Finds that, despite the 1997 Arizona endorsement of arts standards as recommended requirements for graduation, secondary school theatre teachers profiled in this study are not accountable for, possess no ownership of, and make no investment in implementing the state's theatre standards on a systematic basis with students in their classrooms. (SR)

Profiles how and why a White, upper-middle-class teacher who was trained in aspects of play production and theater education changed her conception of educational drama as she worked in an inner-city magnet school with impoverished, inner-city Hispanic youth. Discusses culture shock, cross-cultural functioning, and survival in terms of ethos, gang…