Honorary Members

Bob began his teaching career in Hamilton in 1959. He taught drama to grade 6, 7, and 8 students then transferred to the secondary school panel. Between 1966 and 1968 he conducted pilot courses in dramatic arts, grades 9 and 10, for the Ontario Curriculum Institute. Later he became a language arts and drama consultant for the Hamilton Board of Education and then the North York Board of Education. In 1973 he joined the Ontario Ministry of Education as an arts consultant. During his years in the Ministry he initiated the development of the support document Drama in the Formative Years, formed the steering committee to gain recognition for dance in the curriculum and chaired the Ministry Arts Group which developed the Arts Discussion Paper and Arts Action Paper for Ontario Schools. Bob is one of the original members of CODE and has given many workshops at CODE over the years. He considers CODE to be one of the most important influences in his work as a drama educator. In 1989, Bob left the Ministry of Education to devote his time to storytelling and writing. He works as an artist in schools with Prologue to the Performing Arts and the Writers Union of Canada - “Writers-in-the-Schools” program. Bob is a course instructor with the Additional Qualifications course – Dramatic Arts Intermediate Basic at OISE/UT. In 2002 Bob was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Royal Conservatory of Music.

David Booth was one of the founders of CODE in the 1960's. During his career in education, he taught drama to grade 6, 7 and 8 students, became the drama consultant for Hamilton, and subsequently for the City of York in Toronto. He completed his graduate degree in England studying with Dorothy Heathcote and Gavin Bolton. In 1973, he began teaching at the Faculty of Education at the University of Toronto, where he taught BEd drama courses, AQ drama courses, and later graduate courses in drama and the arts at OISE. He has been on the executive of CODE several times, and has spoken and given many workshops at CODE conferences during the last 50 years. A popular international speaker, David Booth has authored many books and articles on drama in education, and in 2006 was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Alliance for Theatre and Education.

Professor David Booth
May you rest in peace.

Thank you for your years of service and dedication to CODE.

See video, photo and written tributes to David Booth here.

Helen Dunlop is often referred to as the “founding mother” of CODE. Helen’s strong sense of purpose, need, and vision contributed to the creation of the organization. In the mid 1960’s separate drama courses were finally introduced into the school curriculum. At this time, Helen was an assistant superintendent of curriculum. While drama courses were now being taught by people such as Bob Barton, Chuck Lundy, Marilynn Nixon, Bill Roberts, Margaret Shotliffe, and Michael Wilson, there was still a problem. There was no support for teachers! There was a great need to get all of the enthusiastic, imaginative, energetic people together so they could exchange ideas, develop through workshops and gain strength and moral support. This is where Helen was most instrumental in gathering folks together in 1970 to organize more formally. This led to the first official CODE conference which was held at Queen’s University in May of 1971. With the conference being such a success, an executive was chosen and CODE's first year (1970-1971) began our Drama journey.  Thank you Helen for your vision and passion.

Former educator and drama consultant, Sonja is a poet, storyteller, television writer, producer, host and performer. She has been a CODE member since 1968 and has conducted workshops at CODE conferences for many years. She has written fiction and criticism, ten books of rhymes, raps and songs for children as well as short stories and poetry for the mainstream adult audience. She performs and reads her work internationally and has acted professionally and in community theatre.

Some Awards and Memberships: Council of Teachers of English Sister Maris Stella Award Banff School of Fine Arts Drama Award Canadian Children’s Book Centre First Choice Award Membership Writers’ Union of Canada Canadian League of Poets Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers Canadian Children’s Book Center Ontario Poetry Society

Sonja credits Bob Barton and David Booth for her work in drama in education, as well as performing and reading her works around the globe.

Wayne Fairhead has taught in the Arts, especially in the field of drama/theatre, at all levels - elementary, secondary and tertiary during his 35 years in education. He has been a director, adjudicator, writer and editor of Theatre for Young Audiences’ publications. Wayne has given keynotes and workshops around the world and has been a consistent voice for Canadian Arts, specifically Drama/Theatre in Education, around the globe.

Formerly a curriculum specialist with the City of York Board in Toronto (now the Toronto District School Board) , he has taught at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT), York University and in the US at New York University's Study Abroad Educational Theatre Program in 1995.

He sat on the initial Advisory Board of the Ontario Arts Education Institute. As Chair of the Arts Education Council of Ontario(AECO), Wayne lobbied vigorously for the formation of this Institute. He was a member of the inaugural and subsequent Dora and Chalmers Awards for professional Theatre for Young Audiences’ Committees. He has been on the Board of Theatre Direct Canada for a decade.

