Consent-Based Theatre Pedagogy: Anti-Oppressive Practices for Youth Performance

Consent-based performance practices have been widely discussed in recent years–specifically those practices related to the staging of intimacy in live performance and in film. While scholarship dedicated to the practices, theories, and politics of consent in theatrical and cinematic labor continues to accumulate, the use of consent-based practices in theatrical settings to impact the artistic and social-emotional learning of youth remains largely underexplored.

Accepted for publication by Routledge, Consent-Based Theatre Pedagogy: Anti-Oppressive Practices for Youth Performance will provide an innovative examination of the rich yet underexamined intersection of consent-based performance pedagogy. For the purposes of this manuscript, we define consent-based pedagogy as a framework of teaching practices developed to interrupt unethical use of hierarchical structures and to empower individuals to develop and articulate personal boundaries. Consent-based pedagogy is informed by the most recent research and application of theories related to fully-informed consent and anti-oppressive practice. This edited collection seeks to provide theories and tools that theatre educators, directors, and artists can weave into their own practice to empower the young people with whom they work. This collection will feature three sections: 

• Theoretical Analysis of Consent-Based Pedagogy (chapters of 2,000-4,000 words); 

• Lesson Plans and Activities (capped at 700 words); and 

• Production Processes and Case Studies (capped at 1,200 words). 

This call is specifically seeking contributions to section 2. Calls for Section 1 and 3 are also available. See the full call at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wRygXlmcS9y3nTD1ZIa6ahlQezdeleDO9hfo...

Section 2: Lesson Plans and Activities. 

This section will present a curated collection of lesson plans and activities that can be utilized in classrooms or rehearsal settings with youth. Furthermore, this section will include a selection of expanded narrative segments which use first-person narration to illustrate the teacher’s experience in facilitating the lesson, in offering side-coaching and prompts, and in responding to student questions. This section’s purpose is to present a comprehensive and practical toolkit for embedding consent-based pedagogy into the theatre classroom and youth theatre. 

Chapters in this section will be capped at 700 words, inclusive of footnotes and citations. Lessons already scheduled for inclusion highlight activities for using Theatrical Intimacy Education’s button and boundary practice tools with youth at different ages; activities for encouraging students to experiment rather than seeking the ‘right’ answer; and activities for self-assessing and discussing heightened emotion. The editors are seeking additional lesson plan or activity descriptions that highlight student agency and consent-based practices. We ask that each activity or lesson plan:

• Communicate the purpose of the activity, including its primary affective, aesthetic, and academic student learning outcomes

• Clearly outline the set-up, process, and reflection of each lesson or activity to guide others in facilitating this lesson or activity

• Suggestions for accommodations or adjustments that can be implemented to support young people in a wide range of age groups and access needs

• Include side-coaching prompts that support students during the activity and can guide educators in connecting the activity to other learning experiences

• Include how the exercise has been adapted from existing trauma-informed practices, performance practices, or pedagogy to honor a consent-based framework

Timeline

This work is under contract with Routledge, and we are anticipating the following timeline:

• Abstracts for proposals should be submitted by Monday, January 22, 2024.

• Contributors who wish to engage in peer feedback should submit their manuscripts by May 3, 2024. 

• Peer support conversations are invited to take place throughout May, providing authors time for revising and incorporating feedback.

• All manuscripts should be submitted to the editors on a rolling deadline with an end date of July 12, 2024.

• Revised manuscripts should be submitted to the editors by September 6, 2024.

Submission Guidelines

To submit, please send your abstract as a word document or PDF to amandarosevillarreal@gmail.com by January 22, 2024 with a document title including your name and the section number you wish your proposal to be considered for (ie “Villarreal_Section2”. This email should include:

• Title of the submitted chapter, lesson plan, activity, or case study 

• Abstract of up to 200 words in word document or pdf format

• Author bio of up to 100 words 

• Subject line including the words “Consent-Based Theatre Pedagogy”