‘Where Imagination Becomes Experience’ - Celebrating Cecily O’Neill

Conference details

Where Imagination Becomes Experience celebrates the life and work of Cecily O’Neill, one of the most influential figures in drama education worldwide, marking her 90th birthday as an outstanding scholar, practitioner, mentor and guide.

For more than six decades, Cecily O’Neill’s pioneering work in process drama has transformed our understanding of drama as an experiential mode of learning, one in which imagination is ‘lived through’, negotiated and made meaningful in collective action. Her writing, teaching and international leadership have shaped generations of educators, students and artists, profoundly influencing drama education research and practice across cultures and continents.

In a world marked by uncertainty, inequality, conflict and rapid change, children, young people, educators and communities are navigating profound social, emotional and educational challenges. At such a moment, this conference honours Cecily’s legacy by bringing together a global community of scholars and practitioners to celebrate, extend and critically engage with her work.

Cecily O’Neill’s scholarship and practice have long affirmed drama education as an imaginative, experiential and deeply human mode of learning, one that invites participants to ‘live through’ complex situations, to think ethically, to act collectively, and to make meaning together. Her work has offered educators powerful ways of responding to difficult times, foregrounding empathy, agency, dialogue and hope as central to learning.

This conference is both a celebration and a call. Through keynote addresses, workshops, panels, performances and conversations, participants will reflect on how Cecily’s ideas have shaped and influenced the discipline of drama education internationally. We will explore their continuing relevance in the present moment, and re-imagine how her legacy will inform the future of the field.

Marking her 90th birthday, the conference affirms drama education not only as a field of study and practice, but as a vital cultural and pedagogical response to the world as it is, and as it might yet become!

An invitation to our drama community

It would mean the world to us to have as many members of the national and international drama education community as possible gathered in Cecily’s country of birth, at this critical juncture in society and education. All delegates will therefore receive a very special and warm Irish welcome!

In the spirit of accessibility and inclusion that has always characterised Cecily O’Neill’s work:

• The registration fee for full time registered students will be €40 (which includes the conference dinner, lunch and teas/coffees)
• The registration fee for employed delegates will be €140 (which includes the conference dinner, lunch and teas/coffees)

We warmly invite participation from all corners of the world.

To request a conference brochure, please email ctreanor@tcd.ie