Applied Theatre

Applied Theatre project by Devon Goldie
Devon Goldie explored issues of community & family among Canadian-Ukrainian immigrants (photo: Corina Fischer)

Applied Theatre is the use of theatre and drama skills for the purposes of teaching, bringing about social change and building a sense of community.

Where is Applied Theatre used?

  • In the classrooms to teach drama and a variety of other core subject areas using dramatic skills
  • In the education and training of health practitioners, lawyers, and many other areas to role-play career-related situations (whether a reenactment of a trial or medical symptoms) to identify and practice interpersonal relations
  • At seniors centres to devise educational and entertaining performances to address issues in gerontology, bring personal stories to life and build community
  • In museums as interpreters to enact historic moments in exhibition settings
  • In communities as an intervention or public awareness tool to address social issues – like addiction, recycling or racism – as a way of engaging a specific audience in a dialogue about these issues.

You will learn:

  • Acting, role-playing and improvisational skills based on real-life scenarios
  • Leadership and directorial skills 
  • Using improvisation and group collaborative skills to create scripts
  • How to build a sense of community within a group of people
  • Alternative ways of presenting information
  • Research skills
  • Communication, public speaking and presentation skills
  • How to purposefully adapt your information and presentational approach for specific audiences and environments.
  • Organizational and strategic planning skills 
  • Creative curriculum planning
  • Historical examples of Applied Theatre applications

Our program:

  • Offers a combination of theoretical foundations and practical applications
  • Creates opportunities to work with diverse groups across campus and in the community
  • Focuses on group project work in the second and third year
  • Provides you with the knowledge and skills to research, design and implement your own self-directed project in the fourth year.