The goal of this research project was to assess the effects of an intervention programme based on theatrical improvisation in three different groups of Asperger Syndrome adolescents. It was organised around 2 single individual case studies and one small group, which included 11 participants. Study 1: a 14-year-old female adolescent of high…

Drawing from six-months of action research with spectacle theatre-makers in Chicago, this study explores multimodal, expeditionary practice of teaching artists who apprenticed girls through Redmoon Theatre's Dramagirls program. Concepts of new literacy design and aesthetic experience illustrate teaching in socio-semiotic and material worldcraft,…

In this article, I outline and theorize about a series of three lessons on playwriting I conducted in a secondary English Literature classroom in Singapore using drama improvisation strategies that I name drama-based playwriting, or DBP. I advance the argument that this genre of creative writing is best taught through the medium of drama so as to…

The goal was to assess the effects of a Theatrical Improvisation programme on students' motor creativity. 163 Secondary Education students participated: the experimental group, who experienced a Theatrical Improvisation unit, and the comparison group, who experienced a Drama in Education unit (based on the current Spanish educational law). A…

Students in secondary education often suffer from public speaking stress, but formal education does not provide any means to support the battle with this anxiety. This study aims at decreasing public speaking stress and increasing public speaking competence via an innovative intervention program that is rooted in the principles of…

This article describes responses of a group of adolescent student actors and actor alumni involved in anti-bullying skits arising from a critical case study of the Tolerance Troupe from a small rural and suburban borough in Pennsylvania. Seventeen active members and 19 actor alumni participated in semi-structured interviews focusing on what the…

People who do not know theatre may think the only creative artist in the field is the playwright--with actors, directors, and designers mere "interpreters" of the dramatist's vision. Historically, however, creative mastery and power have passed through different hands. Sometimes, the playwright did the staging. In other periods, leading…

The purpose of this study is to examine whether recreational activities have an effect on the elimination of state-trait anxiety of the students who will take the "SBS Placement Test" which is an exam for transition from secondary school to high school. For this purpose, as well as an information survey which determined the…

This section is full of stories from teaching artists working to clarify what needs to change within their practices and moving toward solutions--whether it's supporting a classroom of learners in new and unexpected ways, reassessing one's approach in the classroom, shepherding an individual child toward success, or professionalizing an entire…

Problem Statement: This study assumes that conflict itself is not constructive or destructive, whereas the path chosen to resolve the conflict is what leads to constructive or destructive results. When individuals resolve conflicts in a destructive manner, they instill feelings of anger, rage, hostility and violence in the people involved. On the…

After teaching in rural North Carolina for about six years, the author was on the verge of giving up on teaching Shakespeare to her students. Although they seemed to enjoy the action and the drama of Shakespeare's plays, the lack of connection between the students and the language and culture of the plays interfered with her ability to generate a…

The residency about which the author writes was with students at The Roeper School in Birmingham, Michigan. This school is unusual in its support for a liberal arts and process-based education. In this article the author, an accomplished director and Teaching Artist, recounts the many engaging dimensions of a student production of "Henry…

Gustave Weltsek, a high school English teacher, has turned to process "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to avoid passing on traditional views and interpretations of the play. He has helped the students to see relevance in William Shakespeare's text by using improvisations to get them talking about issues that are important to them.

The teaching of drama in Scottish secondary schools focuses on: (1) Creating; (2) Presenting; and (3) Evaluating. In engaging with these elements, students at "all" stages are encouraged to develop their own dramas from ideas which are prompted by a variety of stimuli. From a wide range of starting points, students work through the…