How a Drama Degree Led to a Career in Tech
Unpacking skills in an arts degree.
More than once I have been asked:
“How does a drama degree lead to a career in tech?”
It’s a good question so I thought I would explore the skills gained from my degree that link the seemingly different domains.
Drama & Theatre Arts
First, I’ll summarise what was covered in my degree before analysing the skills it helped foster.
Theatre: from the Greek theatron - a place for viewing1
My Honours degree in Drama & Theatre Arts delved into the history of theatre and how drama has been used for millennia to hold a mirror up to society.
Topics studied included theatre’s role in the emergence of democracy, different forms of theatre from around the world, inner motivations for human behaviour, the philosophies underpinning specific plays, and how dramatisations can shape societal narratives.
It also involved learning the practical skills associated with the theatre such as playwriting, stage management, directing, acting, storytelling, and producing theatre productions.
How theatre has been used
Theatre has been used by societies in a number of ways. This includes as a tool to support the effective functioning of democracy.
Theatre as a tool for shaping behaviours
Theatre was used to aid adoption of democracy because it helped the populace develop the kind of behaviours needed for democracy to flourish.
Imagine
Imagine being in ancient Athens as the old system of governance by an aristocratic ruling class is being replaced by democracy. Judgements previously made by the few will now be made by the dēmos, by the people. Individuals from different walks of life will have the power to vote, to make laws, and to decide the application of justice as jurors in trials.
This form of governance involves sophisticated and consequential decision making that many people will not have engaged in before. Such a transformation raises a few questions.
How will people develop the critical thinking skills needed to make fair judgements?
How will they learn to think beyond themselves to what will benefit society as a whole?
How will they consider risks posed to society and the laws needed to mitigate them?
In other words, how will they develop the ability to contribute effectively to the functioning of a democratic society?
Theatre as teacher
The Greeks used theatre as a means of developing these skills.
Subjective engagement
Dramatizations enabled an audience to view topics subjectively and objectively. They prompted the audience to put themselves in someone else’s shoes, to see the world through their eyes and to empathise with their perspective.
Objective analysis
This emotional engagement with the topics caused members of the audience to reflect on them, to critically analyse what they had seen, and to develop a richer understanding of them, informed by a range of perspectives.
“The tragedies damatized deep, difficult, painful issues; they posed terrible questions, and far from conclusively resolved them. But the issues would not be successfully thought-provoking unless the play also captured the attention and the emotional engagement of the audience.”2
Modern versions of theatre - Netflix series, television dramas, films - are just as popular today in democratic societies as the day-long dramas played out in amphitheatres were to the ancient Greeks. They pose challenging issues and provoke deep consideration, aiding the development of empathy and engagement with multiple perspectives.
A career in Tech
So, what does all this have to do with a career in educational technology (EdTech)?
How did an arts degree provide any kind of preparation for implementing digital transformation, shaping skills-based standards or creating blueprints for educational technologies?
And how did it provide a foundation for jobs that didn’t exist at the time I was studying for the degree?
Managing emergence
Teaching, learning and assessment practices have changed significantly over the past couple of decades. As technologies emerged, new opportunities emerged to empower systemic transformation.
This transformation didn’t happen overnight.
Emergence is nebulous, ambiguous, amorphous. Those implementing changes have to be comfortable with navigating ambiguity and bringing people along with them into the unknown.
Implementing change
Implementing transformation, whether that be in an organisation, within a sector or across global education ecosystems, takes consideration of a mix of things. These include:
People and culture
Systems and infrastructure
Knowledge development and upskilling
Working in this context is not aided by mindsets that only adhere to narrow rules or known outcomes. What is emerging by its nature doesn’t have rules or pre-determined outcomes. A creative mindset plays with the possibilities of emerging technologies to see where they can lead.
This requires imagination, critical thinking, and considering different perspectives, such as the experience of different users with a new piece of technology.
It is informed by understanding of human behaviour, systems thinking and an appreciation of human-centered design.
Sustaining transformation
Drama was used as an adoption tool for democracy because by eliciting subjective engagement, it helped shape behaviours and enabled the development of objective reasoning - vital for sustainable uptake of any transformation.
Being able to create a compelling narrative and provoke empathy to ensure active engagement, are techniques that encourage buy-in to transformation and the uptake of new technologies.
Skills developed from a degree in Drama & Theatre Arts
Let’s return to the question posed at the start of this post: How does a drama degree lead to a career in tech?
Just as theatre was used to empower individuals to think for themselves and make fair decisions for the successful functioning of democratic society, the skills developed from its study can be applied to the adoption of new technologies.
Knowledge
The knowledge gained through studying people, the themes explored in plays, and the societal application of theatre, provides a framework for considering complex issues and the interconnected factors that influence them.
Such awareness develops systems thinking, which aids the effective implementation of transformation.
Practical skills
The skills developed through the practical application of theatre arts (e.g. creating narrative and empowering empathy to elicit engagement) can be used to help individuals learn and think critically about new technologies.
This aids successful navigation of transformation.
Behavioural insights
Understanding how inner motivations shape human behaviours, and the ability to see different perspectives, enables human-centred design and consideration of the implications of new technologies on individuals and society.
This aids the sustainable adoption of transformation.
Skills summary
In summary, my academic grounding in drama and theatre arts gave an interdisciplinary foundation to approach education as a societal system and human-centred process. It cultivated an understanding of how narrative, engagement, and empathy support the adoption of new technologies and sustainable transformation.
Many skills will be developed during the course of such a degree but the skills that aided my work in EdTech specifically, include the ability to:
Imagine
Empathise
Understand inner motivations for human behaviour
Develop and communicate narratives
Shape behaviours
Elicit critical thinking
Consider different perspectives
Conduct systems thinking
Manage emergence
Implement change
Prompt engagement and buy-in
Facilitate human-centered design
Other skills I needed to deliver work in the adoption and creation of educational technologies were learned along the way.
The skills gained from my Drama and Theatre Arts degree provided a solid foundation from which to do so.
I provide various consulting and advisory services. If you‘d like to explore how we can work together, please get in touch by contacting me here.
Skills-based hiring series
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https://www.etymonline.com/word/theater
Taplin, O. (1995) Greek Theatre. In J. R. Brown (Ed.) The Oxford Illustrated History of Theatre (pp. 22-23). Oxford University Press.