Digital Study Guides to Enrich the Theatre Experiences of Students and Educators

Montréal’s Tableau D’Hôte Theatre leads a group that’s creating interactive online study guides to help educators and students develop a deeper understanding of each play they see.

Interactive components for more appealing learning tools

A Canadian arts and cultural partnership is developing a series of interactive digital study guides to help facilitate and enrich the theatre-going experience for students and educators. Led by Montréal’s Tableau D’Hôte Theatre, the group includes Toronto’s Obsidian Theatre, Kamloops’s Western Canada Theatre, and the McCord Museum and the Vanier College English Department, both in Montréal. The pilot project will explore the make-up of electronic study guides. Using audio and video components, for example, may help producers build a more dynamic, immediate, engaging and fun platform for learning.

The time is right for digital study guides

Organizers’ research shows that more than 75 percent of respondents would be more likely to take students on cultural outings if they had access to interactive online study guides. Such tools have added value during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping students build digital literacy and explore scripts beyond the stage. Organizers have chosen to focus on three theatrical works in the pilot project: Lorena Gale’s Angélique, Tracey Power’s Glory and Lisa Codrington’s Up the Garden Path. The resulting guides are expected to help young theatre-goers gain a lifetime appreciation for stage works.