A/r/tography, Secondary Theatre Teaching, and The Theatre of Possibilities Project

Abstract

A/r/tography is an arts research methodology emphasizing living inquiry and reflective practice through examination of the in-between spaces of art-making/researching/teaching (a/r/t). Even though a/r/tography embraces all of the arts, many publications focus on the visual arts with less attention given to theatre/drama. This article illustrates an example of how a/r/tography links with secondary theatre in education. First, I share my teaching story of facilitating 109 secondary theatre students through a six-month collaborative play-creating process called The Theatre of Possibilities Project. Later, I reflect upon how a/r/tography weaves with my practice as a secondary theatre artist/researcher/teacher (a/r/t). Overall, a/r/tographers investigate in-between and unfamiliar spaces as a way to examine complexities and unpredictable connections. Therefore, my a/r/tographical self-study of secondary theatre teaching practice is conceptualized through one of the six renderings of a/r/tography: contiguity—otherwise known as in-between spaces. Based upon the reflection of my a/r/tographic practice, I present four in-between spaces of ten qualities that I deemed as significant during our art-making process: spaces in between learner/teacher/performance/production center practice; spaces in between creator and creation; spaces in between competition and collaboration; and spaces in between problem-free theatre and problem-inclusive theatre.