Editorial – The anchor points of our humanity amidst shifting sands

As the challenges that marked the year 2020 so indelibly on our minds continue to impact, we can identify so much about our lives that has changed, but also value the anchors and touchstones that hold firm. Kathleen Gallagher writes, ‘the social value of art has never been more important . . . Art has become a point of contact, an urgent communication and a hope’ (Gallagher, 2020). This is also confirmed by research that identifies the rise of a loneliness pandemic, with young people being most significantly impacted by feelings of social isolation. The suggestion that ‘schools can be important points of intervention’ (Weissbourd in Walsh, 2021) would be no surprise for readers of this journal. Ongoing rounds of education reviews and course rationalisation mean that educators are continually forced to advocate and argue for their space in the curriculum. Yet, the power of drama and arts education remains potent with the capacity for enabling human contact, communication and hope. This NJ issue captures and responds to some of these concerns and possibilities through the presentation of research from across different sectors. The authors present work that interrogates the experiences of these times for drama educators, their students with their diverse abilities and needs, and ways they have adapted and innovated upon their practice. COVID-19 times have prompted many drama educators and practitioners to come to grips with facilitating drama learning with and through technology. This field of work has historically been taking place on the fringes of our drama education world, but there is a strong body of work pioneered by people including the late John Carroll and many others in our drama education community (see, for instance, Carroll et al., 2006). Many of our readership shared insights into their shifts to online teaching and a broad spectrum of practice when they responded to a ‘Teaching and learning during COVID-19 times’ survey in 2020. Davis and Phillips now present findings from the data drawn from responses by Drama and Performing Arts teachers. The analysis revealed most educators experienced a rapid shift to using different technologies and online tools and an extensive increase in workload. Teachers expressed concern for those students who became ‘invisible’, and for the ‘invisible’ aspects of the classroom and learning that were difficult to replicate online. The research highlighted the importance of the ‘human dimensions’ of learning in our art forms and the important role played by professional networks. While for many teachers, just surviving and getting through was the priority, for some they were able to experiment with using technologies not only for instructional purposes but also for creating and presenting drama, establishing creative and relational spaces and some innovations in learning for their students. The theme of unexpected innovation is outlined and reflected upon by Linda Lorenza through her description of an alternative project that was developed when a planned NJ: DRAMA AUSTRALIA JOURNAL 2020, VOL. 44, NO. 2, 63–65 https://doi.org/10.1080/14452294.2021.1949807