National Theatre of Great Britain and the municipal or regional theatres established throughout the country, state subsidy and public support for the arts, actor training and the study of drama and theatre within the education system. Five chapters give a narrative account of Ashwell's work from her first stage appearance in March 1891 to the closure of the Lena Ashwell Players in August 1929. Each chapter adds to the cumulative impact of Ashwell's achievements, while identifying areas where she has left a lasting legacy. The Postscript provides a brief account of the last twenty-seven years of her long life, when she was less able to play an active role in society, but never lost her indomitable spirit or ambition for a better world. The Appendices provide a chronological list of her stage appearances and details of the members of the Lena Ashwell Players and the company's repertoire during the 1920s.

No description available.

The GeriActors and Friends is a company of intergenerational actors that is directed by Professor David Barnet of the University of Alberta. The GeriActors was a senior’s theatre group creating original theatre since 2001 in Edmonton. The GeriActors and Friends was created as a result of Barnet’s course Intergenerational Theatre 407/507, first offered in the fall 2006. The company is made up of two groups: university students and senior citizens. This thesis is an exploratory analysis of the GeriActors and Friends’ 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons. Using these seasons as a case study, the theories of specific cultural theorists are used to analyze play and playfulness as it exists in the rehearsals and performances of the company. The analysis of playfulness is presented using autoethnographic research techniques that analyze the personal history of the researcher and a variety of qualitative methods which consider the two seasons of the community-based theatre company

ABSTRACT A detailed account of the working life and achievements of the English actress/manager, Lena Ashwell, between the years 1891 and 1929, set in the context of the theatrical and social environment of these four decades. The thesis presents a chronological record of Ashwell's stage career, her development as a theatrical manager and her contributions to progress in her profession as well as to the changing perception of the role of women in society. It also records Ashwell's contribution during the First World War, taking entertainment to the war zones to boost the morale of soldiers and to provide employment for actors and musicians. It continues with an account of the post-war pursuit of her aim of making theatre accessible to the whole community through dedicated commitment to the British Drama League and the idea of a National Theatre and the creation and management of the Lena Ashwell Players. The thesis proposes that Ashwell has been unjustly neglected in histories of this period and that her considerable achievements are worthy of recognition and inclusion in accounts not only of the acting profession and the achievements of women playwrights, but also of the Suffrage and women's movement, the First World War, the National Theatre of Great Britain and the municipal or regional theatres established throughout the country, state subsidy and public support for the arts, actor training and the study of drama and theatre within the education system. Five chapters give a narrative account of Ashwell's work from her first stage appearance in March 1891 to the closure of the Lena Ashwell Players in August 1929. Each chapter adds to the cumulative impact of Ashwell's achievements, while identifying areas where she has left a lasting legacy. The Postscript provides a brief account of the last twenty-seven years of her long life, when she was less able to play an active role in society, but never lost her indomitable spirit or ambition for a better world. The Appendices provide a chronological list of her stage appearances and details of the members of the Lena Ashwell Players and the company's repertoire during the 1920s.