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This article explores mainstream theatre performances as experienced by students who are taken to them by their teachers, generally for the purposes of fulfilling curriculum requirements in drama or English studies. It explores the significance of the 'cultural frames' through which young people experience these performances and it poses questions in relation to how these frames impact on students' responses and what this means for teachers. The article focuses on a class of senior secondary Drama students and their encounters with two theatre productions, examines the emergence of the 'cultural frames' and their impact upon students' experiences of the theatre event. This article is based on research conducted for a MEd in Arts Education completed in 2005 at the University of Melbourne. It highlights findings relevant to theatre companies in their programming choices and to teachers responsible for the selection of productions for students to attend and to the pedagogy associated with the theatre visits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on analysis of interviews with over 500 young people who attended theatre performances as part of the Australian TheatreSpace project. The paper focuses on one small but critical aspect of the larger project. Asked what they valued in a theatre experience, a significant number of young people spoke about liveness. The paper addresses the question: what are the key points/ideas about liveness that we can learn from listening to the young people? Our discussion includes a consideration of: the comfort or discomfort of presentness; performer vulnerability, risk and uncertainty; proximity to the live action; perceptions of realness; a sense of relationship with the actors; and intensity of engagement. A brief consideration of the implications for teachers and theatre providers concludes the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]