Noting that scholars have too willingly accepted Plato's assumption that one could not successfully be both an actor and a rhapsode (reciter or singer of epic poetry), this paper suggests that placing the "mixed style" of the rhapsode's performance art within the context of the Homeric sensibility and the cultural shift into literacy…

In the process of perfecting oral performances of selected scenes from Eudora Welty's "The Optimist's Daughter," it is important to study point of view and character as they pertain to the play. Four aspects should be considered to understand the point of view: (1) the character's story, (2) the position from which the narrator speaks,…

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)

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)

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 31 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) American drama between the world wars; (2) an emotion theory of stage fright; (3) the female androgyne in tragic drama; (4) creating and directing a musical…

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…

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…

Each hemisphere of the brain has several primary functions that are interesting to explore in terms of all areas of creative endeavor, particularly those involving both speech/language and imagery. Therefore in preparing students to interpret and share the artisitc expression of the poet, the writer, the storyteller, or the dramatist, the teacher…

American theatre history should include a study of Native American performances, since these performances are rich with "American" symbolic materials such as imagery, symbols, and heraldic visions of animals and landscapes. Indian cultures understood the importance of performance for both the visionary and the community at large. Even the pow-wow…

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…

Defining readers theatre as a form of aesthetic communication that encompasses ensemble or group oral interpretation including dramatic production of literature, this annotated bibliography emphasizes traditional theory and practice. The 34-item bibliography cites material from the following types of sources and topics: (1) books and journals; (2)…

This revised curriculum guide was prepared to help speech teachers and administrators gain greater sensitivity to the importance of speech education in the curriculum and to provide a digest of the characteristics and instructional practices which could contribute to superior speech education programs. The topics of the first nine chapters are…

Brief discussions in this pamphlet suggest educational and career opportunities in the following fields of speech communication: rhetoric, public address, and communication; theatre, drama, and oral interpretation; radio, television, and film; speech pathology and audiology; speech science, phonetics, and linguistics; and speech education.…