Overview

This book aims to show how a specific form of documentary research, founded in a theatre-making method labelled “real fiction,” can be utilised in drama education contexts, such as classrooms and performance spaces. It introduces this process through an exploration of theatre-making practice, based on the author’s experience, then applies the method in a drama classroom. Through this process, it reveals the value of utilising practice-based drama methods in education, revealing new ways of teaching drama through praxis inquiry. The book specifically applies ‘real fiction’ practice to the issue of social labelling in education. In this sense, it aims to challenge the use of labelling language in social and educational contexts. This is done through the process of utilising ‘real fiction’ monologue writing practice to explore labels, their meaning and operation, in the lives of a sample group of young people. One of the objectives of the book is to show how the documentary theatre practice of ‘real fiction’ can be used to influence and transform the social and cultural lives of young people. It then expands on the broader implications for this, through the use of an example, creating a play script from participants’ monologue data. Ultimately, this book is concerned with diversity and inclusion through the practice of the performing arts. It aims to build knowledge about the ways in which theatre-making practice and the teaching of drama can contribute to a more equitable society. It is interdisciplinary in the sense that it not only seeks new ways of teaching drama, but also educating through the practice of theatre, monologue writing and method acting. This book is suitable for readers interested in drama, playwriting, theatre practice, acting and education. Chapter 1 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

Full Product Details

9781032990033

Table of Contents

Reviews

Scott Welsh’s voice is unabashedly honest and truthful. His perspective on theatre is clear and fresh. It epitomises his ideas of “conversational realities” and “real fiction”. Simple, pretension free. Empowering. Liz Jones AO, Artistic Director, La Mama TheatreScott brings together an extraordinary body of work – work which is raw, honest, vulnerable and angry – to reflect deeply on a life lived within the creative process. As a scholar, teacher and practitioner, he is constantly working on the edge, developing new theories, testing new practices and exploring the nature of being human. His relentless innovation in drama and theatre is captured in these pages. This is a book for those who want to be inspired about the heart of theatre beating in us all. Professor Mary-Rose McLaren, Victoria UniversityFor those whose reality has been corrupted by injustice, fiction is the cure. Let me begin with a question: How does the unreal journey into the real? And is it possible to use fiction as a guide for living? You can find the answer in Dr. Scott Welsh’s book. Drawing on his theatrical knowledge of acting, storytelling, and philosophy—enriched by poetry and a life lived as a contemporary human in challenging times—Dr. Welsh bridges the gap between the imagined and the actual. This book, and his achievements, are vital. Without such a perspective, reality—with its direct and unsatisfying propositions—would have killed us a million times over. The choice he offers comes through a humanistic point of view: a shared perspective, a conversation, a solution. Gold like this does not come from privilege. To find it, one must dive deep into the mine of life—a dangerous insight into what is most valuable. Here, reality becomes the obeying factor, and imagination the rebellious act against one-sided belief. Welcome to his book. Dr. Elnaz Sheshgelani

Author Information

Scott Welsh is an academic, playwright and poet with expertise in creativity, social constructionism, and education. In a previous life, he lived for several years as a homeless person and sold his poetry on the street throughout Australia. Several of his plays have been performed at La Mama over the past two decades and his poetry read by many and broadcast on ABC Radio National. Prior to that, he worked and wrote in regional Victoria, where he published several self-published books. In 2016, he completed a PhD in the role theatre can play in education and his work emphasises the relationship between experience and creative practice and, most recently, his thoughts have turned to the homeless experience of his cat. Some of his play titles include: There’s a Naked Man in My Loungeroom (2001), Barcode 30!!7 307 (2002-2003), The No Teeth People (2009), The Biography of a Battler (2012), The Outcaste Weakly Poet (2014), Charles Manson and the subtle art of Radicalisation (2016), Serving Coffee @ Sims (2017), Moosh the Hobo Cat (2023). He currently teaches and researches sociology, creativity and contemporary education practices in the Early Childhood Program, College of Arts, Business, Law, Education & IT at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.

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