Stepping into the Unknown--Welfare, Disability, Culture and Theatre as an Opportunity for Equality?

Autor/inn/en	Saur, Ellen; Johansen, Oddbjørn
Titel	Stepping into the Unknown--Welfare, Disability, Culture and Theatre as an Opportunity for Equality?
Quelle	In: Research in Drama Education, 18 (2013) 3, S.246-260 (15 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1356-9783
DOI	10.1080/13569783.2013.810930
Schlagwörter	Theater Arts; Drama; Foreign Countries; Social Justice; Civil Rights; Democratic Values; Social Bias; Learning Disabilities; Norway + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Theaterwissenschaft; Schauspiel; Ausland; Soziale Gerechtigkeit; Bürgerrechte; Grundrechte; Zivilrecht; Learning handicap; Lernbehinderung; Norwegen
Abstract	This article shares the author's experiences with a political theatre employing 15 professional actors with learning disabilities. The theatre is now owned by the local municipality after a trial period of three years. In these three years, the authors have been project leaders at the theatre and were responsible for doing research and documenting the activity at the theatre. The research has been inspired by action research methodologies. The Norwegian welfare model is based upon the democratic values of equal rights for all to live in an inclusive society. In 1991, there was a decisive reform that transferred the responsibility for people with learning disabilities to the local municipality where they were borne. People with learning disabilities should have the same rights and obligations as other inhabitants, and the big institutions were closed. But still it is a fact that people with disabilities do not have the same access to the cultural field as others. One of the outspoken goals of this theatre company has been to be a political theatre to enable the voices and experiences of these actors to be heard in the official space. The paper questions whether theatre can contribute to democratic participation for people who are seldom heard and taken seriously in official debates. This article describes and discusses a theatre project and asks whether it might be an example of how actors with learning disabilities can participate on their own terms and be regarded as professional artists. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01