Wayne has written and edited many publications including the Remove The Blindfold series and Concrete Daisy and Other Plays. His article "Establishment or Alternative: Two Canadian Models" appears in Learning Through Theatre (1993). TYA5 (1999) published by Playwrights Canada Press is a collection of plays for young audiences that he edited with his late wife, Mira Friedlander.

He is a Former President of both CODE (made a life member in 1996) and The Canadian Child and Youth Drama Association: Drama Canada Inc. Among his many awards, he received the Fabian Lemieux Award in 1998 for his contribution to Arts Education in Ontario.

Wayne, after ten years as Coordinator, has been the Executive Director of the Sears Ontario Drama Festival.

Wayne was Congress Director of the Fifth International Drama/Theatre in Education Association’s (IDEA) Congress in Ottawa, Canada, July 2-8, 2004. In this role he also co-produced the DIRECTIONS: TYA Festival with Susan Habkirk and Prologue to the Performing Arts.

He is currently the Educational Services Consultant for the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People in Toronto. 

Dorothy Heathcote was made an honorary member of CODE in 2008.  She presented at the 2008 Environmental CODE Conference in London via videoconference and enlightened the crowds of dedicated arts teachers with her wisdom, experience and charm. Ms Heathcote is best known for changing the way educators think of drama and its role in the classroom context.  Throughout her life, Ms Heathcote has had incredibly diverse experiences – from war-time parachute weaver to lecturer at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, she has truly been down the road less traveled!  More information about Ms Heathcote can be found at The Dorothy Heathcote Archive, Manchester Metropolitan University

Dr. Larry Swartz was an instructor in the Initial Teacher Education program, as well as principal of Dramatic Arts, additional qualification courses at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE/UT). He has been a classroom teacher and consultant for twenty five years for the Peel District Board of Education. Larry is the author of the teacher reference books The New Dramathemes and Literacy Techniques, 2nd edition and The Novel Experience and has co-written several major language arts resources, including 6 Bold Print titles for classroom use. A popular conference speaker throughout North America, his interests include using children’s literature to achieve expectations, reading response, the talk curriculum, drama and anti-bullying.

Memories of CODE Conferences past:
“In my earlier years of teaching I attended one of the conferences up at Bayview Wildwood. I had just begun teaching Additional Qualification courses at the Faculty of Education University of Toronto and knew that I needed to network with other drama colleagues and enrich my professional development. I have fond memories of attending a workshop presented by David Booth; I also remember meeting John McLeod, drama educator from Australia, and I remember the wonderful ensemble drama that was organized for the evening’s entertainment. Since that time I have attended CODE as a classroom teacher, a drama consultant, a language arts consultant and a university instructor. I look forward to attending CODE's annual conference and have presented workshops for most conferences in the past 25 years.”

Michael Wilson’s original career aspiration of being a jazz trumpeter in Montreal, while faking an undergraduate degree at McGill, led very tangentially, to an early change of course toward teaching secondary dramatic arts in Ottawa, where only one other dramatic arts program existed.  In 1973, he attended the graduate teaching program of the Central School of Speech and Drama, in London, England.   

Returning to Canada, Michael became a school board drama consultant and arts coordinator, during which time he was a lecturer in drama at the Faculty of Education, Queen’s University from 1979 – 1981.  After returning to Ottawa, in 1981, to be an arts department head, he became an arts professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa, where he remained until finally retiring in June 2010. At the University of Ottawa, he introduced a summer A.Q. institute program in integrated arts, in co-operation with the National Arts Centre, the National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian Museum of Civilization.  In 2015, he became the founding coordinator of the Imagination, Creativity and Innovation Cohort in teacher education.  His masters and doctoral degrees from OISE emphasized his continuing research interest of teacher education in the arts and the foundation platforms common to all arts experience. 

Michael was among the first group to form CODE and became CODE’s first President. He has attended over 30 CODE conferences and has given workshops and addresses as well as chairing institutes and been involved in other associated activities.  He has initiated many arts education organizations, conferences, and symposia, as well as serving as a board director for several community arts advocacy associations over many years.  However, for him, CODE has always been home.

Michael has been published in many professional and academic journals, been instrumental in several Ministry Arts documents and spoken at conferences nationally and internationally. He is currently the chair of the National Roundtable for Teacher Education in the Arts (NRTEA). He continues to work with community arts associations, national cultural institutions, and local arts advocacy groups and can be reached at mpwilson@uottawa.ca.

 A caring and generous leader, Jane Deluzio has always been intuitively perceptive about drama and dance in education and the politics around these subjects.

