"It starts with trying to meet the needs of the children...giving voice to their individuality, framing their ideas, and using the power of drama to excite them..." -- Anne H. Thurman, educator and mentor

When I first met Anne H. Thurman in the mid-1990s, she was one of the longtime dynamic forces behind the Illinois Theatre Association's (ITA) annual Children's Theatre Conference. I was always impressed with her down-to-earth commitment to lending a creative hand to aspiring artists/teachers and sharing professional advice many years after retiring from Northwestern University, where she served as a full-time theatre professor (with a focus on creative dramatics/children's theatre) from 1972 to 1985.

Earlier this month, Thurman received the 2003 Medallion of the Children's Theatre Foundation, honoring her 'as a national mentor of theatre for children and creative drama education for the children of America.' The award was presented to her at a lunch at Sardi's in New York.

'Once you've done everything,' says Thurman, 84, in the garden-framed sunroom of her Skokie home, 'you help others.'

But the pioneering educator'who designed theatre curriculum for Evanston elementary schools from the 1950s to 1980s'has spent her life helping others integrate the arts into their daily lives. She persevered, even when a stream of budget cuts threatened'and continue to endanger'theatre education.

Her drama programs always emphasized empowerment and imagination. The children she taught were encouraged to write about and perform their own material based on their own experiences. And her lesson plans integrated drama as a valuable tool for better understanding of literature, science and math.

In one of the curriculum handbooks she developed with a team of educators from the American Association of Theatre for Youth and the American Association for Theatre in Secondary Education, Thurman stresses theatre's impact on a child's overall development: 'While some students demonstrate special talent and should be assisted in preparing for professional drama/theatre and related careers, all students are entitled to share in drama/theatre experiences which encourage them to develop their internal and external resources, to explore their creative potential, to investigate the social and historical context in which they live, and to expand their critical acumen.'

Beyond the theoretical language, Thurman set out to put her young students in touch with their humanity.

Today, she remains committed to those values and continues to be active in various associations. As she shares milestones along her path as a prominent theatre educator, Thurman reveals the continuum of progressive teaching she was exposed to'dating back to her first introduction to theatre in 1927 (at the age of 8).

Thurman grew up on a farm in southern Indiana. Both her parents had college degrees: her mother taught home economics; her father taught agriculture. Although she was exposed to art and music at her small school, drama was off the radar'until an intrepid teacher, Martha Frances Brantley, came in to teach dramatic arts classes. They may have consisted of reciting Shakespeare and poetry, but these early drama experiences captured the young Thurman's imagination. She even took private theatre classes with Brantley and soon dreamed of becoming an actress.

Her high school did not have a formal drama program. When asked if she starred in school plays, Thurman responds'in her deep smoker's voice''I don't remember my junior or senior play. They were probably directed by the biology teacher.' The fact that drama was not deemed as vital as the rest of the standard subjects drove the young educator-activist to push for extensive theatre curricula throughout her life.

Brantley suggested she attend Northwestern University even though, as Thurman recalls, 'no one had ever heard of Northwestern in my part of the world.' She got accepted and arrived in Evanston in 1936. Thurman admits with a laugh'between puffing on a Marlboro and nibbling cashews''I was not exposed to that much theatre. I saw my first professional production when I was a senior in high school. It was Tobacco Road in Indianapolis. I came from a country school. So the passion for theatre at Northwestern at that time was such a new experience for me.'

Northwestern shaped her life and teaching aesthetic. Here, Thurman met one of her most influential mentors: Miss Winifred Ward, an early force in the non-scripted approach to children's creative dramatics. Ward, whose teachings were rooted in the child-centered theories of John Dewey, emphasized creative drama not geared only for training actors. 'Her basic idea,' says Thurman, 'was to use literature as a starting point for allowing children to play roles.' In fact, Ward has been credited with inspiring Northwestern's trademark style of adapting literature for the stage.

At the time, Thurman also was drawn to the Children's Theatre of Evanston (then under Northwestern's umbrella), where she worked as a costumer while getting her B.A. in speech. Shortly after enrolling, Thurman volunteered as an usher for Ward's children's shows and was bowled over by the care and professionalism of these original productions. The Northwestern theatre students portrayed adult characters, and area children played the kids' roles.

'This structure,' notes Thurman, 'didn't demean the college students, and it allowed the children to be honest, sincere and work at their level. It was not about pushing them beyond their limit or to be stars.'

