Talking About Issues Through Theatre

Episode 139: Talking About Issues Through Theatre What motivates you when it comes to your students? For Josh Adell, a teacher out of California, it was the time and time connection between teens, violence, and mental illness. Being a drama teacher, he wanted to theatricalize this issue. The result was an experience that sparked incredible conversation about an often silent issue with students, parents, administration and the community. Talking about issues through theatre is powerful. Show Notes * Educational Theatre Association Blog * The Butterfly Queen Episode Transcript Welcome to TFP – The Theatrefolk Podcast – the place to be for Drama teachers, Drama students, and theatre educators everywhere. I’m Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening. Welcome to Episode 139! You can find any links for this episode in the show notes at theatrefolk.com/episode139. And I’m going to start this episode with a question. What motivates you when it comes to your students? For today’s podcast guest, Josh Adell, a teacher out of California, it was the time and time connection he was seeing between teens, violence, and mental illness. And, being a drama teacher, he wanted to theatricalize this issue and the result was an experience that sparked incredible conversation about an often silent issue with students, parents, administration, and the community. I think talking about issues through theatre is such a powerful thing and I also wanted to start off with a quote from a blog Josh wrote about his experience. “Talking about mental illness through theatre is a life-affirming exercise that can help lead to mental health. For some, the experience can be life-changing.” Let’s get into some more talking with Josh Adell. LINDSAY: Today, I am talking to Josh Adell. Hello, Josh! JOSH: Hi! How are you? LINDSAY: I am awesome, and you? JOSH: I’m doing great! Thanks! I’m excited to talk. LINDSAY: Ah! That’s always a good start, isn’t it? JOSH: For sure. LINDSAY: Tell everybody where you are in the world. JOSH: Well, I am in North Hollywood, California. I teach at a private school called Campbell Hall and we are a K through 12 school and I teach in the high school here. I teach three levels of theatre courses and I direct two main stage plays a year – one in the fall and one in the spring – and I oversee an evening of student-directed performances as well. LINDSAY: Awesome. That’s a full plate! JOSH: It is, it’s a full plate, and it keeps me really busy for nine months. And then, for three months, I spend time in my pajamas getting ready for the next nine months. LINDSAY: And it takes three months, doesn’t it? JOSH: Oh, totally. It really does, absolutely. LINDSAY: Talk about how you landed into teaching. What led you to follow the path of drama and education? JOSH: Well, I loved my high school theatre department. I grew up in Dallas, Texas. I went to high school at J. J. Pearce High School which is actually in Richardson, Texas. I just fell in love with theatre. I was a drama kid and it really saved my life and just gave me a home and it was what I wanted to do. The day after I graduated high school, I started my very first teaching job teaching theatre to five-y...