Abstract:
This qualitative study explored 4 former students' perceptions of the learning
associated with their involvement in a high school theatre program and the contextual
factors they linked to their perceived development. The study involved 4 adult
participants, 2 male and 2 female, who had participated extensively in a high school
theatre company from 1996 to 2001 when they were students in a large Ontario school
board. Data were collected from January to August, 2007, when the 4 former students
took part in two in-depth, open-ended interviews. The focus of investigation was
participant perspectives.
Data analysis revealed that the 4 participants' involvement in high school theatre
produced both wide-ranging and enduring developmental benefits across personal, social,
and cognitive domains. Participants achieved these benefits through interactions among 3
related contexts: (a) rehearsal and performance practices, (b) the world of the play, and
(c) characteristics of the high school theatre company.