Jane began tap dancing with Trixie Hardy at age 4, followed by ballet, jazz and cultural dance. She was 15 when Miss Hardy’s sister, Ella, who taught creative movement in England, worked with senior dancers. This pivotal experience moved her beyond dance as steps to expressing story and emotion through movement. 

Jane credits David Booth, Chuck Lundy, Norah Morgan and Juliana Saxton for developing her understanding of drama beyond her theatre training as an undergrad. Both drama and dance expanded to include story and emotion as integral to teaching students. 

Jane became a CODE member in 1980, and very quickly, she was a sought-after workshop leader. A dance-drama she created about apartheid using masks, half black and half white, was highly successful as was a workshop entitled “No One Wins a War.” These two pieces blending movement, and character to tell a story were hugely popular with her students and CODE workshop participants. Jane is a first-rate workshop leader who was invited back year after year. 

Jane was one of many talented drama teachers and instructional leaders who built a thriving community of drama education in the former Scarborough District School Board (now part of the TDSB). She was a tremendously influential drama teacher at Albert Campbell CI for two decades, where her impact on her students inspired many of them to pursue careers in drama education - some of whom also became involved in CODE (i.e. Kim Snider and Stephen Wei). 

Jane’s students: 

• Were invited to perform their piece on apartheid for Lincoln Alexander, the first Black Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. He wept openly.
• Were selected to tour Scarborough secondary schools with a drama about Hate Crime in a joint project with Toronto Police. Jane received a Human Rights Citations from the League of Human Rights Canada and a Certificate of Commendation from the Toronto Police Department.
• Created a piece about the importance of drama and movement in teaching anti-racism in the classroom and performed it for Scarborough superintendents.
• Worked with an autistic student who was being bullied to create a piece explaining his challenges and his strengths attended by students and the board’s social workers.
• Performed a drama about bullying at a Safe Schools Conference that resulted in many phone calls from the press seeking details about these incidents. Jane explained that drama captured truth by the creation of character through role, emphasizing deep human emotion through movement. None of these events had happened to her students. 

Jane was instrumental in her advocacy to have dance included in the Ontario Curriculum with full support from Ron Dodson, CODE President. She famously showed up to a meeting at the Ministry of Education waving around her tap shoes, offering to help as they “danced” their way around the inclusion of dance. (See more about this advocacy here). 

Jane is a Life Member of the British Association for the Teaching of Dance (BATD) in recognition of her work on behalf of dance. (Nominated by Ms Hardy) 

In retirement, Jane worked several times with teachers in Estonia and in Kazakhstan who were introduced to role and movement as core teaching practices. She also worked in Austria and Germany with students, teachers, and community opera singers, invited by a former Campbell drama student, a professional mezzo soprano, Frances Pappas. 

Jane’s contributions to CODE are significant. She was invited to return as President in her retirement to support and inspire a new generation of CODEies, bridge generations and enrich the organization. She has brought important institutional memory and a passion for arts advocacy that has steered CODE through challenging political times that included the COVID pandemic.

Jane’s retirement speech and recognition can be found at this link.

When CODE was established in 1970, Judith was still in school; however, she joined the subject association in 1977, encouraged by her last associate teacher, Wayne Fairhead. Judith's extensive teaching career was primarily spent at Forest Hill Collegiate, an academic high school in Toronto. However, her professional journey encompassed a wide array of teaching experiences across diverse educational environments, including rural, vocational, inner-city, and alternative settings. Additionally, she worked as a resource teacher/consultant in Drama, collaborating with both elementary and secondary educators.

During her tenure as a Drama and English teacher at Forest Hill Collegiate, Judith played a pivotal role in mentoring numerous student teachers and teacher candidates from the University of Toronto. She also led a variety of impactful Drama and English workshops for teachers, including a highly engaging session for the Parents' Association at FHCI. As well, her workshop with education students at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) involved an innovative investigation and exploration of a script, demonstrating its effectiveness as a powerful tool for engaging high school students. 

In the mid-1980s, at a time when Drama was not yet a mandated component of the elementary curriculum and prior to the amalgamation of the Toronto District School Board, Judith proposed an initiative to create a video demonstrating the integration of process drama into the elementary curriculum. This endeavour aimed to engage students creatively and cognitively. She pitched her idea to the Arts Coordinator and other influential figures at the Toronto Board of Education. Upon receiving approval for the project, Judith played a pivotal role in assembling a diverse group of participants, both in front of and behind the camera. Among those featured in the video, Drama in the Classroom, is the esteemed professor, author, drama expert, and mentor David Booth. Judith also co-authored the teacher's guide for the video. Drama in the Classroom is now accessible on the CODE website and on YouTube. This resource made visible the incredible impact of drama in education and strengthened the case for curricular drama.

