This curriculum guide describes an advanced course for speech classes in the oral interpretation of literature. It is meant to follow the first course, which introduced the subject and gave some fundamentals and practice in oral reading. The student is expected to meet the following objectives in the course: (1) demonstrate ability in using his…

The interrelationship of performers, text, and audience in reader's theater may be better understood through philosopher Martin Buber's key concepts of polarity, dialogue, and inclusion. These concepts operate within four polar tensions identified by Buber: that between the performer and the character represented; that between the performer and…

The author declares, The play is the thing. As a tool for teaching, it's incomparable. It can painlessly teach reading, reciting, reasoning and writing." She describes techniques for class study. (Author/JB)

GRADES OR AGES: Secondary grades. SUBJECT MATTER: Oral communications. ORGANIZATION AND PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: The central portion of the guide is divided into five units: public speaking, voice and diction, drama, oral interpretation, and radio-television. Each unit is in straight text or list form. The guide is offset printed and perfect-bound…

Describes a method of re-directing the components of external rhetorical analysis to the intrinsic boundaries of a play and discusses the benefits of such a method as a critical tool in the oral interpretation of dramatic literature. (MH)

Seven suggestions are made in response to the question, "What kind of speech communication research can one do in the area of First Amendment rights?": (1) that rhetoricians reexamine loyalty-oath cases and examine lines of argument, reasoning, and language of the attorneys and judges; (2) that experts in language and style lead research…

Discusses the advantages of teaching students the language of public performance, focusing on drama but providing implications for the reading of poetry as well as for public speaking. (RL)

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…

Fourteen plays were designed to evaluate fourth grade children's abilities to respond to reading plays both with and without oral accompaniment. The study involved 378 children, representing a cross section of socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, each of whom read half of each play silently and the other half while listening to a taped…

The 12 articles in this issue of "Indiana English Journal" are concerned with drama and oral interpretation in the classroom. Titles of articles are: "Up in the Tree, Down in the Cave, and Back to Reading: Creative Dramatics"; "Pantomime: The Stepping Stone to Drama"; "The Living Literature of Readers' Theatre"; "Do-It-Yourself Drama"; "Drama for…

Three performance problems encountered in storytelling are: subordinating the perspective of individual characters to that of the storyteller; the role of the audience; and the undefined boundary between reader and audience. The concept of "Gestus" as espoused in the dramatic theory of Bertolt Brecht offers an approach to the performance…

This study assesses the role of oral interpretation in a comprehensive theory of discourse and suggests how oral interpretation may be integrated with the study of literature. Oral interpretation is thought to be useful to the student of literature because: (1) the analysis may lead to a valid interpretation of the work; (2) focus is placed on the…

The purpose of this second book of 21 self-contained essays is the same as that of the first volume published in 1972: to bring together the scholarly theory and current research regarding oral interpretation. One third of the essays are centered on literature itself: prose fiction, poetry, and the drama. These essays discuss topics such as point…

The curriculum outlined in this document was designed for the creative teacher to use in a learning environment which encourages pupils to experiment, to explore, to develop a positive self-image, and to express ideas freely and without fear of losing dignity. This document defines 19 drama skills and describes drama activities, with suggested…