The current heightened sensitivity around history, colonisation and the aftermath of the socio-political and cultural ethos of the world can create in many people the fear of cultural appropriation and misrepresentation. This fear can affect the ability to imagine and play in certain learning settings, especially in devising performances, socially…

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…

Lists 10 things to do to make a drama program known to the public: know the newspapers; know the neighborhood; know the people; cultivate other sources; do something special; write the press release; take care of details; keep students involved; use other ways to get the word out; and never give up. (PA)

Moliere's "Tartuffe" is an attack, not on religion, but on people who hide behind religion and exploit it. As a college professor in charge of student production searched for a director's concept for "Tartuffe," she realized that it would be unwise to attempt a museum staging of neo-classical theater with limited funding. She…

Recounts how a delegation of 23 American theater educators took a two-week tour of Chinese theater companies and schools. Finds that although all theater takes years of training in China, there is little performance by youngsters; and that few professional companies have audience development activities or school performances. Describes traditional…

Creates a general set of guidelines for playgoing. Presents and discusses ideas such as: reading the program, looking at the space, studying the set, listening to the language, meeting the characters, watching the actors, examining the director's influence, and imagining the logistics. (SC)

Adhering to the rule that "costumes are not clothes" and listing 100 musicals under 8 general categories, this guidebook applies a "crossover system" whereby costumes from one show can easily be altered for any other show within the same category. The eight costume styles used in the guide are labeled: Medieval/Shakespearean;…

Proposes a "scene festival" to get students interested in doing Shakespeare. Suggests that middle school students are best suited for such a project. Discusses the different types of festivals, how to get ready, how to choose a play and scenes, how to prepare and cast scenes, how to proceed with staging, and how to create promptbooks.…

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…

Students, faculty, and administrators meet in various activities at the new University Center at the University of the Pacific. (Author/MLF)

This guidebook is designed to introduce students in drama or theater arts programs to as many aspects of theater as possible, to allow them to experience for themselves the diversity and excitement of theater, and to encourage them to develop the love of theater which is necessary for the successful production of a play at any level: high school,…

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)

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…

Use of dramatics in French second language education is advocated with theoretical and practical arguments, and a four-stage approach to language acquisition through theater is proposed. The approach is based on activities of a bilingual theater troupe that offers Mount Allison University (New Brunswick) students an opportunity to participate in…

Argues that student ownership of drama/theatre work encourages an unparalleled level of commitment and collaboration. Discusses four criteria signifying student ownership; teacher reluctance towards student ownership; effective roles for the teacher; and student benefits from ownership in drama work. (SR)