The Saturday morning acting class in the Pearson Hall auditorium at Miles College boasts the school's highest attendance all year. The teacher, actress Robin Givens, was a lure few students--and others from surrounding areas--could resist. Some came to learn about their prospective field from a professional. Others were there for pointers to…

This paper explores the design of virtual and physical learning spaces developed for students of drama and theatre studies. What can we learn from the traditional drama workshop that will inform the design of drama and theatre spaces created in technology-mediated learning environments? The authors examine four examples of spaces created for…

Discusses the author's experience as a playwright and teacher of public readings of early drafts of new plays. Explains the Five Step Model for these readings as follows: prepare the playwright before the reading; prepare the audience with a precurtain speech; after the reading, establish discussion ground rules; remember these guidelines during…

Provides the history of the Sundance Institute, which has grown to help many artists in hopes of contributing unique and original voices to the culture of the country. Describes the present structure of the institute and details the work of the 2002 lab. Notes that as the Sundance Theatre Lab continues to bring theatre artists of all disciplines…

Designed for workshop or classroom use, this collection of short plays for two actors is a source of material for auditions and readings and a valuable training tool for acting classes. The collection contains plays for men only, plays for women only, plays for men and women, plays with a wide variety of roles, plays of comedy and serious drama,…

Describes the University of Texas 6-week summer performance workshop in Shakespearean drama held at a small town in Windale, Texas. (PG)

Suggests that a special quality of reinforced learning can take place by use of the preshow workshop, which plants the seeds of thought and actions. Illustrates the method by discussing two practical but utterly different models for preshow workshops. (RS)

Describes three exercises used at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in workshops for students and teachers to get participants on their feet, speaking Shakespeare's language, giving them a kinesthetic experience Shakespeare, and deepening their intellectual appreciation of the language. (SR)

Discusses complex struggles that occurred when attempting to negotiate a development agenda for a drama workshop involving people with mental health problems. Notes that the context of the intervention was "highly problematic." Suggests that for substantial change to take place the project worker and participants need an agenda of…

Describes some exploratory and discovery methods which capture interest, stimulate curiosity, and kindle enthusiasm of students as they approach Shakespeare and decide how it should be acted, interpreted, and staged. (SR)

Argues that by acting out, rather than only reading Shakespeare's plays, they can be better interpreted and appreciated. (SRT)

Explains the Higher Education Academic link, which promotes Theatre for Development in both the university and non-governmental organization sectors in Bangladesh. Highlights some of the most important and innovative issues which emerged from the link. Describes activities in the university sector which engaged students in practical workshops…

Describes the methods employed in a series of 10 3-hour drama workshops out of which came a theatre-in-education (TIE) program (delivering an antidrug message) performed at the National Chinese Theatre Association. Notes that educational theater and theater in education were virtually unknown and never before performed in Taiwan. (RS)

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…

In this paper, two arts education instructors engage in a dialogue about their emerging identities to further knowledge for pre-service educators in teacher education programs. Thus, the paper provides a forum about the conduct and theory of arts-based research in education. It also provides examples and critiques of theories of practice and…