Discusses the author's experience as a playwright and teacher of public readings of early drafts of new plays. Explains the Five Step Model for these readings as follows: prepare the playwright before the reading; prepare the audience with a precurtain speech; after the reading, establish discussion ground rules; remember these guidelines during…

Describes an effective secondary school theatre program. Covers values, curriculum, production, audiences, class operations, standards, student directors, and pressures. (PD)

Describes three exercises used at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in workshops for students and teachers to get participants on their feet, speaking Shakespeare's language, giving them a kinesthetic experience Shakespeare, and deepening their intellectual appreciation of the language. (SR)

A teacher in the high school drama club recounts the experience of producing a controversial play about teenagers, "Sometimes I Wake Up in the Middle of the Night." Reports initial apprehensions and eventual satisfaction of actors, the drama coach, and audience members. (JG)

Describes a drama workshop designed to teach English as a Second Language. Offers specific exercises which were used to help students learn to introduce themselves, use body language and inflection, use formal and informal language, and speak with conviction. (PRA)

Claims drama in the classroom offers teachers an opportunity to "bring to life" the challenges and triumphs of African Americans. Describes a drama workshop based on the story of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. (NH)

Describes some exploratory and discovery methods which capture interest, stimulate curiosity, and kindle enthusiasm of students as they approach Shakespeare and decide how it should be acted, interpreted, and staged. (SR)

This comprehensive guide for instructors and students is designed for both beginning and advanced courses in directing for the theater. The guide presents the basic concepts of directing progressively and is the only directing text that combines theory with "hands-on" participation units. The exercise-driven guide's approach is totally…

Questions how Western theatre's gender bias is extended and perpetuated by higher education institutions. Examines pedagogical alternatives to teaching beginning acting classes other than with monologue books. Suggests that by focusing on character rather than story, the culture of monologue books does not encourage students to look for aesthetic…

Describes a classroom program in which students adapted and then produced a play based on the adolescent novel "The Chocolate War." Notes group improvisation strategies for adapting internal monologue to dialogue. Argues the advantages of such a project over class discussion and book reports. (JG)

Describes a play written for performance by high school students entitled, "Screams of Tyranny, Cries of Hope," that is explicitly for use in encouraging multicultural acceptance. The play features performative, role playing and interpretation workshops that include both students and educators. Explains the use of performance and its…

The second of four related manuals describing the goals and methods of an established developmental theatre project at the University of Colorado, this manual presents a hierarchical framework and practical guidelines for conducting drama workshops for elementary students, secondary students, and adults. It describes four types of…

A 13-day workshop was conducted in Nigeria to train 60 community development workers in the educational use of popular theater for community-based adult education. Key goals were conscientization (a gradual learning process in which people look critically at their social situation to gain deeper understanding of the root causes of their problems)…