From spotlight to fluorescent bulb: aesthetic dimensions of personal, practical knowledge in an actor training to be a high school teacher

Abstract

This paper can be conceived as one story embedded in a second story, in which the ‘outer’ narrative, involving the theoretical and methodological framework, is that of my search for a means of defining, articulating and implementing an aesthetic epistemology in both academic research and in teacher education/development (a search that is advanced but not resolved in this article). In the ‘inner’ story, I present the report of a qualitative research study with a participant in transition from a career as a theatre professional to one as a high school drama teacher. The inquiry focuses on the aesthetic dimension of personal, practical knowledge, an aspect of personal, practical knowledge previously unacknowledged. This study focuses on one research participant, who in the midst of a successful career as an actor in mega-musicals decided to become a high school teacher. ‘Ella’ has performed in Miss Saigon, Beauty and the Beast, and Showboat in Toronto and around North America, and her story foregrounds the pedagogical role of storytelling, being ‘on’, nuance, discovering the familiar in the new, and drama as a methodology.