Workshop led by Ruth Leary, Principal Teaching Fellow, Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies, University of Warwick

Forum Theatre is a participatory form of theatre that presents a debate and creates a community ethos that encourages audience interaction. It is a powerful tool for exploring solutions to complex problems.

Forum theatre scenarios are designed to stimulate audience participation through discussion, interactive role-playing and shared experiences. Participants become more ‘active’ and critically aware of personal communication and power relationships. By providing opportunities to ‘rehearse’ alternative approaches to an issue Forum Theatre facilitates transformative learning and offers a meaningful (and entertaining) way of:

• challenging established perceptions;
• understanding group/team dynamics;
• working with socially excluded or disempowered groups;
• exploring specific issues affecting individuals/groups experiencing disempowerment;
• identifying areas of conflict and possible solutions.

This workshop will explore the application of Forum Theatre within a higher education context. It will introduce you to Forum Theatre and open-space learning techniques and examine its potential as both a pedagogic approach and means of building self-efficacy and confidence within your own teaching practice. Please come prepared to collaborate in a practical workshop session.

Date: Monday 20 November 2017

Time: 10:00 - 13:00

Venue: The Humanities Studio

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Facilitator

Ruth Leary

Ruth is a Principal Teaching Fellow in the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies of the University of Warwick. A key aspect of her role is to support innovative teaching and learning and maintain links with industry. Ruth is also the Course Director and Admissions Tutor of the MA in Creative and Media Enterprises.
Her research interests encompass several aspects of creativity, teaching and learning, business management, art and media. In terms of innovative pedagogy, Ruth is interested in devising new techniques to facilitate experiential and transformative learning and to access other forms of knowing beyond a purely intellectual engagement with knowledge and ideas.