Repetition in vocal characterizations and deviant listening perceptions are two major weaknesses of American acting. That is, voices and diction usually sound the same in everything the actors do, but no one perceives it. One reason listening is so deficient is because of the uninformed or incorrect concepts of those who practice or teach acting.…

Despite the amount of attention paid Adolphe Appia and Edward Gordon Craig, a misconception persists with regard to their ideas concerning the actor; namely, that Appia had the actor dominate all the elements of staging, and that Craig considered the actor less essential. However, to both, the actor was both essential and nonessential to the…

One of the rhetorical dimensions on which theatre exists is the rhetoric of production. This implies that the production, through examples, takes and urges an attitude toward the text. This argument provides a foundation for both the nature and the implications of interpreters theatre productions that advocate social issues. Theatrical…

The artistic quality of creativity is not unique to artists but is carried out more skillfully by those who are artists than by those who are not. The artist participates with the rest of humanity in the essential part of creativity, communication, and develops a consonance--a resonance--between the work of art and the audience. The ritual of…

The plays of stage director Robert Wilson are devices presenting alternative modes of perception to theatre audiences accustomed to verbal/aural structures of experience. Uniting his interests in the arts and therapy, his plays create a theatrical event promoting empathy with the perceptions of the mentally or physically handicapped and…

Calls for a joint effort by members of the CTAA to develop a national climate in which theatre is an important part of the lives of young people. (PD)

This discussion of the term "style" as it relates to the arts points to the need for reform in the terminology and the conceptual system of the drama profession. The paper first lists the basic tasks of conceptual and terminological reform and then outlines the steps necessary in reforming a particular term. These procedures are applied to a…

In a review of dramaturgy (the collective techniques of dramatic composition), the concept of structuralism holds promise for treating many of the traditional problems in dramatic theory, criticism and production. Traditional attitudes toward intentions, influences, style, and interpretation have long been dominated by a historical approach,…

An organic approach to style in acting can lend credibility and power to performances and can enhance the clarity and extent of what is communicated to audiences about other social worlds. The organic approach is based on the following principles: mental experience and expressive behavior are inseparable and reciprocal; experience in either mode…

In a speech delivered before the Collegiate Schools, Richmond, VA, a professor of communication and theatre arts gives reasons for avoiding or going into "business of the theatre," concluding that his main reason for staying is "the magic of it all...the moment of sharing between actor and audience." (PD)

This paper discusses the Theatre of the Absurd as a type of popular theater which can be used as a weapon of deconstruction and a tool for empowerment for marginalized social, economic, and political groups. It raises the issue of how institutions, most notably educational institutions, invoke rituals to enforce regimes of normalcy. The…

Notes a resurgence of interest and practice in participational theater. Explains that playwrights, directors, and theater educators have begun to ask questions and seek information about available scripts and guidelines for creating new works. Includes edited remarks by six practitioners who talked about their experiences with participation…

Discusses the necessity of clear speech in the theater, especially in this age of media "watching, not listening to." Finds that theater professionals cannot expect an audience to listen if the language is not spoken as if it mattered. (PA)

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…

This paper analyzes Paul Gregory's 1951 production of "Don Juan in Hell," now considered to be a seminal work in the development of professional and educational readers theatre. The paper contends that the production, which presented a nondramatic work without the usual emphasis on design and spectacle, forced a reexamination of the role…