The cuts set to ravage Victoria University of Wellington continue an alarming trend for Aotearoa's tertiary theatre education. James Wenley explains the impact it will make and why it matters.
Theatre students perform in ‘Hell School – The Musical’ at Hannah Playhouse for NZ Fringe 2023. Directed by James Wenley. Photo: Alex Rabina.
Can theatre change the world? That’s the question we explored in Theatre for Change, a course I teach at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington.
Our third year students studied how theatre can provide people with hope and healing, researched the benefits of theatre programs in prisons and how drama therapy can support mental health, and created a theatre-in-education workshop that they took to a local high school.
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