Introduction

Please note:

The digital German-English/English-German version of the glossary presented below serves as a point of reference for translations into other languages. In this version, special consideration was given to the specifics of German and English-speaking countries, for example, by making explicit reference to the disciplines of Theaterpädagogik (theatre pedagogy) and Drama & Theatre in Education. As we work on versions in other languages, terms from other culture-specific traditions will be added, making the glossary increasingly inter- and transnational. With this project we comply with European requirements for Open Science. Users worldwide will be able to access the terminological data via FAIRTERM, a web application designed specifically for the storage of multilingual terminological data. It is envisaged to make the data available also via user-friendly apps in the future. 

Manfred Schewe & Florian Vaßen

With this bilingual (English-German/German-English) glossary we aim to create an awareness of the rich diversity of international performative practices, especially in the fields of Theaterpädagogik (theatre pedagogy) and Drama in Education/Theatre in Education, ranging from Bertolt Brecht's Learning Play via Augusto Boal's Rainbow of Desire and Keith Johnstone's Impro to Process Drama*; from drama as a school subject via drama as a method, for example in the field of foreign languages, to performative practices in extracurricular and sociocultural contexts, at professional theatres and in social fields. It also covers some of the basic terminology used in performance art, music and dance theatre, media theatre, puppet and mask theatre. In this sense, the glossary represents an attempt to conceptualize the complexity of practices shaped by the performative arts. The performative turn, driven by developments in theatre, linguistics, and also gender studies, is a paradigm shift in the humanities and social sciences that has impacted on many disciplines, including education. It should be noted that in German-speaking parts of the world, Theaterpädagogik (theatre pedagogy) is the common, widely used term, even though in fields such as foreign language education or therapy/psychology, terms such as Dramapädagogik (drama pedagogy) or Dramatherapie (drama therapy) are utilized; the terms Angewandtes Theater (Applied Theatre) and more recently also Theatervermittlung (theatre mediation) are now frequently employed, and increasing reference is also made to Performatives Lehren, Lernen und Forschen (Performative Teaching, Learning and Research).

As this project has emerged from the culturally specific fields we referred to above, and with its emphasis on collaboration specifically in English-German/German-English speaking contexts, it has a Eurocentric starting point. However, the project also aims at enabling collaboration across different countries using English as a lingua franca, especially with colleagues from regions outside Europe and North America. As users, we imagine drama & theatre in education practitioners who, in a transcultural context, conduct workshops with either a German-speaking or English-speaking group, such as pupils or students. Let us give two conceivable practical examples: 

1.
A German Theaterpädagogin (theatre pedagogue) leads a workshop for an English-speaking group of university students of theatre. Her plan is to focus on a performance-oriented project that temporarily interrupts, disturbs and unsettles everyday actions and perceptions of the participants. The goal is to work towards a performance as alive event, i.e. the project is about the presence of the actors in the presence of spectators and their different experiences.

2.
An Irish Drama in Education facilitator runs a workshop for German secondary schoolteachers. She focuses on process drama and involves the teachers in the creation of an imaginary dramatic world within which issues are articulated and embodied. In the course of constructing the drama, the workshop facilitator uses dramatic techniques to layer more dramatic tension and complexity into the work.

The activities in the first workshop are bound to run more smoothly if the facilitator is familiar with specific English language terms that relate to performance-based work; similarly, the facilitator of the second workshop would benefit greatly if she were able to use German terms that help to explain the characteristics of process drama and specific dramatic techniques.

Moreover, both facilitators would clearly benefit from a knowledge of terms that are frequently used in instructions and in the evaluation of workshop-related experiences. We hope that this glossary might become a useful source of reference for anyone who plans to facilitate a workshop in a bilingual/transcultural setting.

We are aware that the German-English or the English-German translations are only an aid and cannot replace differentiated intercultural/transcultural reflections that can be facilitated at conferences and in research projects.** However, we hope that our alphabetically ordered list might nevertheless be useful and serve as a reference point for further research and practice. Colleagues could also draw on this source in their discussions about the basic and key terminology that students in BA/MA/PhD programmes of drama and theatre-related (sub)disciplines are expected to develop in the course of their studies. We accept a certain schematism, which is inherent in all such glossaries, in the hope that the linguistic barriers in the drama- and theatre-based pedagogical cooperation of German- and English-speaking team members and participants will be reduced. As a review has shown, the common translation aids on the internet, such as DeepL, Linguee, Leo, Pons, are in no way sufficient for the translation of drama- and theatre-related specific terms and expressions.

The comparison between German and English terminology made us aware of how strongly the respective theatre, cultural and political tradition impacts the translation work and, consequently, can cause significant challenges for translators. We have therefore attempted to give a more detailed explanation of a few terms in the endnote section. While translating, however, we also experienced that this complex process has not only made visible the cultural differences between German and English speaking countries and, accordingly, different understandings in the area of theatre/theatre pedagogy, but has also given us a new perspective on our own theoretical understanding and performative practice. This glossary consists of approx. 3000 specific terms that are related to the fields of drama/theatre in education, general pedagogy, the theory of drama and theatre, stage technology, and also of general terms, designations and expressions that are used in theatre work. It is based on standard reference works, dictionaries, manuals, key texts and descriptions of practice. Nevertheless, it represents a subjective selection as it is based on our personal drama- and theatre-related professional experience. Before publication, we presented this glossary to experts, colleagues and friends and asked them to suggest additions and deletions, add comments and give further hints. We would like to thank all of them for their support.***

_{* As a teaching methodology, process drama developed primarily from the work of Dorothy Heathcote, Gavin Bolton, Mike Fleming and other leading practitioners. Eucharia Donnery and Erika Piazzoli, for example, continue to focus in their work on the artistry of process drama in second language education.}

_{** The International Glossary Project was initiated by the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Spiel & Theater e.V. around 2015. At several meetings held in Berlin the participants agreed to intensify the collaboration with colleagues in English speaking countries, and to organise events that would bring colleagues from different countries together, including the 4th Scenario Symposium in 2016 (see report: https://doi.org/10.33178/scenario.10.2.6) and the conference at University College Cork in 2019 ( see report: https://doi.org/10.33178/scenario.13.1.8), followed by a conference in Salzburg in 2021 that laid the foundations for PAC, the new international association for Performing Arts in Contexts. The 1st Annual Meeting of PAC entitled Perspectives in_between Spaces was hosted at the University of Zurich (13-16 October 2022).} 

_{*** Annie Ó Breacháin, Peadar Donohoe, Mike Fleming, Ger Fitzgibbon, Helen Hallissey, Stefanie Giebert, Erika Piazzoli, Tríona Stokes as well as Matthias Dreyer, Ute Handwerg, Ulrike Hentschel, Ole Hruschka, Gerd Koch, Christoph Lutz-Scheuerle, Tania Meyer, Friedhelm Roth-Lange, Mira Sack and Michael Wrentschur.}

_{We would like to add a special Thank You to colleagues in University College Cork (UCC) for their invaluable support: Aoife Coffey and Deborah Thorpe for the time-consuming compilation of the Excel Sheets that served as a basis for the online presentation of the English-German glossary; Maurice Ryder for his expert advice and being so generous with his time to guide us through UCC's Content Management System.}

Abbreviations and Legend of Symbols 

• drama     = dr.  / Drama   = Dr.

•  stage       = st.  / Bühne    = B. 

• rehearsal = re. / Probe     = Pr.  

• theatre     = th.  / Theater = th.

•          →    = reference to another term / Verweis auf eine andere Bezeichnung 

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P