Describes a theater course which engages senior high school students, through a series of units, in the creation and staging of an original script for young children. Lists the units: (1) creation of the script; (2) rehearsal and pre-production; and (3) production. Enumerates the students' responsibilities and reflects on the collaborative…

Recounts that the Dickinson Theatre Project has been active not only in the advocacy of drama in the elementary classroom, but also in the support and development of weekly one-act productions, the creation of student-produced plays, and the development of full-length productions with casts and crews as small as 25 and as large as 250. (PA)

Describes a project to help student actors "get into character" thoroughly and empathetically. Notes that 10th, 11th, and 12th graders interviewed many people in a conflict-ridden school community, recorded and transcribed the interviews, took notes on interviewees' gestures and characteristics, and represented those people as faithfully…

Interviews the founder of the Young Actors Guild (YAG) of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Finds that the work of YAG can be described as "high concept" or artistically daring, yet highly inclusive--casting everyone who auditions. Discusses the influences that shaped the founder/director's work. (PA)

Discusses designing and implementing five-day drama residencies in public schools on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. States that residencies integrate with subjects being taught and the teachers tell what content they wish to pursue through drama. Gives a day-by-day plan for using works by Toni Morrison in drama. (PA)

Describes a theater exercise designed to help students develop sensory skills and learn improvisational skills at the same time. Explains the four steps: getting into the drama, mixing in sensory skills, deepening the drama, and finishing up. States that the exercise is valuable in teaching students skills that are difficult to teach with…

Presents excerpts from a workshop that actively explores four instructional activities to illuminate the let's-put-on-a-show myth. Notes that the workshop illustrates the National Theatre Standards in action by integrating several aspects of the art form: script writing, acting, designing, directing, researching, comparing art forms, analyzing and…

Moves educators to reflect on their practice of inclusion/exclusion and what constitutes authentic participation in theatre education classrooms. Believes that teacher education should strive to reconceive, or eliminate, the concept of "youthland" (the separation of young people from adult society) by preparing teachers who will treat students as…

Highlights the power of theatre to engage students in learning and shares the author's discoveries with heartfelt humility and self-awareness. Illustrates how a shift in her thinking led to a shift toward learner-centered instruction which led her to engaged student participation. (SG)

Describes how Foster High School, Tukwila, Washington, joined forces with Walworth, a London secondary school, to write a play. Reports that, after some Walworth teachers visited Foster, the project got underway, with a group in each place writing part of the play, and another group revising. Notes that the play was finally performed at Foster…

Describes a four-hour drama session, held one hour for each of four weeks, in which 15 girls and one boy ages six through eight participated with 17 college participant observers in a 1991 Children and Drama course, during which a drama teacher came to a "different" playmaking process, guiding children to direct their own dramas, without…

Discusses how the elements of ritual may be exploited to provide optimal learning experiences not only for young people but also for teachers. Describes the evocation of a framed liminoid experience (an experience of flow framed by components of a ritual process) in the context of a castle excursion for university students. (PA)