In the 1980s, Judith held various leadership roles in CODE, serving as conference chair for two years, vice president for one year, and president for the standard two-year term. Although she was asked to extend her presidency for another two years, she recognized the importance of passing the mantle to others. Instead, she continued to make an impact by serving on various committees throughout the years.

At a People for Education conference at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, Judith represented CODE and, with Debbie Nyman, co-presented a participatory drama workshop. She also participated in a panel discussion on integrating global competencies across the curriculum. 

Her colleague and friend, Jane Deluzio, proposed an intriguing research project and asked her to participate in it. The project aimed to document the history and role of dance education in Ontario public schools by interviewing key figures who have significantly influenced the development of dance in education. Together, they presented the proposal to Miriam Adams, the co-founder of Dance Collection Danse, who recognized the potential value of such material for the Dance Collection Danse archives, ensuring its availability for both educational and scholarly use. 

With love, respect, and heartfelt gratitude, Judith thanks CODE for being a beacon of inspiration and a guiding light for so many Drama and Dance teachers. She appreciates the unwavering support and guidance CODE provides and feels incredibly honoured to be recognized as an honorary member of such a remarkable community.

Ron was inspired by two remarkable mentors who helped him find his direction in arts education. Fraser Boa, his Grade 13 English teacher at London South SS, brought a floor plan to class for the play The Hostage, which he was directing for the London Little Theatre, and challenged his students to solve a directing problem. That single exercise sparked a lifelong passion. Before long, he was assisting Boa on productions while studying at Western University.

There, he met his second mentor, poet and playwright James Reaney, whose work drew deeply from the landscape and stories of “Souwesto”, southern Ontario. Reaney’s creativity and unconventional approach to teaching revealed that education itself could be an art form. The influences of Boa and Reaney led him toward teaching secondary Drama in Windsor and later in Stratford.

Early in his career, Ron connected with colleagues through the Council of Ontario Drama Educators (CODE). At conferences, starting with Bayview-Wildwood in 1977, he found a professional home - learning new ideas, discovering innovative practices, and forming lasting friendships. His involvement deepened over time, by contributing to revisions of the CODE bylaws, then stepping into leadership roles.

As CODE president during the Harris government’s education reforms, he helped navigate a challenging period. Drama was undergoing its first ever major curriculum revision, and there was no template to follow. Dance was being added, which had its own set of issues, including a Ministry of Education which was reluctant to recognize dance as an art form.

Over the next several years, Ron and the teams he worked with researched, benchmarked, redesigned and reviewed curriculum. They integrated Dance, and found skilled curriculum writers and leaders. Together, they managed multiple phases of writing and implementation that included a brand-new assessment and evaluation framework, secondary course profiles, video exemplars, and province-wide implementation workshops. Though demanding, the experience was profoundly rewarding and shaped the rest of his career.

CODE (now the Council of Ontario Drama and Dance Educators) also connected him to national and international networks. Through Theatre/Théâtre Canada, IDEA (International Drama/Theatre and Education Association), and AITA/IATA (International Amateur Theatre Association), Ontario’s curriculum and arts education philosophy reached a global audience. Ron helped organize the IDEA 2004 conference in Ottawa, with CODE as a partner, and was a member of the AITA/IATA Standing Committee for Children and Youth from 1996 to 2018. His professional travels took him to Portugal, Australia, England, Germany, Scotland, Cuba, Russia, Denmark, Austria, and Norway—often alongside CODE colleagues—where he explored how drama, dance, and arts education unite communities across cultures.

Along the way, Ron was a workshop leader and an AQ Drama instructor. He founded Drama.Focus Arts Consulting Group, a unique business that published drama/dance and theatre educator resources (including “Arts at the Heart: A Practical Guide to Elementary Drama and Dance” (2009), a guidebook for elementary teachers using the Ontario drama and dance curricula), plus numerous plays and handbooks, agency representation for teaching artists, and conference registration services, including fifteen CODE conferences. He was also privileged to be a Contributing Editor for “Two Planks and a Passion” (Kevin Dowsett, England, 2024)

He also served as Curriculum Consultant – Secondary for the Avon Maitland DSB, overseeing implementation across all subjects. His final formal post brought him back to where his career began: six years at Brock University, teaching skills drama and theory to the next generation of Junior/Intermediate teachers.

