This paper attempts to develop a theoretical framework to better understand the role of people's theater in bringing about social change. First, the paper provides a historical perspective on how people's theater evolved in Europe and the United States. The paper then investigates the rise of people's theater in such Latin American countries as…

This paper, the first of two related documents, presents the findings of a survey undertaken for the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) to determine current practices in Ph.D. granting institutions regarding standards, goals, and objectives of this terminal degree in theater in the United States. The survey presents information…

This paper, the second of two related documents, presents the findings of a follow-up survey undertaken for the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) to determine current practices in 39 Ph.D. granting institutions regarding standards, goals, and objectives of this terminal degree in theater in the United States. The survey presents…

This special journal edition contains research reports on children and the theatre. The seven articles discuss the following subjects: (1) how audiences function in participation plays for young people, (2) creative dramatics and handicapped children, (3) the effect of advance organizers on children's responses to theatre viewing, (4) a Piagetian…

Presents the statistical results for the theater for children component of the ASU Longitudinal Study, utilizing Dr. Patricia Goldberg's interview instrument, which categorizes the free responses of a child audience after viewing a theatrical production. (JC)

Discusses a study of the roles and functions of theater criticism in Palestine and Israel over a 50-year period. Focuses on the social role of drama critics, the norms defining their expected as compared to their actual behavior, and the social, political, and cultural context in which they operated. (JMF)

Reports results of a 7-year study of drama/theater for children, conducted by Arizona State University, with 30 participants progressing from kindergarten to sixth grade. Finds, as children aged, a shift from story to character in postperformance discussion of theater events; a subtle increase of evaluative responses; and that girls were more…

Describes 45 third graders'"dramatic literacy" and the modal sources for inferences. Finds that (1) the more children used visual cues, the more they used verbal and psychological cues; and (2) inferences about the play's theme were related to aural recall of thematic dialogue and what children reported learning from the play. (SR)

Considers how a researcher-practitioner, recognizing the human aspiration for wholeness, makes sense of the jumbled multiplicity of meanings available in the study of culture, education, and mediating art forms such as creative drama, theater in education, and childrens's theater. Describes field work during an ethnographic study at Pit Prop…

Describes a 7-year longitudinal study of drama at Arizona State University that involved 30 participants who started the study as kindergartners. Focuses on final exit interviews with selected participants. Concludes that theater is necessary for some children and that theater may become more valuable if children can be convinced of the personal…

In Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPAs) conducted in 1982, 1985, and 1992 by the U. S. Census Bureau, randomly-selected interview subjects (age 18+) were asked a series of questions relating to their participation in the arts through attendance at live performances, exposure via mass media, personal participation in the arts,…

Intended for teachers of speech and theater, the material in this annual journal is divided into three parts: original research, instructional practices and materials, and Illinois issues. Titles and authors are as follows: (1) "A Study of the Predictive Validity of the Relational Control Paradigm" by Emil Bohn and Douglas G. Bock, (2)…

A gestalt approach to theatrical design seems to provide some ready and stable explanations for a number of issues in the scenic arts. Gestalt serves as the theoretical base for a number of experiments in psychology whose findings appear to delineate the principles of art to be used in scene design. The fundamental notion of gestalt theory…

This survey of publications in speech and theatre interpretation briefly discusses current trends in the various publishing formats. An annotated bibliography is included, citing recent books, dissertations, and periodicals. Also included are tabulations of 1978 and 1979 speech and theatre publications interpretation activities offered at Speech…

Examines, through interviews with two prominent Israeli theatre teachers, the status of children's theatre in Israel at the present, and notes the problems with the types of children's theatre being produced, including the fact that children's plays are too didactic, and that there is little funding to produce them. (JC)