Dustin Bittel

Terri Summery
UL 100A
14 September 2015
Theatre in Education
By Dustin Bittel
The beginnings of Theatre-in-Education (TIE) can be traced back to the setting up of a
pilot educational project at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, in 1965. The aim was to forge new
links between the theatre and local schools utilizing both drama teaching techniques and
performance skills. The success of the scheme led over the next five years to the formation of
similar teams in repertory theatres. According to The Cambridge Guide to Theatre, in 1992 there
were about 30 TIE companies, or Young Peoples Theatre (YPT) with a strong commitment to
theatre in education. The kinds of TIE work ranges from straight performance of a play followed
by a workshop on its themes, discussions with the characters of issues raised or a follow-up
program of work organized by the teacher in collaboration with the company. It is because of the
work that TIE has done that educational theatre was able to spread to different regions or begin
to develop elsewhere.
As a result of TIE, branches of it have broken out in areas like museums and heritage
sites to create new and appealing ways to interpret their collections, historical sites and
reconstructions. According to The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance, educational
theatre in the USA has extended to include theatre for youth and other forms of drama activity
with young people inside and outside school curriculum, involving the training in theatre skills
and the production of school plays.

Along with organizations like Educational Theatre Company and Theatre-In-Education

there are similar organizations that strive to enrich lives and minds through the use of theatre.
The Educational Theatre Association (EdTA) is an organization that works on supplying teachers
with the necessary resources and skills for teaching theatre in schools along with honoring
student achievement in theatre (schooltheatre.org.). Along with EdTA, Theatre-In-Education has
several branches or organizations affiliated with it, one such organization is Loudmouth. Based
in Birmingham, Loudmouth strives to use drama and theatre to help young people address issues
affecting them, like drug/alcohol abuse, relationships and health (loudmouth.co.uk). Both of
these organizations strive to use theatre in an educational, yet entertaining way, so that many
young people and even some adults can better understand or discuss an issue along with learning
some skills as well. It is through these programs that many young people are able to benefit in
several ways.
According to the Multicultural Educational Theatre Arts (META) website, some of the
benefits that theatre provides to children are that they gain, confidence, have a higher self-esteem
and learn self-discipline. The children also learn teamwork, responsibility, collaboration and
leadership along with empathy and compassion. Academically the children learn skills that help
with analyzing, problem solving, reasoning, abstract and creative thinking and conceptualization.
Along with these key skills children can learn to be more creative and how to apply themselves
fully to their work.
Sources
"Theatre-in-education (Tie)." The Cambridge Guide to Theater. Ed. Martin Banham. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2000. Credo Reference. Web. 9 Sep 2015.

Kennedy, Dennis. The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2010. Web. 9 Sep 2015.
"Benefits of Theatre Arts." META. Ed. Karen Pauley. Multicultural Education Theatre Arts, 19
July 2006. Web. 20 Aug. 2015.
Website: Educational Theatre Association. Educational Theatre Association, 2012. Web. 7 Nov.
2015.
Scholarly Journal Article: Bridges, Caroline. "Loudmouth: Theatre In Education." British
Journal Of School Nursing 3.6 (2008): 287-289 3p. CINAHL with Full Text. Web. 6
Nov. 2015.

Research Question: Why is theatre a useful educational tool, both inside and outside school
across the world?

Search terms: Theatre in education, benefits of theatre education, history of theatre education,
educational theatre company, educational theatre associations, research involving theatre
education.
Outline
I.

II.
III.

IV.
V.

Introduction
a. Hook
b. Basic info (definition)
c. Thesis
History
Educational Theatre Groups
a. Educational Theatre Company (ETC)
b. Theatre-In-Education (TIE)
c. Educational Theatre Association (EdTA)
d. Other Similar groups/programs
Benefits
Conclusion