She went on to direct a number of shows for the Children's Theatre of Evanston. During our conversation, it's clear that Thurman revered 'Miss Ward''an elegant white-haired woman whose photograph is displayed in her living room. In fact, during her freshman year, the educator was so taken by one of Ward's speeches that she wanted to take her creative dramatics class right away'only to learn that she had to wait until her junior year or a certain number of credit hours.

'Well, I was going to be damned if I'd have to wait to take Miss Ward's class,' Thurman good-naturedly snaps. 'So I got those credits by crewing on a lot of shows in the summer. That's how I got into her class during my sophomore year.'

When Ward kept pushing Thurman to work harder and even suggested she re-think her acting goals, the then-theatre student 'realized very soon that I belonged in education.' Ultimately, she recounts, 'Miss Ward helped me to feel more at home in the classroom than on the stage.'

After observing a series of creative drama programs, Thurman began student-teaching during her senior year. After graduation, she taught drama at many Evanston schools, like Nichols and Haven, and'between 1943-47'she was on the faculty of New Trier High School in Winnetka. After her son was born in 1948, Thurman took time off and, by the mid-1950s, returned to teaching. In 1963, she received her M.A. from Northwestern and later joined the theatre faculty.

She credits Ward with instilling in her a teaching philosophy that respected the child: 'It starts with trying to meet the needs of the children,' explains Thurman, 'and valuing their ideas and point of view.

'It has to do with giving voice to their individuality, framing their ideas, and using the power of drama to excite them and to help give some form to their expression.'

She believes creative drama makes this possible. For Thurman, 'creative drama is the improvisational, non-exhibitional form of drama in which participants are led to imagine, enact and reflect upon human experience.' They use no script. Instead, the theatre they create is improvised based on their own experiences or those suggested by the instructor. During this process, she believes, they 'explore what it means to be human.'

Her devotion to creative drama does not mean she's entirely against scripts. One of her main goals was to get students to make their own theatre. When she was teaching eighth grade, Thurman would often read story versions of Shakespearean plays, then have her class improvise scenes based on what she read.

'I felt,' she says, 'this would lead them to a deeper study of Shakespeare in high school. While they were still in the eighth grade, they would get to know these plays in not such a formidable way. They wouldn't be intimidated by them.'

Next to Ward, Thurman credits British drama educator Dorothy Heathcote with demonstrating how theatre could be used to empower disenfranchised people'from the mentally ill to abused women to prisoners. Thurman met Heathcote in 1969 and, in the early 1970s, spent time in England observing the educator's all-encompassing approach'one in which the teacher/director acted as a facilitator and individuals naturally dramatized their stories (and the issues surrounding them).

'Dorothy just opened out a broader, deeper, different look at the use of drama,' says Thurman. 'She wasn't trying to teach drama. It was about relating drama to the total curriculum and to the total person.'

Thurman incorporated Heathcote's documentary films into her classes for teachers. As a member of numerous associations, she coordinated many distinguished artists and scholars in theatre from around the world to speak at symposiums and seminars. She has been organizing children's theatre conferences since Ward began them in 1944.

'I can't stress enough the power and importance of belonging to professional associations that promote your ideals and values,' she states. 'Miss Ward always said that, 'if you're going to be a professional, you better profess something.''

While immersed in children's theatre education, Thurman had an opportunity'in the late 1970s'to apply her theories to professionals in the geriatrics field. The project, spearheaded by Northlight Theatre and centered on workshops with seniors, resulted in the publication of the book, 'Drama Activities with Older Adults: A Handbook for Leaders,' by Thurman and Carol Ann Piggins. In it, they prove their theory that 'creative drama is an effective tool for meeting the psychological and emotional needs of older adults.'

In the preface, the authors parallel the use of creative drama for children with the aging population: 'Since creative drama depends on spontaneous, not scripted interchange, it could keep participants in the present, the now, but allow them to draw on all the memories of the past. We felt this kind of drama could overcome a sense of powerlessness and dependency since it places the player in the center of decision making and could bring about a shift from preoccupation with self and physical needs to a concern for needs of the group.'

Thurman is a living example of one who has 'a keen sense of others.' And, while her schedule may not be as intense these days, she still gives advice to theatre educators, helps professionals in the field network and subscribes to many theatres.

'I'm in the process of un-burdening,' says Thurman as she lights another Marlboro. 'I'm simplifying and reducing my life...What I've found to be most true is that you have to follow your passion and find satisfaction in whatever you do.'