Overview

Foreword by Mike Leigh Afterword by David Barnet A testimonial to the experiences of theatre students, I Talk of Dreams provides insight into the transformational possibilities that exist when young people are allowed to take risks in a space that allows for creativity and growth. The editors have gathered autobiographical essays from more than twenty former students who participated in young people's theatre productions in Saint John, New Brunswick, the Marshall Islands, Rwanda, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. I Talk of Dreams will will interest those who work with adolescents (in the arts and other spaces), teachers in general, and school boards that fund student programs in the arts. The anthology highlights the experiences of twelve Canadian and ten international actors (non-Canadians), with the aim of demonstrating the contribution that participation in theatre can make to adolescent and adult development. The actors' stories testify to the significance of art-making and the many direct and indirect repercussions their participation in theatre had in the authors' lives. As editor Andrew Garrod writes, ""Creating theatre with young people has book-ended my career. It has helped me find my own voice and purpose in life. My desire in 'doing' theatre has always been to help students discover who they are---to find their 'forward voice' and the 'good in everything.'""

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9781772443332

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Reviews

"""I couldn't stop reading these experiences of the beauty and power of theatre in the lives of young people. Finding the world of the play alongside others we are often surprised to discover ourselves. Garrod's work and the growth and reflection he inspires in the young gives me joy as well as hope."" ---Antoni Cimolino, Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival, Stratford, Ontario ""'All the world's a stage' could have been a truism coined for this magnificent book, as it is the most energetic, invigorating celebration of theatre's power to shape lives and community. Under Garrod's expert and heartfelt narrative, this astonishing collection of testimonies and life stories is a remarkable journey through the interconnection between growing up and the joy of playmaking. A rousing rally cry to the power of the rehearsal to build community. From the life skills and literary education that producing a play promotes, to the life-long discoveries of friendships and loves, both of words and of people, this really is an unmissable read for anyone who has even a passing interest in theatre. I devoured it."" ---Jessica Swale, Olivier Award Winning Playwright, Director, and Filmmaker ""A beautiful retrospective of the career of a transformative arts educator as told through the eyes of former students who had their lives changed by theatre-making. I recommend this text to anyone who has experienced the power of arts education---their stories took me back to my own high school self-discovery!"" ---Erica Halverson, Professor of Education at University of Wisconsin-Madison ""Lani Selick, playing Cordelia, saw a civil rights march on television: 'These marchers were all Cordelias---people who can't be bought, can't be silenced, can't pass up the chance to fight for what they believe, no matter what the consequences. Everyone knows a Cordelia, or is one. There are Cordelias in every era and in every culture. In King Lear, she is the play's conscience. She is the conscience of us all.' Within the safety and challenge of the ensemble, risk leads to courage, and students find clarity in the play and in themselves. The exploration of the one brings meaning to the other."" ---David Barnet, Professor Emeritus, Drama Department, University of Alberta"

""I couldn't stop reading these experiences of the beauty and power of theatre in the lives of young people. Finding the world of the play alongside others we are often surprised to discover ourselves. Garrod's work and the growth and reflection he inspires in the young gives me joy as well as hope."" ---Antoni Cimolino, Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival, Stratford, Ontario ""'All the world's a stage' could have been a truism coined for this magnificent book, as it is the most energetic, invigorating celebration of theatre's power to shape lives and community. Under Garrod's expert and heartfelt narrative, this astonishing collection of testimonies and life stories is a remarkable journey through the interconnection between growing up and the joy of playmaking. A rousing rally cry to the power of the rehearsal to build community. From the life skills and literary education that producing a play promotes, to the life-long discoveries of friendships and loves, both of words and of people, this really is an unmissable read for anyone who has even a passing interest in theatre. I devoured it."" ---Jessica Swale, Olivier Award Winning Playwright, Director, and Filmmaker ""A beautiful retrospective of the career of a transformative arts educator as told through the eyes of former students who had their lives changed by theatre-making. I recommend this text to anyone who has experienced the power of arts education---their stories took me back to my own high school self-discovery!"" ---Erica Halverson, Professor of Education at University of Wisconsin-Madison ""Lani Selick, playing Cordelia, saw a civil rights march on television: 'These marchers were all Cordelias---people who can't be bought, can't be silenced, can't pass up the chance to fight for what they believe, no matter what the consequences. Everyone knows a Cordelia, or is one. There are Cordelias in every era and in every culture. In King Lear, she is the play's conscience. She is the conscience of us all.' Within the safety and challenge of the ensemble, risk leads to courage, and students find clarity in the play and in themselves. The exploration of the one brings meaning to the other."" ---David Barnet, Professor Emeritus, Drama Department, University of Alberta

