Empower

The chapter makes space to reflect upon the challenges that face students, teachers and leaders in the professional actor training sector as we try to make way for new methods of training that allow for more inclusivity of individuals and of the ever-changing world around us. This chapter includes a literature-based overview of empowerment and cultural belonging in actor training, unpacking the significance of an empowered system of learning within the actor training model and offering new perspectives that allow for better outcomes both inside and outside the classroom. This chapter contains an edited transcript of a conversation between Anna McNamara, professor, practitioner and teacher, in conversation with Dr Soseh Yekanians, director, theatre practitioner and academic at Charles Sturt University. The discussion explores perspectives of empowerment within actor training and interrogates an empowered approach to learning and teaching as crucial for the performing arts sector moving forward.