Place and space in drama education
Written by: Carolyn Bradley
7 min read
CAROLYN BRADLEY, SCHOOL OF PERFORMANCE AND CULTURAL INDUSTRIES, UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS, UK
This paper defines the relationship between place, space and learning in drama, arguing that both schools and cultural venues can function as places of learning. Place and space discourses are complex in general, and difficult to fully address in the scope of this article; therefore, the focus here will be limited to concepts of place and space in relation to the drama curriculum. I will briefly discuss schools as places and spaces of learning, before examining place-based education theories and how we can turn to the place beyond the school building to fulfil the needs of a drama curriculum.
I define place to be a geographical location – a setting in which for action to happen, but something that can also be connected to belonging and identity, through our relationship to place (Agnew et al., 2003). Space is fluid, socially constructed and politicised (Massey, 2005). Smith (2020) contrasts
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