Theatre-as-research: a dynamic methodology for arts-based inquiry

While teaching research methodology at James Cook University in Australia, it became apparent that the theatre devised from story narratives, which I had been doing with drama students for decades, could be viewed as a distinct type of research methodology. In this chapter, I shall present a snapshot of a recent case, which uses theatre to teach and present research. From a pedagogical perspective, Theatre as Research engages the university students in learning about research through active interviewing, data analysis and interpretation of data via a play script that is acted out. It is dynamic research, in that it is characterized by vigorous collection methods involving the collection of first-person, narrative data. This data is then synthesised into a play, using group improvisations. For the research students, there is a sense of purpose and a satisfaction of playing a part in the change and development of narrative into theatre