Drama Conventions in Educational and Applied Sciences

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Abstract

This special issue of the journal arises from the Dorothy Heathcote Now International Drama Conference which was held at the University of Aberdeen, 5-8 October, 2023. It followed previous conferences in London (2022) and Birmingham (2021). The 2023 conference was co-organised by David Allen from MAT, and Will Barlow, who is Senior Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen, responsible for the PGDE Drama Secondary and Primary programmes. There were delegates from Scotland and from India, Norway, Lithuania, USA, Belgium, and more. The 2024 conference will take place at Goldsmiths, University of London, from 7-10 November (https://www.mantlenetwork.com/).

Heathcote was a pioneer in the development of drama methods in teaching, and her influence remains, not only in the UK, but throughout the world. Every year, the conference has a different focus; in 2023, it was on ‘drama conventions’. Heathcote herself stated:

“Obviously in the THEATRE, an amazing control over conventions is possible. It therefore offers a teacher in a classroom a most remarkably rich field. The convention in THEATRE is an agreement to the form at any given moment. I seek to translate this into my classroom.” (1985a, p.7)

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