Launched during the Covid-19 pandemic, Season 1 examined how theatre and drama education could adapt in a time of profound uncertainty. The conversations explored disruption, resilience, and emerging pedagogical practices for a rapidly changing world.
Season 1 of Unrehearsed Futures was curated and hosted by Jehan Manekshaw (DSM) and Amy Russell (Embodied Poetics) as the Covid-19 pandemic unfolded, where the conversations start with looking at questions such as: How do we teach in the absence of presence? How do we plan a learning journey when disruption is the norm? What is theatre, and the teaching of it in a time such as this? This investigation quickly moved to the idea of the rapid pace of change and the world being in a state of permanent multi-disruptions, and moved to exploring both our ability to respond, and our response-ability.
These discussions look at future trends and emerging best practices that can help create a robust performing arts culture globally – one that accounts for the disruptions of the pandemic yet delivers value-based drama pedagogy for students, teachers and practitioners of theatre.
Diane Denis and Daniel Plá explore contemplative arts and Tibetan Buddhist ritual as transformative frameworks for reimagining actor training, presence, and performance pedagogy.
Daniel Stein and Norman Taylor debate mime’s relevance, contrasting pantomime’s illusionary “negative mold” with Decroux’s corporeal mime as a tool for embodied actor training.
Julie Beauvais and Kamili Feelings challenge conventional actor training, advocating for deep listening, trans-disciplinary “inter-being” practices that transcend traditional performance hierarchies and canonical theatre pedagogy.
Dr. Nesreen Hussein explores how her Egyptian identity and the 2011 revolution shaped her practice of theatre pedagogy as decolonial activism within UK university classrooms.
Dr. Mojisola Adebayo examines the open letter “White Colleagues Listen,” urging active anti-racism and dismantling systemic whiteness within UK theatre and performance pedagogy.
Meg Keating describes restructuring University of Tasmania’s arts degrees around an interdisciplinary Creative Curriculum, placing theatrical devising and collaboration at the core.
Mark Evans and Aurelian Koch explore Lecoq’s interdisciplinary LEM methodology, examining how movement, space, and architecture intersect to deepen embodied creative awareness beyond traditional theatre
Lazlo Pearlman argues the pandemic offers theatre pedagogues a chance to “trans the Canon,” resisting heteronormative, hegemonic traditions and embracing fluid, queer approaches to training.
Fay Simpson discusses adapting her chakra-based lucid body technique for online actor training, navigating student trauma, intimacy work, and racial sensitivity during the pandemic.
Is there such a thing as a Covid-trained performer? For Nicole Stinton, course coordinator for musical theatre diploma at the Western Australia Academy of….
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