“Such Tweet Sorrow”: The Explosive Impact of New Literacies on Adolescent Responses to Live Theatre

Authors

  • John M. Richardson

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20360/G2V881

Keywords:

theatre, adolescent responses, new literacies, language arts programs, theatre literacy

Abstract

Trips to the theatre are a regular feature of many high school language arts programs, and yet the experience of watching a play is often significantly different for a teacher than it is for a student. Placing “theatre literacy” within the context of the New London Group’s definition of multiliteracies, and drawing on the work of Lankshear and Knobel as well as audience studies theorists, this article compares how a 17 year-old girl and a 43 year-old English teacher respond to a series of plays, and considers how growing up in a wireless world shapes adolescents’ understanding of live theatre.

Author Biography

John M. Richardson

John M. Richardson has a B.A. (Princeton) and an M.A. (Toronto) in English and drama, a B.Ed. (Dalhousie) and an M.A. (Ed.) (Ottawa). He has worked as a writer for the federal government and EQAO, and teaches English at Ashbury College, Ottawa. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to the author, 199 Powell Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1S 2A4. Email: john.mathew.richardson@gmail.com. Follow John Richardson at http://twitter.com/teachlangandlit

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Published

2011-05-03

How to Cite

Richardson, J. M. (2011). “Such Tweet Sorrow”: The Explosive Impact of New Literacies on Adolescent Responses to Live Theatre. Language and Literacy, 13(1), 98–110. https://doi.org/10.20360/G2V881

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2011)

Section

Articles

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