Laura Dean (Associate Director)
Laura is a keen advocate for the Arts in Education. A graduate of the Comparative and International Education MA program at Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA, USA), Laura’s research interests revolve around how Arts subjects, and Theatre in particular, can play a crucial role to the development of a student’s social and emotional well-being, whilst bolstering their academic attainment. Having lived in numerous places around the world, and worked to support international students in a university setting, Laura is interested in supporting global Education policy. With an avid interest in Theatre & Performance, she is delighted to be bringing her two passions together to lead on Dialogue’s Community Performance for Education work.
Performance Highlights from IDIERI 9
The Attitudes
“I try to explore in my body and voice difference modes of white resistance to challenges about power and privilege.
The physicality of the showing is inspired by 18th century writings and interpretations...
Exploring Techniques and Practices from the IDIERI 9 Workshops (Part 1)
Delegates at the 9th International Drama in Education Research Institute were treated to an abundance of exciting and engaging practical workshops during the 7-day event. To give you a flavour of what was on offer, the Dialogue team...
Tracey-Lynne Cody, Janinka Greenwood, Sharon Mazer, Christian Penny, and Jo Randerson: Aotearoa / New...
This locally focused panel was truly an inspiration - what follows is a selection of the panel’s words from the session…
“I’m going to position as a good thing because it allows people...
Rannveig Thorkelsdóttir: How is drama as a subject implemented in Icelandic compulsory education?
In Iceland, drama is a subject in the national curriculum. Within a socio-cultural framework of understanding, an ethnographic study of the culture and the context for the implementation of drama was carried out and...
Warren Linds: Weechi metuwe mitotan Playing Games of Presence with Indigenous Youth in Saskatchewan,...
This paper will explore the integration of theatrical play with a land based focus and how it contributes to supporting holistic wellbeing in Indigenous youth. I focus on ‘Games of Presence’ theatre games often...
Wendy Lathrop Meyer, Kristin Runde and Øystein Vestre: Communication within a cultural sensitive perspective...
‘When Tragedy embraces the Farce’
‘See me – a double glance’
'A journey through time and space – storytelling as a meeting between cultures'
Meyer aims to show how “The Gogol Project”, involving both Tanzanian and Norwegian...
Chris Blois-Brooke: Documenting ‘Otherness’: The Tyrannical Construction of Knowledge about Theatre for Development?
With Applied Theatre practitioners continuing to work in disparate corners of the world, the documentation of practice is important to allow ideas to travel and be exchanged across borders. Whilst the documents may be...
Robin Pascoe and Peter Wright: Representation and authenticity in drama research
The ways that research is shared is often reductive, pseudo-scientific and may be missing the richness of lived experience. While experience is always embodied as researchers we work to be less removed from the...
Mette Bøe Lyngstad: DREAMCATCHERS: A Narrative Research Project with Substance Abusers and Relatives
In our paper, we will present a narrative research connected to storytelling project with 8 previous substance abusers and their next-of-kind. In 20 days they developed stories of their dreams for the future, to...
Trish Wells and Susan Sandretto: A fresh look at literacy learning
Displacement is a global phenomenon, with relevance for all New Zealand classrooms. We explored the question ‘What does it mean to be displaced’ through a process drama featuring in a recently produced research-based professional...