In Singapore, resilience lies at the heart of the nation's efforts at building a strong civic culture. For those experiencing urban poverty, resilience holds little weight against the national rhetoric of self-reliance and meritocracy as keys to success. This paper presents a three-way conversation between the researcher, applied theatre…

In this article, the author relates his experience working for the Department of Education as an "arts content coach" and visiting in rural Alaska's schools. He shares how he is guiding the youths in analyzing the visual elements of stage pictures so that they can create their own tableaux of important historical inventions. He asks some…

Addresses issues of power and diversity, and describes how the production team for Houston's play about Amerasian experience wrestled with the problem of "what is represented and who is authorized to represent it." Explains the reasons for the close attention to detail, and cites examples in which authenticity had to be sacrificed for…

Analyzes the issue of censorship in relation to how it has influenced anti-apartheid South African playwright/director Mbongeni Ngema's theatrical style and the evolution of his style from the socio-political context in which he works. Illuminates the playwright's strategies for overcoming censorship. Discusses his most well-known work,…

Interest in oral traditions has benefitted the field of interpretation in two ways: a new emphasis on the social and cultural contexts of performance, and an expanded perspective on performance manifestations. In Richard Schechner's concept of "restored behavior," the interpreter engages in a reconstruction of living behavior independent…

Recalls how theater in the United States celebrated the Bicentennial by offering "Yankee Doodle" by Aurand Harris. Explains that although the characters were considered to be quite progressive, the absence of a larger female and minority contingent means that the target audience remains the white male. Concludes that it is important to…

This interview with Mexican-American, Octavio Solis, considers that many facets of his education and experience in the theater. Solis, interviewed by Bob Yowell, Northern Arizona University Theatre Department faculty member and that campus' producer of Solis' play "El Paso Blue," touches on the importance of his acting experience when…

By adopting some of the methods used by ethnographic researchers, performance artists/researchers can "step out of" their own culture, providing the necessary distance for the reporting of the event under investigation. Dwight Conquergood uses ethnographic research to be able to "step into" the culture under investigation and…

Although "theory" has been used increasingly in analysis of literary texts, performances, and historical events, theater history has been slow to appropriate this approach. New Historicism insists upon understanding literature as the product of a particular time and society in which it was written or produced. It gives attention to…

Discusses some of the problems the author encountered in staging a production of Marsha Norman's "'night, Mother" in Moscow. States that the area of largest concern was cultural variables, and whether a Russian audience would be able to understand some of the references. Concludes that, despite cultural differences, the audience was…

Educators today may find a historical review of the Howard Players at Howard University (Washington, D.C.) in the 1920s important because of its implicit commentary on what constitutes community. While the Howard Players are generally written about in terms of the development of an African-American theater, historians ought also to think of their…

Attempts to apply elements of Japanese theatre to western productions, though commendable, are frequently unsuccessful. Effective use of the Japanese theatre's acting or production techniques requires knowledge of the forces producing its specific styles and techniques. Noh and Kabuki drama harmonize music, dance, and drama to create an awareness…

Karaoke (singing along to music videos) has swept Taiwan with such force that many people go to singing schools to improve their singing. Three cases in this paper demonstrate how the ethos, or credibility, of the singer is a combination of initial and derived ethos. Who the singer is tends to determine how much attention he or she receives…

Addresses the problem of writing and producing plays that do not meet the needs of a multicultural audience with varied backgrounds and values. (JC)

Examines the role of critical language in film criticism. Compares and contrasts Monroe Beardsley's philosophy on film aesthetics with the New Criticism. Outlines some of the contributions Beardsley has made to the study of film criticism. (KM)