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ABSTRACT
Policy proposals about social change and well-being shape the implementation of applied theatre projects through technologies such as evaluation practices and funding applications. Representations of projects can, in turn, effect public discourse about who participants are and why they are or are not ‘being well’. Like public policy, applied theatre for social change has to establish a problem that needs to be solved. Drawing on debates about change in applied theatre literature, we consider how funders, governments, and communities call on applied theatre practitioners to frame particular issues and/or people as problematic. We then examine discourses of well-being in Australia and New Zealand, drawing on policy documents and funding schemes to discuss the politics of change in applied theatre in each country. We consider how the field might navigate policies, technologies and public understandings of well-being, change and social good to produce work with and for participants in neoliberalised contexts.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the University of Auckland’s School of Critical Studies in Education, Faculty of Education and Social Work, and The Creative Think Project for supporting the research that informs the New Zealand section of this paper.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1. It is important for us to acknowledge here that there are reams of literature available (e.g., Neelands Citation2009; Boal Citation1979; Freebody and Finneran Citation2013) that address the importance and benefits of participatory processes in drama and applied theatre. As practitioners, we believe that this participation is one of the defining aspects of drama work and its potential for social change. We also, however, believe that as a core principle of our field, this notion should be unpacked critically, which we attempt to do here.
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Notes on contributors
Kelly Freebody
Kelly Freebody is Associate Professor and Education Director in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney. Kelly's research interests draw on critical studies of education for social justice – focusing on intersections between applied drama, social justice, education, and qualitative research methods. Her teaching interests include drama pedagogy, school-community relationships, and pedagogies of hope. Her recent volumes include Drama and Social Justice (with Finneran, 2016, Routledge) and Applied Theatre: Understanding Change (With Balfour, Finneran & Anderson, 2018, Springer).
Molly Mullen
Molly Mullen is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Education and Social Work with a background in theatre education, youth theatre, community arts and children’s theatre. Her research examines the economies of applied theatre and socially engaged arts practice, encompassing issues related to policy and funding, as well as forms of organisation, management and work. She is also involved in projects related to the arts and ecological issues, drama and performance in early childhood education and the arts in criminal justice contexts.
Amber Walls
Amber Walls is a creative learning and engagement practitioner-researcher, and doctoral candidate at University of Auckland where she is exploring the potential for creative engagement to make a difference to youth wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand. Amber has over 15 years’ experience using creative partnerships as a powerful tool for learning, community building and social change locally and overseas. A passionate champion for social justice and equity, Amber has initiated a number of award winning programmes supporting marginalised young people to articulate and amplify their visions and voices, and supporting practitioners to work in more creative, innovative and inclusive ways.
Peter O’Connor
Peter O’Connor is Professor of Education at the University of Auckland Faculty of Education and Social Work. He is also the Academic Director of the Creative Thinking Project, a large philanthropically funded multi-disciplinary research project that focuses on the contribution creativity makes to the lives of individuals and communities. His most recent work includes creating theatre with Auckland’s homeless community and an applied theatre project on sexual consent with first-year university students.