Toward Towards an Ethics of Theatre and Drama Practice

Time: May 2002
Place: Seminar Room, Centre for Graduate Studies in Drama, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, North America, Earth, Universe, …Whatever…

Dr. Drennan is discovered mumbling in a Beckettian manner as she sets up her exhibition of materials gathered for the ACTR/ARTC Conference, 2002. These materials relate to the life and theatre practice of Roy Mitchell, the first director of Hart House Theatre. Richard Plant swings past the upstage door, which is open wide into the room providing glimpses of the cramped “hall” outside.

Richard, glancing at the green chalkboard, which reads “What was Roy trying to tell us?” sticks his head into the room and quips in greeting, “Good question!”

Dr. Drennan reaches for Tape 8 from her audio recordings of the esoteric lectures, Exile of the Soul by Roy Mitchell published originally as a series in The Canadian Theosophist in 1929. Tape 8 is titled “The Ethical Problem”.  Ethics is BIG these days – post-Enron. The Canadian Society for the Study of Religion prominently displays on their conference agenda an advertisement for the recently released study Towards an Ethics of Community. In 2002, I attended the papers presented at the ACTR/ARTC Conference with a point of view; one I started to explore while developing a tertiary curriculum for an Applied Theatre program. What are the ethical issues that are at stake when we practice theatre and drama? That practice includes traditional production and training/education, Popular Theatre, Drama Therapy, Theatre and Drama in Education. My own particular focus is the relationship between theatre/drama and business. In this paper I will present the initial commentary towards a collection of reflective essays by Canadian theatre/drama practitioners. This paper will introduce my project initiative and act as a call for colleagues to take this opportunity to reflect on their practice.