CREATING ETHNODRAMA

Discover where theatre and qualitative research meet.

This new text bridges art and inquiry, offering hands-on techniques, expert insights, and step-by-step guidance to transform textual data into impactful performances.

Perfect for artists, researchers, educators, and community leaders looking to bring stories to life on stage.

This comprehensive guide explores ethnodrama as a qualitative, arts-based research methodology.

Drawing on decades of experience, I outline an approach that balances artistry and research, from identifying a topic and conducting interviews to scripting, staging, and assessing impact.

With learning activities, key terms, and recommended resources, this book equips readers with the skills to create ethically grounded and impactful ethnodramatic works.

  • "This is a much-needed text from an internationally accomplished artist-scholar who fully understands his methodological approach. Salvatore shares an insider’s perspective on ethnodrama, demonstrating pedagogical acumen and deep knowledge of theatre as an art form. This book will benefit university students at all levels, as well as academics, artists, and individuals working with community groups. It offers a strong literature review, hands-on approaches for conducting ethnodramatic work, and numerous considerations and examples to successfully guide projects from beginning to production (and beyond). I could see using this text in my graduate courses in theatre education."

    —George Belliveau, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, Canada

  • "A critical, comprehensive foundation in both the theory and praxis of ethnodrama as an interpretive method. Written in a welcoming style, this well-organized book is designed for artist-researchers, faculty in multiple disciplines, and students. The author encourages readers to learn his step-by-step, interview-based process, then 'experiment, take risks' to construct their own ethnodramas. Each chapter includes activities to help readers develop needed skills, and the book includes the process involved in moving projects from the page to performance or ethnotheatre."

    —Mary E. Weems, independent scholar; author of Fall and Response; coauthor of Collaborative Spirit-Writing in Everyday Black Lives

  • “An in-depth delineation of a specific approach to ethnodrama and ethnotheatre, essentially framed as arts-based research, with great influence from verbatim theatre. I would use it in class or for workshop training as I see the chapters on how to develop interviews and how to code and analyze them as being very insightful, valuable and clearly articulated. Many mistakes will be avoided by having such a complete, in-depth framing of these processes. And all of the samples and examples that are offered are very helpful as well. It is like preventive medicine for the neophyte artist-researcher.”

    – Stephen Snow/Department of Creative Arts Therapies (Emeritus)/ Concordia U, Canada

  • "This book uniquely and extensively bridges theatre practice with qualitative research. Based on rich experience as a practitioner and scholar of ethnodrama, Salvatore emphasizes the importance of deep listening and attending to embodied expressions as part of analysis. And yet this book is very accessible. Salvatore deftly lays out his approach to ethnodrama, practically, thoroughly, and thoughtfully. This book will be useful to anyone who aims to deepen their work as an artist-researcher—including qualitative investigators interested in performance or arts processes and artists interested in extending their work toward qualitative inquiry. Highly recommended.

    — Julia Gray, editor of Review: An Anthology of Plays Committed to Social Justice

  • “This book is a deep dive into how researchers with or without theatre training can go about creating ethnodrama. It is highly accessible and leads the reader through the steps of producing ethnotheatre, from the drafting of research questions to the ethics of ethnodramatic representation. Salvatore provides in-depth examples of interview protocols and shows the reader how to transform interview transcriptions into a playscript and produce and evaluate the play.”

    — Joseph D. Sweet, Department of English, Theatre, and World Languages, University of North Carolina at Pembroke