Benefits of Readers Theatre: An inclusive, participatory, arts-based research approach with youth

Lisa Seto Nielsen; Fernando Nunes

doi:10.25071/1929-8471.166

Authors

Lisa Seto Nielsen
Fernando Nunes Department of Child & Youth Study, Mount Saint Vincent University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25071/1929-8471.166

Abstract

Readers Theatre is an inclusive, arts-based research approach that can be utilized for data collection and data generation. We discuss six benefits of using Readers Theatre in research that was conducted on understanding the experiences of Asian Canadian youth and identity during times of heightened racial tension. The benefits of using Readers Theatre with youth include 1) Readers Theatre privileges the first-voice; 2) it is low-stakes; 3) it is inclusive with direct benefits; 4) it actively engages youth in multifaceted ways; 5) it captures details, feelings, emotions and nuances; and 6) it embodies a participatory approach that enhances validity. Readers Theatre is a novel and engaging approach to qualitative research data collection with youth that offers a way for youth to resist stereotypical discourses and better explore cultural identity within racialized youth.

Key words: Readers Theatre, youth, identity, arts-based research.

References

Adil, M., Galli Francis, A., Khan, A., Maria Vazquez, L., & Khanlou, N. (2024). Implementing Readers Theatre as an arts-based participatory research method in exploring Asian-Canadian youth identities. INYI Journal. https://doi.org/10.25071/1929-8471.155

Bafile, C. (n.d.). Reader’s theater: Giving students a reason to read aloud. Reading Rockets. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/fluency/articles/readers-theater-giving-students-reason-read-aloud

Boal, A. (1985). Theatre of the Oppressed. New York, NY: Theatre Communications Group.

Freire, P. (2005). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum (Original work published 1970)

Glesne, C. (1999). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Longman.

Khanlou N (PI), Davidson D, Nunes F, & Seto Nielsen L. (2019). Arts-based participatory research approach: Potential for exploring Asian-Canadian youth identities through an intersectionality lens. SSHRC Insight Development Grant.

Khanlou, N., Nunes, F., Davidson, D., Seto Nielsen, L., Alamdar, N., & Vazquez, L.M. (2021). Arts-based methodologies: Exploring Asian-Canadian youth identities and experiences. Information Sheet #17 Office of Women’s Health Research Chair in Mental Health. https://nkhanlou.info.yorku.ca/files/2021/05/Info-Sheet-17-Youth-Arts-Based.May2021.pdf?x11491

Khanlou N (PI), Davidson D, Nunes F, Seto Nielsen L, Skop M, Collaborators: Kim H-S, Santos Silva L, & Zangeneh M. (2022a). Asian-Canadian youth identities in a pandemic era: Arts-based research. SSHRC Insight Grant.

Khanlou, N., Vazquez, L. M., Khan, A., Orazietti, B., & Ross, G. (2022b). Readers Theatre as an arts-based approach to education: A scoping review on experiences of adult learners and educators. Nurse Education Today, 116, Article 105440. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105440

Mastrothanasis, K., Kladaki, M., & Andreou, A. (2023). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the Readers’ Theatre impact on the development of reading skills. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 4, Article 100243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2023.100243

Piedade, V.L. & Messas, G. (2025) Psychotherapy of the oppressed: The education of Paulo Freire in dialogue with phenomenology. Philosophical Psychology, 38(1), 189-208. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2024.23161

Seko, Y., Oh, A., Curran, C.J., & King, G. (2022). Transitions Theatre: Creating a research-based Reader’s Theatre with disabled youth and their families. Qualitative Health Research 32(14), 2147–2158.

Slade, B. (2012). “From High Skill to High School”: Illustrating the process of deskilling immigrants through Reader’s Theatre and Institutional Ethnography. Qualitative Inquiry, 18(5), 401–413. DOI: 10.1177/1077800412439526

Stewart Freeman, D., & Welsh, D. (2024). A mixed-method case study of Readers’ Theatre with African immigrant and refugee students. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 1–19. https://doi-org.ezproxy.msvu.ca/10.1080/13569783.2024.2334043