Sally D. Bailey

Sally Bailey is a professor in the School of Music, Theatre and Dance at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas where she has directed the Master's program in drama therapy since 1999. She also directs the Barrier-Free Theatre company, a partnership between the City of Manhattan Parks and Recreation program and the Kansas State University Theatre program.

Sally earned her BFA in directing from the University of Texas at Austin in 1976, her MFA in directing and playwriting from Trinity University at the Dallas Theater Center in 1981, and her MSW from the University of Maryland at Baltimore in 1998. After 13 years in professional theatre, she discovered drama therapy and trained with Jan Goodrich, RDT, one of the founders of the North American Drama Therapy Association, in Washington, DC.

Sally has been a Registered Drama Therapy since 1990 and a Board Certified Trainer since 1997. Her drama therapy work has been primarily with people with many kinds of disabilities, recovering substance abusers, and older adults. She is an advocate for inclusive theatre (also called Barrier-Free Theatre or Accessible Theatre) so all people are able to enjoy and participate in theatre on and off stage.

She has written six books:

"Wings to Fly" (1993, Woodbine House)

"Dreams to Sign" (2002, US Department of Education)

"Barrier-Free Theatre" (2010. Idyll Arbor, Inc.) which was the recipient of the American Alliance for Theatre in Education's 2011 Distinguished Book Award.

"Drama in the Inclusive Classroom: Activities to Support Curriculum and Social Emotional Learning" (2021, Routledge/Taylor and Francis)

"The Drama Therapy Decision Tree" (2021, Intellect Books) co-written with Paige Dickinson

"The Drama Therapy Decision Tree, revised and expanded (2024, Intellect Books) co-written with Paige Dickinson

She is the editor of:

"Perform: Careers in Creative Arts Therapies: Succeeding as a Creative Professional" (2021, Routledge/Taylor and Francis) with essays by many creative arts therapists about their work in drama therapy, dance/movement therapy, music therapy, art therapy, poetry/bibliotherapy, magic therapy, and expressive arts therapy.

You can find chapters she has written in the following books:

Generating Ethics and Social Justice in Applied Theatre Curricula. In "New Directions in Teaching Theatre Arts" (2018) co-written with Paige Dickinson

Using Drama Therapy Against Bullying, In "Dramatherapia" (2017).

Including Students with Disabilities in Theatre Education. In "Handbook of Arts Education and Special Education" (2017') Edited by Jean B. Crockett and Sharon M. Malley.

Drama and Action Techniques in University Teaching. In "Arts Integration in Education: Teachers and Teaching Artists as Agents of Change" (2016) Edited by Gail Humphries Mardirosian and Yvonne Pelletier Lewis.

"Telling Stories: The Art and Science of Storytelling as an Instructional Strategy" (2015) online through APA.

Play as a Staging Ground for Performance and Life. In "Play and Performance: Play and Culture, Volume 11" (2011) Edited by Carrie Lobman and Barbara E. O'Neill.

Performance in Drama Therapy. In. "Current Approaches in Drama Therapy, 2nd Edition" (2010) Edited by David Read Johnson and Renee Emunah.

Recovering Identity and Stimulating Growth through Drama Therapy. In "The Use of Creative Arts Therapies with Chemical Dependency" (2009) Edited by Stephanie L. Brooke.

Theoretical Reasons and Practical Applications of Drama Therapy with Clients on the Autism Spectrum. In "The Use of Creative Arts Therapies with Autism Spectrum Disorders" (2009) Edited by Stephanie L. Brooke.

Art as an Initial Approach to the Treatment of Survivors of Sexual Abuse. "The Use of Creative Arts Therapies in the Treatment of Sexual Abuse" (2007) Edited by Stephanie L. Brooke.

Drama Therapy. In "Interactive and Improvisational Drama" (2007) Edited by Adam Blatner and Daniel J. Weiner.

Ancient and Modern Roots of Drama Therapy. In "Creative Arts Therapies Manual" (2006) Edited by Stephanie L. Brooke.

As the director of the City of Manhattan's Barrier-Free Theatre, each year Sally works with a group of adults with and without disabilities to create an original play through improvisation. The topics for the plays are chosen by the actors; they also get to choose what part they have in the play. The Barrier-Free Theatre company performs on the Purple Masque Theatre stage on the Kansas State University campus each April. Come see a show if you are in town!