Sustainable Drama /Theatre Practice & Teaching Sustainability Through Drama

In 2011 Drama Australia launched its Acting Green Guidelines. The introduction to these guidelines states:

Drama Australia believes that sustainable drama and theatre practice and teaching about sustainability through drama are ways to directly involve students in understanding their connections with their environment and their interconnectedness in the world. Drama Australia believes it is important that its members and member organisations address issues of sustainability in the classroom and this document serves to guide and support classroom practice and performance making. The guidelines contained within this document also seek to directly engage students and educators with contemporary thought and practice, to develop understanding, awareness and capacity, and to offer support to drama educators on ways to address themes, issues and practices around sustainability.

After ten years, the Acting Green Guidelines are being updated, revised and re-written in collaboration with industry practitioners and educators. We need your help to ensure the new guidelines respond closely to current curriculum, current practices in drama education, producing theatre, and to the needs of drama educators when tackling sustainability and climate change issues in drama. We welcome your responses to the following survey questions.

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* 1. First of all, please tell us a bit about your context. Which state/territory are you based in?

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* 2. Which sector/s do you work in?

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* 3. If you are in education, which learning areas/disciplines do you teach in? (e.g. Drama, Theatre,  Dance, Music, Media, English, Literacy, STEM, Humanities  etc)

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* 4. If you are in industry, which areas do you work in?

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* 5. Now for a few questions about content and practice. Do you or have you introduced sustainability, climate change or other environmental issues and concerns into your teaching in drama/ theatre work? 
If so, please tell us a bit about what you do about sustainability in drama, including year/age levels you work with.

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* 6. The current guidelines draw on three key concepts which are elaborated on in the document Acting Green pdf:

Thinking green – reflecting, contemplating, considering, imagining
Speaking green – articulating, reiterating, communicating, advocating
Acting green – demonstrating, designing, creating, presenting, activating

Are these concepts useful. What other concepts or ideas would you like to suggest?

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* 7. SCHOOL PRODUCTIONS: If you or your school creates school productions each year, do you consider sustainability and recycling when creating any of
SET
COSTUMES
PROPERTIES
LIGHTING
PUBLICITY
If so, give us an example or two of something you and/or your students have done in this area.

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* 8. WHO ELSE DO OR COULD YOU WORK WITH?
Often this work is collaborative. Are you working with or would you like to work with any of:
            Industry partners e.g. theatre companies
            Community
            Science and sustainability organisations
 Do you collaborate with colleagues in your school, community, with industry or organisations to successfully engage with sustainability and climate issues in drama? Please tell us a bit more.
What might help to facilitate collaboration?

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* 9. CASE STUDIES:
Accompanying the current Acting Green Guidelines there are four Acting Green Case Studies across education and industry that explore sustainable practice and content. Two are from Australian theatre companies and two from schools and provide ideas for exploring content and producing theatre.

If you and your students OR you and your company are working with practice, content or production areas actively in this way, would you be willing to contribute a case study for the the updated Acting Green guidelines with description and images if appropriate?

Would you be interested in contributing a teaching resource to be published in ADEM -The Australian Drama Education Magazine?

If you are interested in either of the above opportunities, please provide your Name, School/Industry organisation and Contact details below so we can contact you about this. 
Or for more information email: jo.raphael@deakin.edu.au
And thanks for considering the contribution you can make to your profession.

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* 10. SUPPORTING DRAMA EDUCATORS
We know teachers need support in their teaching. To support teaching around sustainability as practice and as content in the drama classroom, what else could the guidelines do? Here are some thoughts but what else?
            Activities for the classroom
            Advocacy statements
            Resource lists
            Production tips
Please let us know the kinds of resources and/or supports you would find useful. Please also add any other comments you'd like to make to assist Drama Australia in the re-writing of Acting Green.

Thank you for your contribution as we prepare the new Acting Green Guidelines for Drama & Sustainability.

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