Title: Introduction to Active Collaborative Creative Processes in the Theatre Appreciation Classroom
Discipline(s) or Field(s): Theatre Arts
Authors: Beth Cherne, William T. Clow, Ron Stoffregen, Joe Anderson, Mary Leonard Anderson, Walter Elder, University of Wisconsin – La Crosse
Submission Date: June 25, 2008
Executive Summary: The lesson’s principal purposes were to initiate an interactive environment in the classroom; to involve students actively in collaborative work; to introduce basic concepts in theatre production and performance. The instructional pattern took the form of an activity: small groups of about five students wrote, rehearsed and performed a one-two minute play for the class; we then discussed the theatrical concepts that arose. We found that the lesson accomplished all of these things, but that it worked better taught at the second class meeting of the semester, rather than the first, because the first class meeting required so many “house keeping” details, leaving little time for discussion.