Since retiring, Ron has continued to contribute to the arts community. Ron was the Artistic Director of the 14th World Festival of Children’s Theatre (Stratford; 2011 - 2016) and is a play and concert producer. He has served on numerous arts boards: Off the Wall: Stratford Artists Alliance, Theatre Ontario, the Gallery Stratford, and eyeGO to the Arts. He is currently a Board member for the Provocation Ideas Festival (Stratford), and KingDom Theatre (Ottawa). As co-chair of the Stratford Arts and Culture Collective, an umbrella organization of Stratford arts organizations with the goal of creating a community-focused performance space, his work to promote the arts continues.

Much has been omitted from this brief account, but throughout his career, CODE was a constant source of guidance, inspiration, and community. Ron sincerely appreciates both this acknowledgment of his work in arts education and the many incredible colleagues with whom he has shared this professional life-long journey.

CODE has been a part of Christine’s life for her entire career, providing pedagogical support, community, and opportunities for leadership. When the position of CODE President unexpectedly needed to be filled, Christine stepped up from her role as Drama Liaison to President to ensure continuity. During her tenure as President and Past-President, she focussed on active service to the membership, expanding the resource bank significantly and offering regional conferences. The inclusion of Dance was fortified under Christine’s leadership, resulting in a revamp of CODE’s constitution and the change of the organization’s name to The Council of Ontario’s Drama and Dance Educators. Christine also managed the Critical Literacy through Drama and Dance project for CODE. Another document created by Christine is the advocacy resource, We Need to Talk About Drama: A Chorus of Voices: Shaping a Future for Drama in Education, which highlights the reflections and observations of diverse drama students, teachers, artists and school administrators. 

Serving as the Education Officer with responsibility for The Arts Curriculum, 2009, Grades 1-8, Ministry of Education, Christine ensured that dance was included as a discrete strand. This innovation was made possible through extensive consultation across the province and with the collaboration of an exceptional team of writers. Christine also collaborated with the French Language Education Officers to develop the Creative and Critical Analysis processes, which have become so integral to our Drama and Dance teaching, Gr. 1-12. The inclusion of the Cultural Contexts and Forms strand was also introduced by Christine. 

For most of her career, Christine was centrally assigned as an Instructional Leader and Curriculum Coordinator at the TDSB. In these roles Christine led her team to provide exemplary professional learning for Drama and Dance teachers, K-12. She also worked closely with artists and arts organizations in Toronto to expand access to high quality arts programming and educational opportunities for all students. The impact of this work was acknowledged by Prologue for the Performing Arts with an award for her leadership and commitment.

tdsbCreates is a legacy project that Christine envisioned and developed through a partnership with The Toronto Arts Council. Her team of Instructional Leaders helped guide and manage the project, which culminated in an art show at a professional gallery and a showcase of performances in a professional theatre. That project continues today, with over 100 artists working in classrooms across the TDSB. Upon her retirement from the TDSB, she was presented with an award recognizing her contribution to pedagogical innovation. Christine was also honoured as a member of the inaugural Toronto Arts Council Cultural Leader’s Lab in Banff.

Currently Christine is a Sessional Lecturer in the Master of Teaching program at OISE. Here she teaches a variety of courses, including PJ and JI Drama and Dance, Intermediate Drama and Intermediate/Senior Drama. Within her syllabi, her stated teaching purpose is to engage teacher candidates as pedagogues, researching their own practice, asking critical questions and contemporizing and diversifying their practice. Her students respond with enthusiasm and a high level of engagement, as expressed here by student Rosamund Small, who nominated Christine for an award of excellence:

Christine emphasises cultural responsiveness in all her work and provides her students with extensive resources and reading lists that celebrate and explore many cultures and storytelling traditions. Art classes examine the stories of our world, and as such tend to bring up political and challenging conversations. Christine welcomes difficult conversations into her classroom while emphasising safety and managing controversial moments with the humanity and human rights of each person at the forefront of her work. Christine's class of MT candidates met up at the end of our term and discussed our time at OISE. We all agreed that Christine's class had been our most meaningful work at OISE/UT, had affirmed our decision to go into education, had made us feel the most connected to each other, and had best prepared us for our upcoming work in schools around Ontario.

A commitment to CRRP is embedded in all of Christine’s work as an instructor, curriculum writer, workshop presenter and speaker. It also underpins her role as co-founder and Principal Editor of Provocations: drama+dance in education, a practice-based journal providing a platform for teachers, students and artist-educators to share their teaching and learning stories and experiences.

Christine’s educational focus and leadership throughout her career have been integral to building both understanding and respect for Drama and Dance so that all four arts are actively embraced by students, teachers, parents and administrators.