A study was conducted to survey current directions and conventions in Interpreters Theatre (includes readers theatre, presentational theatre, and chamber theatre) through a literature review and to note the presence and function of these conventions in current Broadway shows that are predominantly representational. The essential conventions were…

Presents abstracts of ERIC instructional and background documents to help teachers and administrators of theatre and drama programs. (PD)

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 15 titles deal with the following topics: (1) a taxonomy of educational objectives in acting; (2) contemporary musical theatre in Utah; (3) applying management concepts to educational theatre operations; (4) creative drama and…

The extensive use of improvisational techniques in rehearsals for chamber theatre productions develops for the performer a strong engagement with the text. The director can channel the movement and gestures that emerge from these techniques into the production itself, with results that more effectively convey the literature than traditional…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 25 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the development of American theatre management practices between 1830 and 1896; (2) the aesthetics of audience response; (3) P. Picasso as a theatrical…

This journal issue deals with the ways in which elements of a literary text specify the manner in which an oral interpreter will present the text to an audience. After an introductory statement, four poems by a contemporary poet are presented as sample texts. Four commentators discuss the ways these poems might be interpreted to an audience, and…

One of the rhetorical dimensions on which theatre exists is the rhetoric of production. This implies that the production, through examples, takes and urges an attitude toward the text. This argument provides a foundation for both the nature and the implications of interpreters theatre productions that advocate social issues. Theatrical…

The author states that because of recent interest in readers theatre, or concert readings, some objective methods of assessing audience response should be developed. In the first section of the paper, she provides a rationale for a critical suggestions form. The author's guidelines for an evaluation form include the use of expert judges, an…

Tells how a Readers Theatre company adapted their methods for use in classroom workshops, teacher workshops, and performances at a school for hearing impaired children. Available from: Readers Theatre News, Speech Communication Department, San Diego State University, San Diego, California 92182. (GW)

Offers tips for Readers Theatre. Discusses equipment, script handling, the set, reader movement, mime and sound effects, focus, and beginnings and endings. (SR)

This paper presents tips on scripting, staging, and reading Reader's Theater. The first section of the paper discusses tips on scripting--script roles, cuts and changes, narration, script format, and team scripting (children working in teams to write scripts). The second section presents tips on staging, such as equipment, script handling, the…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 16 titles deal with the following topics: (1) children's theatre activities at Karamu House in Cleveland, Ohio; (2) the development, implementation, and significance of story theatre as a theatrical art form and performance…

This paper analyzes Paul Gregory's 1951 production of "Don Juan in Hell," now considered to be a seminal work in the development of professional and educational readers theatre. The paper contends that the production, which presented a nondramatic work without the usual emphasis on design and spectacle, forced a reexamination of the role…