Examines three contemporary plays for young audiences that feature adolescent female protagonists to examine the treatment of adolescent girls'"coming of age" issues regarding sexuality, body, and identity. Finds that all three protagonists grapple with self-consciousness and cultural norms regarding beauty and explore their struggles…

Presents a scene from the multimedia performance of "We're Not Nice Little Old Ladies." Notes that the performance was the culmination of a 3-year research project called "Stories of Ageing" intended to explore what ageing means from the point of view of the older woman. (SG)

Examines the invisible incorporation of constructions from the Victorian and Progressive eras regarding children, women, and theatre art, into the field of child drama. Discusses child drama as a moral calling; women and the gendered status of child drama; child drama as an amateur field; child drama as education in democracy; and the construction…

Applies feminist dramatic criticism to the texts of 18 plays produced in the 1994-1995 season by three preeminent Theatre for Young Audiences companies. Finds a high proportion of characters who do not display typical gender-role stereotyping, but finds that most female characters are objects of adult exchange who rarely have power. Discusses four…

Examines C. Chorpenning's 1940 children's play and compares it with S. Zeder's 1983 children's play. Reveals how the plays are deeply embedded in dominant cultural attitudes of their time and in historically situated models of female adolescence and yet are resistant to these same narratives. Discusses how they have contributed, positively and…

Examines five versions of the Cinderella story. Argues that children's fairy tale drama presents female beauty as a moral absolute, not merely as a physical characteristic. Cites feminist theories of the female body to demonstrate ways in which fairy tale drama establishes female beauty as an unchanging, "universal" concept. Considers…

This collection of papers includes the following: "Preface" (Keith Gregor); "Cultural Nationalism and the Irish Literary Revival" (David Pierce); "Transitions in Irish Miscellanies between 1923 and 1940" (Malcom Ballin); "Born into the Troubles: Deirdre Madden's 'Hidden Symptoms'" (Tamara Benito de la…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 17 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the relative effects of two creative drama approaches on the dramatic behavior and mental imagery ability of elementary school students; (2) the history of the…