Research-Based Theatre Lab Video Resources
Explore the Research-based Theatre Lab’s video resources, showcasing the Research-based Theatre (RbT) methodology through mini-docs, RbT presentations and performances, and interviews with RbT scholars and artists.
Featured Video: Research-Based Theatre with George Belliveau, Tetsuro Shigematsu and Christina Cook
In this presentation with the CREATE Centre at the University of Sydney, Dr. George Belliveau, Dr. Tetsuro Shigematsu, and Christina Cook offer an illustration of RbT, and then speak to the methodology.
Mini-docs
2020
Don’t Rock the Boat
Don’t Rock the Boat is a research-based theatre project about graduate supervisory relationships and enhancing graduate student and faculty wellbeing. The workshops performances provide an opportunity for dialogue about graduate supervision and wellbeing. You may come away with new insights on how to navigate your relationship with your supervisor, an awareness of common tensions and issues, as well as resources available to you and other graduate students experiencing challenges. More recently, this RbT project was adapted to a freely accessible online version called Rock the Boat.
2019
Unload
We all have things we need to unload,” says a military veteran in this 30-minute play portraying a powerful bond between two men who have respectively faced personal loss. When an actor asks his veteran friend to help him prepare to audition for the role of a solider, they embark on a soul-searching journey to address difficult memories. Drawing on his ability to overcome challenges in and out of uniform, the veteran must guide the actor through an unspoken grief that has been haunting him for decades. The heart of the play invites audiences to witness a dramatized version of a group therapy model where individuals unload some of their ‘baggage,’ or trauma, to move forward with their lives. Filled with emotional truth and laughter, this moving and surprising play brings to life research on veterans transitioning home and the lived experience of civilians carrying trauma.
Alone in the Ring
Healthcare students and clinicians with disabilities face unique challenges. A team of researchers, professionals, students, and community members created Alone in the Ring to understand the barriers and resources in the professional lives of people with disabilities working in Canadian healthcare settings. Based on rich stories gathered through a 3-year study, the play offers audiences insight into the lived experience of people with disabilities, while asking audience members to consider how they can contribute to changing attitudes and allyship within the health professions.
Dark Secrets
Dark Secrets is part of a research project being led by the UBC School of Social Work that focuses on Canada’s Residential School System.
RbT Presentations
2022
Research-Based Theatre with George Belliveau, Tetsuro Shigematsu and Christina Cook
Research-Based Theatre (RbT) is a qualitative, arts-based methodology that invites researchers, artists, educators, and research participants to collectively translate and transform research phenomena into theatre. This approach makes use of applied drama and theatre strategies, and at its core rests on two commitments: to honour and ethically explore the research context, and to engage and commit to the art form of theatre. This session explores key aspects of RbT and the tension amid these dual commitments. In this unique online presentation, Dr. George Belliveau, Dr. Tetsuro Shigematsu, and Christina Cook offer an illustration of the nature of Research-Based Theatre, and then speak to the methodology they used to create it.
2021
RbT Online: A Conversation with Tetsuro Shigematsu, Scott Button, and Rzgar Hama
Dr. Tetsuro Shigematsu, Scott Button, and Rzgar Hama consider their experiences transitioning theatre pieces online over the past year and new possibilities for RbT.
Learning Together: An Exploration of Deaf and Hearing Teachers’ Pedagogy using RbT
Simangele Mabena shares a work-in-progress based on the exploration of D/deaf and hearing teachers’ roles and pedagogy in teaching South African Sign Language using RbT, while navigating her role as a researcher. Session Chair: Dr. Susan Cox.
Enthroned – An Online Performance
Enthroned (a compelling depiction of a woman’s journey), performed by Jenny MacDonald, directed by Joe Salvatore.
Enthroned, Post-Performance Conversation
The post-show conversation following Enthroned (a compelling depiction of a woman’s journey), performed by Jenny MacDonald, directed by Joe Salvatore.
Massy Reads: Arts-based approaches to well-being education
A Public Humanities Hub Conversation with Dr. Derek Gladwin, Dr. George Belliveau, and Dr. Graham W. Lea A book launch series co-hosted by UBC-V Public Humanities and Massy Arts Society. This event is co-sponsored with UBC-V Language & Literacy Education and the UBC-O Centre for Mindful Engagement.
Creative Possibilities for Knowledge Mobilization Through Research-based Theatre
Open Circle Series: Creative Possibilities for Knowledge Mobilization: Introducing Research-Based Theatre to Empower Community Voices Presenters: Dr. George Belliveau, Christina Cook, and Dr. Tetsuro Shigematsu.