• DRAMATURGY IN SINGAPORE •
RESOURCE LIST
• Company/ Resident Dramaturgy • Working with Company•
• Education Wing of the Company •
ARTS EDUCATION PROGRAMME (NAC-AEP)
In 1993, the National Arts Council developed the Arts Education Programme (NAC-AEP) in a bid to promote an appreciation of the arts among students from Primary and Secondary schools, Junior Colleges, Institutes of Technical Education and Polytechnics. The NAC-AEP comprises of special programmes and workshops developed by the local arts communities for schools, and have been assessed and approved by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the National Arts Council (NAC). The NAC-AEP is categorised into 3 types: Arts Exposure, Arts Experience and Arts Excursion. The list of NAC-AEP programmes and workshops available can be obtained here.
Application Matters
Theatre Companies who wish to offer theatre programmes for schools may register online at this website. For information on the Terms and Conditions of the NAC-AEP application, please click here. To obtain information on the assessment criteria that the NAC panel will use to evaluate your Theatre Company’s application, please click here.
For more general information on the NAC-AEP, please click here.
Before your Theatre Company embarks on any education programme, your company has the social responsibility to be equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge on the various theatre and education forms, approaches, techniques, and conventions. Research on theatre and education can be conducted through the Singapore National Library Board (NLB) catalogue. Recommendations: Conduct your search using the names of influential and renowned practitioners; i.e. ‘O’Toole, John’; ‘O’Neil, Cecily’; ‘Heathcote, Dorothy’; ‘Hornbrook, David’; ‘Way, Brian’; ‘Bolton, Gavin’, etc… Some of the more helpful theatre and education books are cited below.
Books on Theatre-in-Education (TIE)
Jackson, T. (1993). (Ed.). Learning Through Theatre: New Perspectives on Theatre in Education. (2nd Ed.). London and New York: Routledge. [English 372.1332 LEA]
This book provides readers with information on the development and direction of TIE, introduces ways of devising and playwrighting for TIE, defines the TIE actor and presents international perspectives on TIE.
O’Toole, J. (1967). Theatre in Education: New Objectives for Theatre - New Techniques in Education. London: Routledge
This book deals with the history of TIE, its theatrical and dramatic dimensions, educational aims and claims as well as other vital information about participation, contents and context and responsibilities of the TIE company and teacher.
Schweitzer, P. (1980). (Ed.). Theatre-in-Education: Four Junior Programmes. London: Eyre Methuen
Schweitzer, P. (1980). (Ed.). Theatre-in-Education: Four Secondary Programmes. London: Eyre Methuen
The following books under the heading Books on Drama-in-Education (DIE) Theories provide readers with useful theoretical information on the more prevalent Drama-in-Education approaches and their relevant philosophies. The books under the heading Drama-in-Education (DIE) Handbooks provide readers with more practical guides and suggestions, selected lesson plans and details on drama conventions. Although DIE techniques and conventions are customarily employed by teachers who want to bring drama into the classroom, they can be incorporated into TIE workshops.
Books on Drama-in-Education (DIE) Theories
Bolton, G. (1979). Towards a Theory of Drama in Education. London: Longman.
Bolton, G. and Heathcote, D. (1995). Drama for Learning: Dorothy Heathcote's Mantle of the Expert Approach to Education. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Heathcote, D. et al. (1991). Collected Writings on Education and Drama. Evanston: Northwestern University Press.
Errington, E. (1992). Towards a Socially Critical Drama Education. Geelong: Deakin University Press.
O’Neil, C. (1995). Drama Worlds: A Framework for Process Drama. Portsmouth: Heinemann. [English q792.028 ONE -[ART]]
O’Toole, J. (1992). The Process of Drama: Negotiating Art and Meaning. London and New York: Routledge. [English 792.015 OTO -[ART]]
Wagner, B. J. (1999). Dorothy Heathcote: Drama as a Learning Medium. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. [English 371.399 WAG]
Drama-in-Education (DIE) Handbooks
Kitson, N. & Spiby, I. (1997). Drama 7-11: Developing Primary Teaching Skills. London and New York: Routledge. [English 372.66044 KIT]
Neelands, J. (2004). Beginning Drama 11-14. (2nd Ed.). London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd.
Neelands, J (1984). Making Sense of Drama: A Guide to Classroom Practice. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd. [English 371.399 NEE]
Neelands, J (1990). Structuring Drama Work: A Handbook of Available Forms in Theatre and Drama. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
O’Neill, C. & Lambert, A. (1982). Drama Structures: A Practical Handbook for Teachers. London: Hutchinson.
O’Toole, J. and Haseman, B. (1988). Dramawise: An Introduction to GCSE drama. 2nd Ed. Oxford, Melbourne and Auckland: Heinemann Educational Publishers. [English 792.076 OTO -[ART]]
O’Toole, J. & Dunn, J. (2002). Pretending to Learn: Helping Children Learn Through Drama. Pearson Education Australia: Longman.
Stinson, M. and Wall, D. (2003). Dramactive: Book 1. Australia: McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd.
Winston, J. and Tandy, M. (2001). Beginning Drama 4-11. (2nd Ed.). London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd. [English 372.660440941 WIN]