Author Information

Andrew Garrod, a Canadian citizen, is a professor emeritus at Dartmouth College, where he previously chaired the Department of Education, directed the teacher education program, and taught courses in adolescence, moral development, and contemporary issues in U.S. education. For several years, he conducted a research project in Bosnia and Herzegovina on forgiveness, faith development, and moral reasoning. In that same country, he has directed seven bilingual Shakespearean productions that have played in Mostar and elsewhere in the Balkans. He mounted a trilingual production of Romeo and Juliet in Kigali, Rwanda, a few years ago and most recently led a productionof A Midsummer Night's Dream in Pristina, Kosovo. In the Marshall Islands, he has directed numerous bilingual Shakespearean plays andBroadway musicals, and for fifteen years, led a volunteer teaching program in this Central Pacific nation. His most recent co-edited booksinclude I Am Where I Come From: Native American College Students and Graduates Tell Their Life Stories and Growing Up Muslim: MuslimStudents in America Tell Their Life Stories. Recent co-authored articles include ""Be Not Afeard; the Isle is Full of Noises: Expanding Youths'Aspirations Through Shakespeare and Musical Productions in the Marshall Islands"" and ""Constructive Disequilibrium and TransformativePedagogy: Developing Global Citizens in Faraway Spaces."" In 1991 and 2009, he was awarded Dartmouth College's Distinguished Teaching Award. He holds an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of New Brunswick and is an honorary citizen of the Marshall Islands. James Rice is an actor and teacher. He attended the University of Washington, Skidmore College (BA, Theatre) and New York University (MA, Theatre). He is Senior Lecturer of Theatre at Dartmouth College, specializing in acting and voice training since 1997. He studied acting in New York with the twentieth-century masters Sanford Meisner and Uta Hagen. Later he trained with Kristin Linklater and was designated as a teacher of her vocal approach in 1992. Believing that ""theatre is rehearsal for living,"" James' interest is in how actor-based training techniques and autobiographical storytelling facilitate empathy, trust, and community building. In 2012, he met Andrew Garrod, who invited him to join Youth Bridge Global and co-direct Shakespeare's As You Like It in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Subsequently, he assisted with productions of Romeo and Juliet in Kigali, Rwanda (2013) and Romeo and Juliet in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2016). Andrew Nalani, a Ugandan, has a Ph.D. in Applied Psychology (Psychology and Social Intervention) from NYU Steinhardt. He is currentlyAssistant Professor of Human and Organizational Development at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. He takes an interdisciplinaryapproach to understanding how transformative programs are designed and their influence on positive youth development across cultures and sectors, drawing particularly from theories and methods in developmental and community psychology as well as sociology and organizational studies. At NYU, he worked on the research teams for the Listening Project, SAFE Spaces: Systems Aligning for Equity, and has engaged in innovation in the youth work field through a research-practice partnership with Partners for Youth Empowerment. His work on social-science based pathways to reduce youth inequality received the 2022 Social Policy Article Publication Award from the Society for Research on Adolescence. He was a keynote speaker at the Gates Foundation 2018 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation GoalkeepersInitiative to advance global goals, a recipient of the 2019 Hollyhock Center's Dana Bass Solomon Fund for emerging leaders and changemakers and community builders, and a recipient of Dartmouth's Barret All-Round Achievement Cup. He is a highly skilled group-learningfacilitator and draws on several art forms to foster dynamic and effective learning experiences. He holds a Master's in Education from Harvard University (where he received the Leadership in Education Fellowship and the inaugural Anne M. Sweeney Scholarship) and an AB from Dartmouth College.

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