This booklet provides instruction, for junior high and senior high school actors and their teachers, in the basic concepts and vocabulary of theatrical communication. Suggested exercises include practice in combining dialogue and movement, mastering knowledge of stage areas and body positions, and working with scripts on stage. Criteria for…

This booklet provides instruction, for the director of junior high and senior high school plays, in the effective arrangement of characters on stage. Suggested exercises include the construction of still-picture tableaux on stage (using scenes from fairy tales and Chekhov's "The Bear") and the implementation of "blocking"…

The purpose of these lessons is to provide learning experiences which facilitate junior high and senior high school actors' mastery of stage movements when working with scripts. Suggested exercises include practice in finding motivation for actors' stage movements, acting a scene (from "West Side Story"), and interpreting and acting scenes of…

Once an actor or actress has gained experience with basic stage movement and speech, convincing character portrayal may be the next skill to be developed. This package is designed to provide a deeper understanding of character development through careful reading, research, thought, and experimentation. The two related lessons--from research to…

Developed with the recognition that many playwrights have theater in their blood (e.g., Eugene O'Neill was the son of a famous actor), the three lessons in this package present, through experience, the fundamentals of dramatic structure. These lessons for the beginning playwright focus on elements of dramatic plot, conflicts, and crisis and…