I Plurked!

So, round two!

This week we were supposed to go hunting for blogs relating to our own field of study (theatre) and technology in the classroom. While that is all well and good, here is the thing: such blogs don't really exist. Theatre typically follows a non-traditional teaching model, so the way in which technology is included into a theatre curriculum is really done on an individual teacher basis. I scoured the internet looking for blogs/sources that related but to no avail. Theatre education is so much more about physically doing things with our bodies, rather than lecturing or doing things in cyberspace. There are a great deal of resources for theatre educators on the internet, but not a whole lot of blogs (in fact none that I could find).

The solution: so much of what we teach in theatre is a changing field. As new theories and ideas about theatre emerge our teaching material and they way in which we view theatre and the world at large changes drastically. So I subscribed to some websites in my Google reader that I feel will be beneficial to keeping me up to date with the ever-changing information in my area of study. Here is a recap:



Job Opportunities in Theatre and Education: This is a blog dedicated to informing theatre educators about job openings in the field all over the United States. With the nation-wide budget cuts in arts programs, finding a job in my specialty is becoming increasingly difficult. My hope is that this blog will keep me updated about where job openings are available as my graduation date draws nearer and I can see what is required to actually get a job teaching in my field.

2009 Educational Theatre Association Annual Conference: I am a member of the ETA as a pre-certification teacher. This blog keeps all the members posted about information regarding our annual conference and other activities. It is also an EXCELLENT way to network with other ETA members actually working in the field.

Theatre-In-Education: This blog deals with not specifically theatre education as is used in a secondary education setting, but Theatre-In-Education which is a field of study regarding applied theatre and theatre for social change. In summary it is based on the work of Augusto Boal and his son Julian in using theatre as an educational tool outside the educational setting. TIE (as it is called) focuses on games and devising performance in order to educate large groups of people/students about issues and teaches them how to address problems within their own communities. TIE is a rapidly growing field and it's tenets are always being applied to the secondary education setting. This blog keeps you updated on TIE activites, workshops and the general reaction to TIE work in the world.

Theatre Mitu: Theatre Mitu is a New York-based theatre group who is at the forefront of cutting edge and innovative avant-garde theatre. They do an annual college tour, educating students across the globe about their theatre techniques and studying cultures. They are coming to BYU this year to do a week in residence as guest instructors. They teach workshops, sit in on classes and will present their groundbreaking production of Death of a Salesman for the TMA department. It is important to be aware of ongoing theatre collaborations and companies so as to better educate students on the NOW in the theatrical world. It's more than just musicals, I promise...


So those are the blogs I subscribed to through Google reader. (I already have a ton of posts to read from them) I also joined the social network Plurk. To be honest I mostly just liked the name, but I also choose to join because it's a new site that I am unfamiliar with, so I can learn something new. Also, I already have accounts on Facebook and Twitter and such so Plurk was a good way to start a professional social network where I can deal with professional educators and not just friends.

I think that's all for this week.

Peace out, e-stalkers!
Jason