What do students learn from seeing live theater?

In partnership with TheatreSquared and the Department of Theatre at the University of Arkansas, this project aims to use experimental research designs to identify what students learn from seeing live theater performances. In particular, we are focusing on how live theater affects students’ tolerance, empathy, and content knowledge of the dramatic works. To date we have offered school groups free tickets by lottery to see Hamlet, Twelfth Night, A Christmas Carol, Around the World in 80 Days, and Peter and the Starcatcher. By comparing outcomes for lottery winners to lottery losers we are able to identify with confidence the causal effects of seeing these live theater performances. For some of these performances we have also randomly assigned students to see a film version of the same story rather than see the live theater performance. We are interested in whether live performances have certain benefits that cannot be conveyed as effectively by recorded performances. Initial results suggest that seeing live theater significantly increases student tolerance, empathy, and content knowledge.  Those results have been published in Education Next.  New results from additional plays are in the process of being submitted for publication.