Describes how the Honolulu Theatre for Youth and Very Special Arts Hawaii developed the annual THEATREFEST, a successful program celebrating the work of young playwrights and performers. Discusses how the project came about and how it is yearly put together. (SR)

Ponders what students might learn from a course in playwriting: the ability to think in vivid instances and moments; the habit of close observation of the details of human behavior; the ability to think through and see through cliches; making hard choices; sympathy; dreaming within limits; and concision. (SR)

This performance guide is designed for teachers to use with students before and after a performance of the one-act musical based on Lucy Maud Montgomery's novel, "Anne of Green Gables," with music by Richard DeRosa and book and lyrics by Greg Gunning. The guide is designed to help teachers foster students' appreciation of theatre, dance,…

Describes how a group of foreign language teachers created and used a theatre set (called the "living lab") with changeable painted backdrops. Describes a number of ways to use the living lab in the language class; describes how one class wrote and produced an original 10-page drama in French; and describes the process of creating the living lab.…

Examines the idea of developing a play through a group effort. Draws on personal experiences of seeing this kind of work since the 1970s. Details techniques that have been used with various groups in a series of drama workshops over the years. (PA)

Presents opinions of professionals on the current state of the high school play. Participants include a playwright, play supplier, high school theater instructor, workshop leader, and play publisher. Discusses selection, production, and performance of plays. (JMF)

Describes a year-long project, the "Met Life Project," in which high school students collaboratively wrote and produced an original theater piece. (SR)

Presents guidelines and activities for radio theatre production. Covers playwriting, production techniques, skits, and improvisations. Includes an opening segment of a script adapted for radio of Chekhov's "A Marriage Proposal." (PD)

Describes Ellen Norman Melamed's Playwriting Project, a 15-session classroom program that requires each participating student to write and design a play, to do at least one revision of each stage of his/her work, and to submit a critical assessment of the experience at the end of the term. (PRA)

Describes how Foster High School, Tukwila, Washington, joined forces with Walworth, a London secondary school, to write a play. Reports that, after some Walworth teachers visited Foster, the project got underway, with a group in each place writing part of the play, and another group revising. Notes that the play was finally performed at Foster…

Describes how a theatre educator brought together her acting students and her playwriting students so that the playwrights could see their work performed and acting students see the relationships among performer, director, and playwright. Discusses matching plays to players, customizing scripts, "showtime," and adapting the project. (RS)

Describes an educational program that involves the use of theatre and dramatic approaches by a team of actor/teachers in order to promote learning in a school. Contains a script for a play developed by a Theatre in Education team and its students. (HTH)

In order to develop a guide for teaching a course on playwriting, a study reviewed related literature and conducted a survey of information and opinions from practicing playwrights. Members of the Playwrights' Union of Canada, 145 playwrights, completed a survey of ten open-ended questions describing the processes of the playwright's art,…

Radio plays can provide opportunities for high school or college students to act without having to memorize scripts. Elements necessary for a well-produced radio play consist of: (1) a suitable play, which may be a simple play or an adaptation of a short story or novel; (2) a radio script which is plausible and feasible within the limitations of…

Developed with the recognition that many playwrights have theater in their blood (e.g., Eugene O'Neill was the son of a famous actor), the three lessons in this package present, through experience, the fundamentals of dramatic structure. These lessons for the beginning playwright focus on elements of dramatic plot, conflicts, and crisis and…