How Theatre Educates: Convergences and Counterpoints with Artists, Scholars and Advocates (review)

How Theatre Educates: Convergences and Counterpoints with Artists, Scholars and Advocates clearly does reflect the 'eclecticism' that the editors point to in their preface. This very eclecticism is the book's strength and, in a particularly curious way, its weakness. Its strength is heard time and time again as the varied voices reflect on a variety of theatre practices in the academy, public spaces, and the private domain. There are several thoughtful reflections on the classroom, the role(s) of the playwright, different theatrical communities, and 'other theatres.' Within these subcategories, however, buoyed perhaps by the very eclectism of this collection, are weaker voices or reflections. For this East Coast reviewer, disappointment also must be acknowledged with the Ontario-centric bias of the overall text. The strengths, however, clearly outweigh most of these weaknesses with some really extraordinary sections lingering on long after the final pages were turned.

The editors divide the book into six sections with generally three or four papers loosely related under the umbrella subtitle. There is 'Theatre, the Arts, Pedagogy, and Performance,' ' Culture, Community, and Theatre Practices,' and 'Theatre for and with Young Audiences,' a handful of examples offered to give a sense of the range. Within these groupings, generally an internal raison d'être can be found. With the exception of the two-paper introduction, where our editors each position the collections, the subsections are linked loosely thematically under broad topic statements. The real strength of the collection is found in the individual chapters within these larger groupings.

A chapter I read a few times because of its thoughtful reflection and contemporary timeliness was by Domenico Pietropaolo on the role and function of drama in Ontario universities. This chapter speaks past its own Ontario boundaries and offers concrete strategies to redefine and revitalize the theatre/drama offerings in the academy across the country. In a different but equally compelling manner, we have two very discrete teaching experiences retold by Judith Thompson and Belarie Zatzman which are obviously born out of distinct personal experience and professional need but speak volumes to the reader about the strengths and value of considered drama education.

Guillermo Verdecchia describes another type of theatrical activity in 'Seven Things about Cahoots Theatre Projects' where he reflects on Cahoots's mandate and practice. Here a real strength of this collection is revealed by the unlikely parallel between Verdecchia's thoughts and those of Maja Ardal on Young People's Theatre, actually set in another section. The two resonate together in interesting and productive ways. While Cahoots and the now Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People (formerly YPT) have widely differing mandates, performance homes, and practices, what is striking in these two chapters is the single-minded determination of each writer generously but critically to respond to their own company's mandate and assess its contribution to the community at large. In these two chapters, one is reminded that Canadian theatre is a force and not some isolated, occasional happening. Canadian theatre, in all its varied nuance, is part and parcel of a complex milieu but one which touches most aspects of twenty-first-century Canada.

Mixed in with the single-authored texts are three extremely interesting interviews with artists Linda Griffiths, Sky Gilbert, and Ann-Marie MacDonald. Continuing the 'eclecticism' of the preface, each piece moves the discussion of drama and education in different paths with Griffiths reflecting on her apprenticeship, a particular piece of theatrical history, and her present projects, while Gilbert offers a balanced assessment of where he feels his contributions now sit and MacDonald muses on where her writing has led her. Also found within these broad subcategories are, to this reviewer, more eccentric, more limited position papers that in some cases appear to be dated or in other cases seem to be self-indulgent. However, perhaps the editors' claim of 'eclecticism' can be used to justify this.

How Theatre Educates can be...