Keywords

Theatre, theatre for young audiences, constructivism, creative pedagogy, collective creativity

Abstract

Creativity is valued in many fields. In theatre, creativity celebrates the imaginative power of a theatrical experience. In theatre for young audiences (TYA), creativity is extended from the stage to the classroom, where theatre empowers learning through creative and imaginative teaching. Teaching artists and theatre makers in the field of theatre for young audiences utilize creativity as a means of connecting artistic and educational value. Through professional development and qualitative research, this project demonstrates the importance of creativity and its role in the classroom and on stage. This study examines my role as Project Coordinator in Orlando Repertory Theatre's (The REP) Writes of Spring 2014 and the developments I add to enhance the educational and artistic value and project. Specifically, I survey the findings of selected students' submissions in a creative writing contest by developing and facilitating an arts integration professional development workshop for their teachers. By evaluating these findings I gain insight into the positive effect of enhancing creativity in public school classrooms. To project the value of creativity further, I apply a theoretical framework to my research. Specifically, I apply creative pedagogy, constructivism, and collective creativity to develop a fully-supported educational and artistic project. This project allows students to find writing inspiration through theatre, guides teachers to find clarity in new practices through creativity, and encourages artists to celebrate creativity in developing and producing new works.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2015

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Weaver, Earl

Degree

Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

Theatre

Degree Program

Theatre; Theatre for Young Audiences

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0005627

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0005627

Language

English

Release Date

May 2015

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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