THEATRE PRODUCTION AS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING: THE SUMMER MUSICAL PROGRAM AT THE SITAR CENTER FOR ARTS EDUCATION

Abstract

Recent scholarship on educational theatre has tended to focus on process-oriented drama and on programs that deal with participant's personal identity. These programs have become regarded as the standard for drama that benefits both children and the community. However, programs like the summer musical at the Sitar Center for the Arts, though not based in the work of applied theatre theorists, have notable educational effects for participants. The Sitar's Center's theatre program is highly product oriented and focuses on the Western theatre cannon, specifically Eurocentric musical theatre, making it traditional in structure and aesthetic in focus. In this study, I utilize educational and performance ethnography to examine the effects of the theatre program and the ways in which it helps fulfill the greater mission of the center. In addition, I explore the relationship between more traditional programs and applied theatre methods in contemporary theatre education.