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Storytelling through theatre is a powerful way to reach others.
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We are a research ensemble of diverse collaborators committed to exploring the power of drama to create social change.
In Conversation With
Rethinking Democracy And Citizenship
What does it mean to be democratic? What’s the difference between being a citizen in a democracy and a subject in an empire? Dr. Urvashi Sahni answered these pressing questions and more in her inspiring and truly engaging TEDtalk.
Creators for Change Documentary Wins Emmy for Outstanding Daytime Non-Fiction Special
Dr. Urvashi Sahni and Study Hall Education Foundation (SHEF) are featured in Michelle Obama's "Creators for Change" Documentary showcasing how education can transform girls’ lives and create a ripple effect for communities.
CODE Conversations
See here the launch of CODE Conversations with Matthew Sheahan, secondary teacher from Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board and President of the Council of Ontario Dance and Drama Educators interviewing Andrew Kushnir and Zorana Sadiq on their experiences with the Radical Hope research, the Towards Youth production, and their poignant thoughts on why Verbatim theatre is an especially important aesthetic with young people in these times.
Project: Humanity supporting youth & artists through COVID-19
P:H's COVID-19 Artist Partnership Program (CAPP). provides essential support to youth in shelters by pairing participants with artists for weekly 1:1 online mentorship sessions in a discipline of their choosing.
Tiny Tuna Big Bee: motivating climate action through music
Introducing our friends Bebe, Oona and Tutu of homegrown Toronto band ‘Tiny Tuna Big Bee’, all 12 years old and writing music as a call to action about climate change.
Artists for Real Climate Action
Artists for Real Climate Action is a non-partisan, ever-growing collection of actors, filmmakers, writers, musicians, playwrights, graphic designers, directors, and digital marketing folks all sounding the alarm over our climate crisis
Upcoming Events
- February 17 2022: Dr. Gallagher will be a keynote speaker at the 30th Anniversary of FOOT (Forum of Original Theatre/Theory/Thought) – Hopeful Positions, or: Playing in Precarity.
- March 25 2022: Dr. Gallagher will be a keynote speaker at the 47th annual Congress of l’Institut des troubles d’apprentissage / the Learning Disabilities Institute (online)
- TBD 2022: Dr. Gallagher will present the keynote address at the 4th ELTE Workshop for Arts Education, Live the Culture – Play, Arts Education and Science (Budapest, Hungary).
Latest News
Census-taking and theater-making: Real and imagined perceptions and experiences of school and neighborhood safety for racialized and white youth
In this article, Dr. Kathleen Gallagher, with Dr. Dirk Rodricks & Lindsay Valve engage the discovery of a significant divergence between feelings of safety and belonging reported in a safety survey, and the discursive, contradictory, and complex narratives about safety revealed by students’ storytelling to open a line of inquiry about what the pursuit of being a ‘safe school’ is meant to do, and what it does.
The ecology of global, collaborative ethnography: metho-pedagogical architectures and interpretive frames in research with youth
In this article, Dr. Kathleen Gallagher, with graduate students Nancy Cardwell, Danielle Denichaud & Lindsay Valve explore the nature of ethnographic collaboration during the harrowing and unpredictable times of a global pandemic.
Building new publics: Using agile, community-engaged, and applied theatre methodologies as social intervention in audience research
In this article, Dr. Kathleen Gallagher, with PhD candidates Lindsay Valve and Christine Balt, illustrate how an ‘agile’ research methodology acts as both inquiry and social intervention, and provides theatre artists and practitioners with novel ways to become more intentional about building engaged, intergenerational audiences.
Vulnerability, care and hope in audience research
In this article, Dr. Kathleen Gallagher, with PhD candidates Christine Balt and Lindsay Valve, consider the theatre as a vital site for the formation of an ‘intergenerational polis’ by looking to how the affective labour performed by a theatre audience creates an ‘ethics of care’, gesturing to the importance of attuning to ‘dissensus’ in audience research.
Asia's Most Influential:
Dr. Urvashi Sahni
Congratulations to our collaborator. Dr.Urvashi Sahni, for being named one of Asia’s Most Influential people. Dr. Sahni is a women’s rights activist, CEO and founder of Study Hall Educational Foundation in India, which offers educational programs for vulnerable young people.