Engaging with the Other: Drama, and Intercultural Education

Drama educators world-wide have recognised the power of drama to open up intercultural and intracultural dialogue, to provide a forum for the exchange of different interpretations of human experiences. In an increasingly dangerous and divisive world the drama classroom or workshop can function as a safe space where, through the imaginative resources of participants, fictional and other social worlds can be conjured up and embodied. Cultural narratives can be shared and explored through the aesthetic languages of drama. Contemporary drama education emphasises collaborative and inclusive teaching practices, the socio-cultural awareness of students and their expressive development. These orientations reflect its origins and influences: the child-centred and play-focused progressive education movement that produced 'Drama-in Education' or 'Process Drama'; contemporary performance practices centred on improvisation and groupbased creation of performance texts; and the participatory and analytical processes of Boal s Theatre of the Oppressed with its strategies for social critique and empowerment. Within Australia's heterogeneous schools the drama curriculum is a site where diverse meanings can be expressed, negotiated and communicated through the interactive processes of enactment. Many drama teachers within multicultural Australia see the task of building cross-cultural understanding as an integral part of their drama work with students,