For those analyzing oral interpretation performance, the theory of Symbolic Interactionism can be used to explain two interrelated phenomena that occur during the performance: expanded understanding of the text (emergent meaning) and expanded understanding of oneself (development of the self-concept). George Herbert Mead, a founder of Symbolic…

Within the realm of forensic oral interpretation, concern over the use of profanity in presentations has aroused repressive criticism from some judges, who then express their offense by ranking the performance negatively. This judicial opposition is deleterious not only to the precepts of oral interpretation, but also--in a larger sense--to the…

Most performer-writers accept the writing process simply as a means to an end: the shared performance event with a live audience. While writer-performers regard a script as more important than the performance, a solo performance is, however, a showcase of the artist's talent, and creating one's own text offers the performer artistic control. Some…

This paper discusses speech communication's expansion as a discipline and its relation to the rest of the humanities. Focusing on the interpretation of literature, a speech communication course that relates to several other fields of study, the paper stresses the individual development that can occur through the experiences offered by the study of…

Defninig rhetorical analysis as a means of studying writer/audience relationships allowing both intrinsic and extrinsic analysis, the author discusses the three sections of Levertov's poem, "From a Notebook: October '68--May '69." Section 1 is the speaker's personal comparison of her associations with life and death, comparison of…

To determine if a relationship exists between peer selection and success in the basic oral interpretation class, 98 subjects from eight introductory classes of oral interpretation were asked during a testing period to rank each other on the criterion of "Who would you like to work with on the next project in this class?" The ranking was…

One of the primary principles of Readers Theater is to "dramatize" literature in classroom performance and to provide a visual and oral stimulus to students who are unaccustomed to using imagination to appreciate literary texts. Readers Theater may be used to enhance the critical study of language; to explore author meaning or point of view; to…

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…

Reading aloud is a rhetorical act. Its purpose is always to communicate, which is a transactional form involving the oral reader and at least one real or imaginary listener. Whenever a person reads aloud, the reader has some intent of reading to someone. In all such situations, readers interpret orally for the mood and meaning that seem…

Readers theater is a dramatic art that directs attention to the words of a text. During a performance, a reader (rather than an actor) presents and interprets the work within a narrative context intended by the author. In this project, the text, a collection of the words and writings of a woman known as the Peace Pilgrim, tells the story of her…

From the beginning, readers theatre performances generally have been held in academic or theatrical settings and have relied heavily on literary scripts. Now, readers theatre performers are finding a wider range of audiences and materials for their use. Among these special audiences are elementary and secondary schools, schools for the physically…

Mark Twain was a strong proponent of the superiority of the spoken word. Realizing the importance of conversational style, Twain derived from and acted in accordance with the principles of communication effectiveness which subsequently formed theoretical bases for communication instruction by such scholars as James Winans and Charles Woolbert. An…

Mass education in the United States from its inception was concerned with inculcating routine abilities, simple computation, reading basal texts, and reciting religious and civic codes. It did not take into consideration interpretation or creativity. Native Americans have had difficulty fitting into this mold of standardization. Traditional Native…

Eight coaches of oral interpretation from colleges across the United States were asked to tape record the coaching sessions that brought eight novices to tournament readiness. All of the students used the same three-poem program on the general theme of animals and children, but each student was required to write the introduction and transitions.…

To analyze the usefulness of forensics judges' written comments and to understand how to improve ballots, a content analysis of 175 ballots from schools in a competition district was conducted. Categories for analysis included the following: (1) quantity of comments; (2) format of the ballot; (3) types of comments (including selection,…