The Dorothy Heathcote Now conference in October promises to be a major event.

Dorothy Heathcote was ahead of her time. Her work continues to influence teachers around the world. She saw that drama could be placed at the heart of the curriculum. Her vision of a revolution in the way we think about education seems even more urgent now than ever.

This conference is being held to mark 10 years since Dorothy's death. It will combine talks and practical workshops. It will look at some of the different teaching methods she created, such as Mantle of the Expert, Commission Model and Rolling Role.

Speakers and presenters will include a number of international figures in drama in education: Cecily O'Neill, Brian Edmiston, Luke Abbott, Tim Taylor and more.

You can find more information below about some of the workshops and talks.

The conference runs from 8-10 October.

On 8 October, there will be a one-day online event. On 9-10 October, there will be a two-day, in-person event at Birmingham City University (BCU).

Bookings can be made through eventbrite:

https://dorothyheathcotenow.eventbrite.co.uk

For further details, contact: david@mantlenetwork.com, or go to: www.mantlenetwork.com

Tel.: 07946 006511

The Dorothy Heathcote Now conference is jointly organised by Midland Actors Theatre and BCU, with Woodrow First School and the Faculty of Philology, University of Lodz.

CECILY O'NEILL:

THE "PRE-TEXT"

We are delighted that Cecily O'Neill is taking part in the conference. She will be offering two workshops, looking at identifying and developing the "pre-text." The pretext is a starting point for drama; it "rings up the curtain" by "framing the participants effectively and economically in a firm relationship to the potential action."

Cecily will also be taking part in keynote and panel presentations.

Cecily is Associate Professor Emeritus at Ohio State University. She is the author of numerous books including Drama Worlds and Drama Structures. She was the co-editor of Dorothy Heathcote: Collected Writings on Education and Drama

BRIAN EDMISTON:

"HUMANIZING EDUCATION"

Brian will be offering two workshops at the conference: 

Humanizing Education with the Mantle and Commission Approaches to Dramatic Inquiry; and Transforming Lives with Heathcote’s Humanizing Pedagogy

He will also present a keynote.

Brian is Professor of Drama in Education at Ohio State University. His books include Forming Ethical Identities in Early Childhood Play and Imagining to Learn: Inquiry, Ethics, and Integration Through Drama.

The conference will also feature presentations and keynotes by Luke Abbott, Tim Taylor, and more. 

"I have a dream that has not yet been realized; I would like students, not to learn what their teachers teach them, but to be people who solve problems in the outside world that their teachers bring to them. ... I dream of schools working with real tasks, rather than learning about things in class ... This is actually a radical way of learning, I want students to be citizens of the world.” - Dorothy Heathcote