Drama Education in the Lives of Girls: Imagining Possibilities

David E. Kemp, a former professor of drama at Queen’s University, is
the author of The Pleasures and Treasures of the United Kingdom.

Within the Canadian public education system, the arts have been
increasingly sidelined. The late Richard Courtney provided a blueprint
for achieving the acceptance of the arts at the core of education. The
theories outlined in Drama Education in the Lives of Girls make the book
a direct philosophical heir to Courtney’s groundbreaking work. Yet,
Gallagher’s book is not merely an extension of borrowed ideas.
Although it pursues a generalist agenda in examining drama and
intelligence, drama as collective process, and drama as personal
development, it is wholly innovative in its focus on equity and the
uniqueness of the feminine voice. Drama Education should be required
reading for drama/theatre arts teachers, principals, school
superintendents, and anyone who makes decisions about school curricula.