Describes a project in Missoula, Montana, where participants create shows based on personal experiences and issues for educational purposes. Notes that although the project has an educational specialist and drama coordinator, the project belongs to the adolescents, who create policy. States that drama sessions include improvisation, role playing,…

Discusses the production of an autobiographical play about the Holocaust, "Who Will Carry the Word?" by Charlotte Delbo. Notes that the play is in three acts, needs a large female cast, and was mounted by the Teen Repertory Company of the Oddfellows Playhouse of Middletown, Connecticut. Describes rehearsal techniques and audience…

Describes the creation of a theater-based program for eighth-grade students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (Georgia) Schools. Chronicles the efforts of playwright Ed Shockley to write a play focusing on teen violence and aimed at eighth-grade students. Concludes that the program and the play succeeded in accomplishing their goals. Relates three…

Notes that assessment and evaluation models, even portfolios, measure impact over fairly short periods of time. Discusses how transformative moments happen out of educators' line of vision and sometimes long after these students have left the classrooms and rehearsal halls. Discusses instances when teens isolated the content of the play they were…

Describes a 10-week drama production project to create a scripted piece that suits adolescent actors. Notes that there is a scarcity of suitable scripts for middle school performers. Details the process used in the hope that others who face similar frustrations may learn from and adapt it for use in their own educational environments. (SC)