Drama, digital pre-text and social media

Abstract

This article presents a case study of Australian secondary school students as co-creators of a dramatic pre-text, using online and mobile media to develop an improvisation-based drama that introduces a textual study. Integrating recognised dramatic conventions within a digital environment provides the tension, and drives the educational exploration of the resulting drama scenario. The techniques used for the development of the digital pre-text for this project are based on facilitator-generated online social networking and mobile media content. This approach generates the students’ examination of mistaken identity as a platform for a classroom exploration of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The implications for using such digital technologies in drama teaching with young people are then discussed.