Framing a National Curriculum in Drama: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants (original) (raw)

This article provides a survey of Australian drama education documents. The purpose of this selective tracing of the genealogy of Australian drama education is to set the scene for the current context while also acknowledging the strength and foresight of Australian drama education pioneers and predecessors. This article had its genesis in a discussion paper, originally titled Sharing the Blank Page: if there's going to be a National Drama Curriculum, what might it look like? It was prepared for a round table forum on drama curriculum at gener8, the 2008 National Drama Education Conference, Adelaide, May 10, 2008. That round table was well attended and generated considerable discussion, prompting not only this article but this special curriculum edition of NJ. This paper has been reworked significantly since then. I acknowledge all the contributors to the round table forum and the input of critical readers to the reshaping of the article.