Overview
Applied Theatre: Research is the first book to
consolidate thinking about applied theatre as research through a
thorough investigation of ATAR as a research methodology. It will be an
indispensable resource for teachers and researchers in the area. The
first section of the book details the history of the relationship
between applied theatre and research, especially in the area of
evaluation and impact assessment, and offering an examination of the
literature surrounding applied theatre and research. The book then
explores how applied theatre as research (ATAR) works as a democratic
and pro-social adjunct to community based research and explains its
complex relationship to arts informed inquiry, Indigenous research
methods and other research epistemologies. The book provides a rationale
for this approach focusing on its capacity for reciprocity within
communities. The second part of the book provides a series of
international case studies of effective practice which detail some of
the key approaches in the method and based on work conducted in
Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the South Pacific. The case
studies provide a range of cultural contexts for the playing out of
various forms of ATAR, and a concluding chapter considers the tensions
and the possibilities inherent in ATAR. This is a groundbreaking book
for all researchers who are working with communities who require a
method that moves beyond current research practice.