Debra Hundert McLauchlan, 1951–2016

The passing of Debra Hundert McLauchlan has left a giant space in the international educational world of drama and theatre. She was a force to be reckoned with, an advocate for arts education in the broadest sense—schools, universities, theatre groups, government—and always with the students front and center. She was a tireless worker for drama and theatre in and out of schools; a committed and dedicated teacher with both her secondary and university students; a respected, indeed cherished, colleague; and a special friend. As well, Debra played a significant role in different community-based partnerships, including the Carousel Players, the St. Catharines Museum, Shaw Festival, Theatre Ontario, and the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. Debra had taught drama in high school for almost fifteen years, directing and guiding more than sixty student productions, including several student-generated works. It was during her graduate courses at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in Toronto, beginning in 1993, that I began to notice her strengths in my courses in the arts in education and drama, and from those first days, I recognized her love of her subject and her belief in her students. She was extremely successful in her studies, and I then became her graduate advisor for her Ph.D. thesis. We met frequently during the next few years, Debra journeying by bus from St. Catharines to Toronto. Her thesis was based on her years of working with her drama students, supported by her studies and her readings. It was a pleasure working with her, developing her personal narrative, discussing new research and exploring different authors in her field, as well as in education in general. I learned so much from these Debra McLauchlan. Photo courtesy of Brock University.