Editorial: Autumn Term 1 2019-20

Welcome to the first edition of the brand new Drama & Theatre magazine! It has been a busy summer here at D&T HQ, transforming Teaching Drama into a sparkling new source of the latest news, views, and inspiration for the performing arts education world. D&T has now risen phoenix-like from the ashes of TD, and I so hope that you find this new magazine more useful than ever before.

One of the first things I did in setting about the transformation was to bring together a talented panel of experts to form an editorial advisory board. You’ll find their names listed in the box to the left. We met in May to discuss all aspects of the working lives of drama educators today, the future of the young people you teach – and how best we could support you in your endeavours. I also asked you, the readers, in a survey: thank you so much for your responses.

The result is a number of new regular sections to the magazine, which I sincerely hope will be of real practical value to you. Turn to the contents page for full details, and please get in touch with your feedback on the updates to the magazine – I’d be delighted to hear from you at: sarah.lambie@markallengroup.com

There's been some good news for arts educators lately – a rare and precious thing – with the Russell Group universities’ decision to abandon the concept of ‘facilitating subjects’. Their replacement of this restrictive list with a website called Informed Choices highlighting the many and varied subjects which might support academic degrees beautifully undermines a key tenet of the hated EBacc: that a core of subjects (which doesn't include the arts) should give students the best ‘foundations for future success’.

As part of the launch of Drama & Theatre, we, and our sister title Music Teacher magazine, have officially joined the Bacc for the Future campaign, with the aim of ensuring proper recognition for arts subjects in the curriculum that the government sets out for our young people.

As I write this, a statement has just been released by the leaders of 13 major UK theatres describing ‘deeply worrying’ cuts to the secondary school curriculum in respect of the arts, with Tom Morris of the Bristol Old Vic remarking on arts opportunities being ‘ruthlessly stripped out’ of state education. Of theatres surveyed in March, 92% reported that they had witnessed fundamental, major or significant change in the value placed on creativity by schools.

These facts are catastrophic when I consider that you as drama teachers are almost uniquely able to facilitate a student's going out into the world of work, in any discipline, ready and willing to meet every challenge with humanity and the fullest engagement.

As far as I can, my aim is to help you continue to offer that to your students.

With very best wishes for the new academic year,

Sarah Lambie, Editor