Creating Ethnodrama A Theatrical Approach to Research

by Salvatore, Joe

• ISBN13: 9781462557707
• ISBN10: 1462557708
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2025-07-16
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

Filled with sample research questions, interview protocols, script excerpts, and staging tips, this book explains the "whats," "whys," and "how-tos" of using ethnodrama as a qualitative arts-based research methodology. Joe Salvatore draws on decades of experience as an ethnodramatist and educator to present his unique, ethically grounded, step-by-step approach. Readers learn how to balance artistry and research as they identify a topic and research question, recruit participants and conduct interviews, code and analyze interview data, arrange findings into a script, stage a performance, and invite an audience to view and interpret the play. Ways to assess an ethnodrama's effectiveness and impact are also addressed. Instructive features include end-of-chapter learning activities; bolded key terms and an end-of-book glossary; and suggested studies, plays, and performance pieces for further engagement.

Author Biography

Joe Salvatore, MFA, is Clinical Professor of Educational Theatre at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University (NYU), where he teaches courses in ethnodrama, verbatim performance, community-engaged theatre, and new play development. He also serves as Vice Chair for Academic Affairs for Steinhardt's Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions. In 2017, Mr. Salvatore founded the Verbatim Performance Lab, which, under his direction, has created over 25 video and live performance projects and has facilitated outreach and education programs throughout the United States. He is a recipient of honors including the Johnny Saldaña Outstanding Professor of Theatre Education Award from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Faculty Award from NYU, the Teaching Excellence Award and the Champions of Equity Gender and Trans Justice Award from the Steinhardt School, and the Dedication to Education Award from the NYU LGBTQ Student Center. Mr. Salvatore is a cluster member of the University of British Columbia’s Research-Based Theatre Collaborative, a collaborating faculty member with Arts & Health @ NYU, an advisory board member for Artists’ Literacies Institute, an alumnus of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and a member of the Dramatists Guild of America.

Table of Contents

1. Definitions, Contexts, and Preparations
2. Designing a Project
3. Data Collection
4. Data Analysis and Interpretation
5. Scripting: Getting Started and Basic Scripting Conventions
6. Scripting: Complex Scripting Conventions, Finding an Ending, and Drafting
7. Creating Ethnotheatre
8. Evaluating Ethnodrama
Conclusion
Appendix
References
Index