Not not doing therapy: Performer training and the ‘third’ space

This article addresses staff- and student wellbeing in performer training by acknowledging and engaging with the role of the pedagogue in the complex grey area of training where we are not doing therapy, but also not not doing therapy. In doing so it seeks to open up for scrutiny and productive exchange an aspect of training that is often present but rarely discussed in pedagogical terms. The article highlights ways in which the transdisciplinary ‘third space’ between training and therapy draws attention to itself in training moments, and conceptualises this ‘third space’ by drawing on notions of ‘being with’ and ‘thirdness’ in radical pedagogy and relational therapeutic approaches. Drawing on autoethnographic examples of teaching practice, the article then looks at this ‘third space’ of complexity more closely as a reality that many teachers live in; begins to outline some of its possibilities in relation to the notions of resourcing, rhythm, and radical believing; and through that, proposes implications for future practice.