A Guide to Theatre in Education for Actors

Cast your mind back to being at school. Do you remember a day when, instead of going to lessons, your whole class sat down to watch a play? Perhaps it was something hard-hitting that makes you teary-eyed to this day, or maybe it was a bit more lighthearted and you still recall giggling with your friends.  

Or perhaps you took part in an interactive workshop, in which everyone took on roles and acted out scenarios, facilitated by an enthusiastic team of adults. Chances are, this was theatre in education.  

What exactly is theatre in education (TiE)? Different theatre companies may define TiE slightly differently, but, essentially, it is drama that takes place within an educational setting.  

TiE company Konflux Theatre describes it as the use of drama techniques to “enhance the learning process,” adding, “it usually entails some kind of participation from the pupils, enabling them to further explore the topic, theme, or message which is being interrogated.” 

Konflux, for example, runs workshops on topics including anti-bullying and internet safety. One common TiE technique is forum theatre, which is an interactive style of drama that enables audience members to jump onstage and change the outcome of the narrative.  

In a broader sense, TiE may be considered any theatre that is performed in schools or educational settings, such as the many pantomimes that tour for young people across the UK every winter.  

TiE can sometimes, unfairly, be looked down upon from a professional standpoint. Like any other subcategory of theatre, quality may vary widely from company to company, but a large number of theatre’s most exciting creatives are likely to have worked in TiE at some point in their careers. Jack Thorne, for example, who has written TV series including Adolescence and His Dark Materials, reportedly wrote for TiE early in his career. Applying for some TiE acting jobs may be an invaluable step in your journey to becoming an actor.  

Ultimately, if you can hold your own in front of a room of 200 school kids who aren’t afraid to hide if they are engaged or bored senseless, then you can probably tackle most challenges the industry throws your way. There can also be something incredibly rewarding about being part of a young person’s first experience with theatre. 

“The little kids loved us, because it was their first time ever being able to practise English with native speakers, so they would always come up and try to hug us,” says actor and theatremaker Jo Phillips, who recently performed in three shows that toured across Germany over the course of 10 months with White Horse Theatre. “They thought we were celebrities, because they’d be asking for our autographs. It really made their days!" 

“Quite often, we were told that we had loads of fan mail written for us, saying this is the best part of the school year, so it was quite rewarding,” she adds. 

TiE is often a performer’s first experience with professional work, according to the actors’ union Equity, and it could be an excellent way to start securing paid acting jobs, but don’t expect a walk in the park. 

Phillips describes a day in the life of a TiE performer, which would begin with waking up any time from 4.30 a.m. to 8 a.m. on a good day, and driving to the venue – where they may spend only one day. 

“We would set up the first show and do the first show, and then change over to the second show, and so on to the third show,” she says. “After all the shows, we had a Q&A, because it was about teaching them English.” 

Afterwards, the cast would travel back to their accommodation. Phillips says there was a lot of travelling across the 10 months, and the team changed accommodation every two to four days.