The Reflexive Teaching Artist: Collected Wisdom from the Drama/Theatre Field ed. by Kathryn Dawson and Daniel A. Kelin II (review)

The Reflexive Teaching Artist provides a practical, theoretically informed guide to the field of theatre teaching artistry. This field includes anyone who works as both a professional artist and a professional educator in any context. Emphasizing the importance of continuous reflection, the authors argue that reflexive practice advances the work of individual teaching artists (TAs) and ultimately the field at large. The text is explicitly framed for an audience of TAs at all levels looking to rethink their practice; I was impressed by the authors’ ability to present complex concepts in ways accessible to both novices and advanced practitioners. I personally used this text in a seminar for theatre education and applied theatre majors (first year through seniors), and consequently supplement my review with students’ reactions to the book.

The text introduces five “core concepts”: Intentionality, Quality, Artistic Perspective, Assessment, and Praxis, “that provide a foundational approach to reflexivity” (41). Each concept is explored in a chapter that reviews its theoretical foundation and practical applications, along with exercises designed to help readers apply the concept to their work. Chapters then present case studies authored by established TAs in numerous settings. My students’ reactions to the case studies varied: they found that some helpfully illustrated difficult concepts, while others did not illustrate the core concept they were intended to inform. The number and length of the case studies could be arduous to some readers; however, even a reader who skipped the case studies would benefit from the text due to the authors’ clear descriptions of core concepts and concise, effective exercises.

The authors argue that TAs’ work ideally rests near the center of a spectrum ranging from artist to educator, but acknowledge that “specific context[s] . . . and participant population[s] can shift the needle toward” either end (11). The authors compellingly argue that all TA work (in its myriad incarnations) can be strengthened through reflexivity. They introduce a cyclic model of reflection in which TAs ask what happened in an experience, what they learned from it, how they will change their practice, and (returning to the beginning of the cycle), what happened upon implementing those changes. While noting the importance of reflection, the authors moreover encourage TAs to engage in reflexivity, which challenges practitioners to “entertain what could be and even consider what challenges all that [they] have known, believed or practiced ” (30). This concept resonated strongly with my students, who were able to engage in genuine reflexive thinking and identify moments that resulted in significant paradigm shifts.

The first core concept, intentionality, involves considering the intentions of all parties invested in a theatre/ drama experience: TAs, participants (for example, students) and contexts (institutions, funders). The authors urge TAs to consider, understand, and navigate all parties’ (often different and perhaps conflicting) intentions before starting their work. One of the text’s greatest strengths is revealed here: the authors’ pragmatism. In an ideal world all parties would be fully invested, their intentions would be aligned and given equal weight, and TAs would have time to investigate the history and conditions of the context. The authors admit, however, that this is not always the case. Some projects are driven solely by institutions’ intentions, and TAs may need to accept such assignments just to make money. The ideal is not always possible.

Introducing the next “chameleon-like” core concept, quality, the authors suggest that TAs must “consider carefully what characteristics, or qualities, contribute to the quality of a specific experience” (87). Quality is amorphous and varies based on TA, participant, and contextual intentions. My students found the argument that quality is variable rather than static extremely useful. This conceptualization helped them move past their perception that quality is defined solely by the aesthetic end-product of an experience.

The authors argue that the core concept of artistic perspective is possessed by individuals who possess the skills to create art, dispositions...