News

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.

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.

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 the audience of Towards Youth: A play on radical hope, by Andrew Kushnir, created an ‘ethics of care’ between some younger and older audience members, gesturing to the importance of attuning to ‘dissensus’ in audience research.​

Read Dr. Gallagher's new article about the transformation of her 5-year, multi-sited ethnographic research into an original documentary play in collaboration with embedded playwright Andrew Kushnir.

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.

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.

In this article, Dr. Kathleen Gallagher, with graduate students Christine Balt, Nancy Cardwell & Brooke Charlebois, engage with the sudden pivot to online learning and research, revealing a complex portrait of youth, connection, and the digital world at a time of physical distancing; and reflecting on what drama practices might be mobilised to invite intimacy into online learning.

Our friend Shree Paradkar has won two prizes at the Amnesty International Media awards – for best long story and best short video for her story on Prerna. Delighted that this excellent journalism brings further recognition to Urvashi Sahni and the powerful pedagogy at Prerna Girls' School.

Dr. Gallagher discussed her international, multi-sited and collaborative research project (Youth, Theatre, Radical Hope and the Ethical Imaginary: an intercultural investigation of drama pedagogy, performance and civic engagement) with the lead researcher from the Coventry site, Dr. Rachel Turner-King. Chaired by Professor Jonothon Neelands.