Repetition in vocal characterizations and deviant listening perceptions are two major weaknesses of American acting. That is, voices and diction usually sound the same in everything the actors do, but no one perceives it. One reason listening is so deficient is because of the uninformed or incorrect concepts of those who practice or teach acting.…

An organic approach to style in acting can lend credibility and power to performances and can enhance the clarity and extent of what is communicated to audiences about other social worlds. The organic approach is based on the following principles: mental experience and expressive behavior are inseparable and reciprocal; experience in either mode…

Discusses mask building as a theatrical exercise. Provides a simple method for building masks. Outlines a format for the classes that follow mask construction, in which a character is gradually built to suit the finished mask, including the birthing process, physical character and voice development, getting to know the character, and what happens…

Relates experiences as a recruiter for college theater programs in Florida. Provides tips for students in finding an appropriate monologue, developing the audition, and performing the audition. (PA)

An American press history teacher develops student interest in his topic by masquerading as major personalities in the history of journalism. (RL)

This interview with Mexican-American, Octavio Solis, considers that many facets of his education and experience in the theater. Solis, interviewed by Bob Yowell, Northern Arizona University Theatre Department faculty member and that campus' producer of Solis' play "El Paso Blue," touches on the importance of his acting experience when…

Successful approaches to a more theatrical classroom performance of literature initially depend on a student performer's critical ability to analyze literature and the creative ability to ultimately give voice and body to a literary character. An imaginative Reader's Theater classroom exercises blueprint is also an essential ingredient in…

Investigates aspects of the black arts movement through analysis of Baraka's (Jones,) radical theater form. Available from: Players, N.I.U. Theatre, DeKalb, Illinois 60115. Subscription Rates: $5.00 one year; $8.50 two years; foreign $1.00 per year extra. (MH)

Available from: Encore, National Association of Dramatic and Speech Arts, Publication Office, Shaw University, Box 124, Raleigh, North Carolina 27602. Subscription rates: $2.00 non-members. (MH)

The skills of playwriting are correctable, the craft of playwriting is teachable, and the art of playwriting is encourageable. In the area of craft, students can learn through models how accomplished playwrights deal with plot, characterization, dialogue, and theme. For the first element, plot development, students can look at written models to…

The seven exercises presented in this paper provide the initial foundation needed for exploration and experimentation through reader's theatre, the visual and oral dramatization of a literary work. Each of the exercises presented in the paper serves as a working blueprint to stimulate student awareness of the principles of staging reader's…

If dramatic characters are to be rendered "three dimensional" in performance, both the dramatist and the actor/interpreter must create them with proper attention to the physical, sociological, and psychological aspects of character. If oral interpreters understand these dimensions of a particular character, they can analyze such elements as…

Having defined pantomime as the art of communicating ideas and emotions without dialogue, this report stresses the role of the body in suggesting an idea, impression, sensation, or character and offers a series of exercises to help develop the muscular coordination and graceful movement characteristic of good pantomime technique. The first series…

The full power of drama as both a teaching and learning medium can be realized only when the inner world of meaning is harnessed to the outer world of expressive action. The teacher has available a number of techniques that can involve the students in the vital interaction of both frames. To involve the students in the expressive frame, the…