Presents a rehearsal plan that not only keeps everyone on task but also produces stronger scenes. Suggests techniques such as: reading to the wall (suggests having no audience), sit in a circle (recite lines simultaneously), present a teaser, and blocking (find lines where the actors should move). Outlines a rehearsal worksheet. (SC)

This paper presents tips on scripting, staging, and reading Reader's Theater. The first section of the paper discusses tips on scripting--script roles, cuts and changes, narration, script format, and team scripting (children working in teams to write scripts). The second section presents tips on staging, such as equipment, script handling, the…

Presents excerpts from a workshop that actively explores four instructional activities to illuminate the let's-put-on-a-show myth. Notes that the workshop illustrates the National Theatre Standards in action by integrating several aspects of the art form: script writing, acting, designing, directing, researching, comparing art forms, analyzing and…

Creates a general set of guidelines for playgoing. Presents and discusses ideas such as: reading the program, looking at the space, studying the set, listening to the language, meeting the characters, watching the actors, examining the director's influence, and imagining the logistics. (SC)

Adhering to the rule that "costumes are not clothes" and listing 100 musicals under 8 general categories, this guidebook applies a "crossover system" whereby costumes from one show can easily be altered for any other show within the same category. The eight costume styles used in the guide are labeled: Medieval/Shakespearean;…

Defines limits of legal liability of the supervisor of technical theater in a secondary school if a student is injured while working on a production. Presents a system for development of a risk management program. (PA)

This book begins by pointing out that although much has been written on how the drama elements of the English curriculum might be taught in schools, not much guidance is available for teachers who regard drama not as an adjunct of English but as an arts subject in its own right. The book (a collection of articles by drama experts) shows how the…

Aimed at primary-age children, this book brings William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" to them, recognizing that children, properly guided, will take to Shakespeare's characters and stories like "ducks to water"; in the process they find their inner voices, they collaborate, they improvise, and they communicate. Illustrated with…

Interactive drama, a simplified form of drama, is a vehicle through which children can become involved with literature. When preservice teachers are presented with interactive drama in a college setting, it serves as an introduction to the simple, effective learning experiences available through informal drama activities. In an interactive drama,…

This curriculum framework presents a philosophy of arts education, synthesizes current research, and sets learning standards for students from kindergarten through 12th grade in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The curriculum framework's core concept is that experience in the creative process is essential for all learners, and that, in the arts,…