Hello, thank you for this question. To help me out could you please give me the reference you mention in the archive. tim.taylor4@btinternet.com
In interviews about moe, Dorothy says that moe was in her thinking for a very long time. Certainly long before the 1995 publication of Drama for Learning or even the work with her MA students on 1980. However, the formalisation of moe into what Heathcote calls a 'system' can be fairly accurately dated to the late 1970's.
In a recent interview Heathcote herself doesn't mention an exact year but thinks the idea of moe occurred to her while she worked with three boys who were preparing to represent the three wise men in a nativity play. http://www.mantleoftheexpert.com/category/podcasts/
It seems clear that the 'idea' of moe was formulating in her practice for many years before that and before the publication of Wagner's book in 1976. Therefore, the answer in FAQ5 is I suppose accurate in the sense that Wagner doesn't refer to moe in her book as an approach with a name, but it is clearly identifiable in Heathcote's practice from that time.
I hope this helps. The evolution of moe is a rich seam for research.