Describes the use of "open scenes" to meet state-mandated educational goals, such as those in Kentucky's Education Reform Act. Discusses how open scenes can be an effective pedagogical technique to develop acting skills and help students meet the goals of current educational reform. Discusses the use of a GOTE sheet (goals, other,…

Divides choral teaching into four steps: analysis, lesson-plan derivation, rehearsal, and evaluation. Reveals that moving from the evaluation step back to the lesson-plan step is a continual process which leads to the culminating experience of performance. States that effective instruction derives from thoughtful preparation, execution, and…

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)

Notes that for prospective theater majors, the choice between pursuing the Bachelor of Fine Arts or the Bachelor of Arts degree is crucial to the student's chances of success in college. Discusses how the degrees differ and how to advise students. Includes some questions that prospective students should ask of theatre programs, and notes answers…

Presents a sequence of exercises that requires students to think about telling their stories in terms of physicalization. Requires students to think about their blocking: their chosen movements on stage, the gestures they use to communicate their stories, and the business they must create to keep their stories believable and clear. (SC)

Describes how a student at Stagecoach (a private arts school), by securing the lead role in the film "Billy Elliot," encouraged other British boys to enroll in ballet and dance classes as well as Stagecoach Theatre Arts Schools. Present locations and international links for Stagecoach schools. Describes how the Stagecoach schools are run…

In England the government's specialist schools initiative is transforming the nature of secondary education. A three-year longitudinal case study tracked the effects of specialist performing arts college status on two schools. The sites were a mainstream school drawing pupils from an area of high social deprivation and disadvantage, and a special…

This booklet provides instruction, for junior high and senior high school actors and their teachers, in the basic concepts and vocabulary of theatrical communication. Suggested exercises include practice in combining dialogue and movement, mastering knowledge of stage areas and body positions, and working with scripts on stage. Criteria for…

This book offers patterns and instructions that will enable amateurs to turn out authentic costumes for school plays. Step-by-step guidance is provided for the adaptation and design of dress for period plays with Egyptian, biblical, Greek, Roman, and Renaissance backgrounds. Materials suggested for further adaptations are inexpensive and easily…

Examines the creation of a high school fine arts club to provide financial support for the music, art and theatre arts departments and to help enhance cooperation among these departments while providing broader cultural experiences for the club members. (MH)

A teacher in the high school drama club recounts the experience of producing a controversial play about teenagers, "Sometimes I Wake Up in the Middle of the Night." Reports initial apprehensions and eventual satisfaction of actors, the drama coach, and audience members. (JG)

Spotlights seven outstanding secondary school theatre programs and their directors: Frank Bluestein, Germantown, TN; John Steele, Plano, TX; Joe Juliano, Hamden, CT; Jack Parkhurst, Ralston, NE; Robert Geuder (Thomas Jefferson High School) Cedar Rapids, IA; Judith Rethwisch (Affton High School) St. Louis, MO; and Henry Wicke (Packer Collegiate…