This document presents a rationale for using reader's theatre in the classroom. It briefly discusses some of the conventions that distinguish reader's theatre from traditional theatrical productions, including direction of voice and action to the audience, and the use of scripts. The major portion of the paper offers seven exercises on the…

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…

Argues that teachers and directors should teach their students how to audition. Offers tips, explanations, and observations regarding selection of material, preparation, appearance, making contact, and other advice. (SR)

Stresses the importance of teaching acting students how to audition. Describes course content and activities, including a trip to New York City to make audition rounds. (PD)

Describes the effect of first-year directing students using short, abstract poems rather than scenes from classic plays as the basis of their productions. Notes that the images in these poems speak loudly and intensely to the audience, in contrast to the usual "talking heads" result of producing scenes from classics. (RS)

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…

Describes drama teacher Carl Martin's "Home Shakespeare Festival," a series of games that enable non-actors to tackle Shakespeare with little preparation and no training, using Martin's instructions, pared-down scripts, basic toy props, and tip sheets. Describes how Martin's games came to be and discusses their use in a variety of…

This course outline designed for beginning theater students includes a statement of the premise and the assumption behind the course, the task to be accomplished, and the method to be used. The activities include a review of theater practice, a study of modern drama, and studio projects. (LL)

The technique of Soundscripting, the addition of sound cues and sound effects to the canonical pages of any play, is flexible enough to be done at no cost or with all the advantages of modern media. In class, the use of Shakespearean radio dramas or comedies can be effective. The long-term process in class involves four major steps and may take…

Although few leaders will attain the legendary status of Mother Jones, social movements depend upon practitioners of drama to interest others in their quest. In the contemporary classroom, the blending of the rhetoric of social movements with the creation and performance of reader's theater in honors public speaking has produced extraordinary…

Describes how to develop a storytelling unit that will culminate in a festival in which all students can successfully participate and perform. Outlines the entire process, including research, "talk-abouts" and details, in-class activities to help students develop their tales, periodic evaluations, and the festival itself. (SR)

Composing oral poems and storytelling are two exercises that speech teachers can use in oral interpretation courses. Conducting the oral poetry exercise early in an introductory interpretation course allows students to become acquainted with each other and to encourage each other while sharing something of themselves with the entire class. This…

Notes that interaction between writers and interpreters can improve a sometimes tenuous relationship. Provides classroom assignments, performance activities, and workshops to promote interaction and understanding. (PD)

One of the primary principles of Readers Theater is to "dramatize" literature in classroom performance and to provide a visual and oral stimulus to students who are unaccustomed to using imagination to appreciate literary texts. Readers Theater may be used to enhance the critical study of language; to explore author meaning or point of view; to…

This investigation examines the historical influences on the New Theatre in terms of a figural tradition and suggests that the New English may also be analyzed in terms of a figural tradition. In part 1, a new theory of the "historical figura" is proposed. The first chapter describes the origins of the "human figura" in…