Composing oral poems and storytelling are two exercises that speech teachers can use in oral interpretation courses. Conducting the oral poetry exercise early in an introductory interpretation course allows students to become acquainted with each other and to encourage each other while sharing something of themselves with the entire class. This…

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…

Explores the concept of "theater of the mind" and discusses design factors in creating audio works that effectively stimulate mental pictures, including: narrative format in audio scripting; qualities of voice; use of concrete language; music; noise versus silence; and the creation of the illusion of space using monaural, stereophonic,…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 16 titles deal with the following topics: an examination of inexperienced actors performing the plays of William Shakespeare; an investigation of the philosophies and practices of a summer theatre producer and manager; the…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 17 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the relative effects of two creative drama approaches on the dramatic behavior and mental imagery ability of elementary school students; (2) the history of the…