An analysis of the first articulation of drama therapy: Austin's ‘Principles of Drama-Therapy: A Handbook for Dramatists’ (1917)

The article offers the field the first analysis of the earliest book on drama therapy: ‘Principles of Drama-Therapy: A Handbook for Dramatists’ (Austin, 1917). It reviews the nature of accounts of drama therapy's history in the literature, and includes an analysis of Austin's work in relation to the field's accounts of its own history and in creating dialog with contemporary concerns in drama therapy literature. The review argues that Austin's contribution to the theoretical origins of drama therapy offers a historical, theoretical perspective for contemporary concerns with performance and the nature of different aspects of theater process in relation to healing.