Describes a process called narrative theater that involves (1) the exploration of texts and the stories likely embedded within them, (2) a learning process that involves the creation of drama contexts, and (3) the use of theater conventions. (SRT)

Discusses creative dramatics as an experiential and interactive play process comprised of three phases: (1) pantomiming action; (2) improvising words; and (3) building plot and characters. Contains teacher information on guiding and encouraging playmaking, creating a developmentally appropriate dramatics program, and the expected benefits of…

A discussion of plays specifically by and for women. (CH)

Contains ideas for "greasepaint masks." (CH)

Bibliographies of ERIC and other resource materials in secondary school drama. (CH)

A priori criteria are pressing playwrights to be conservative, to unify their total experience so that everything is regimented and predictable, consciously or subconsciously. The danger, joy, and mystery of life is under the aesthetic gun. Do playwrights, and theater practitioners in general, repress and thus betray their inner voices, or do they…

To determine what the plays that high school theater groups produce teach audiences about politics, a study was conducted in which surveys of members of the International Thespian Society were examined and a list of the twenty plays most often produced since World War II was compiled. Analysis of the most popular plays reveals that they portray a…

This article describes a creative drama workshop program developed for children by the Bloomington, Illinois Parks and Recreation Department and Illinois State University. (PD)

Limited almost exclusively to books and articles published in English. (CH)

Presented an analysis of a multimedia production, Halfway to Somewhere, acted by ex-cons and designed to show their experiences within the Wisconsin penal system to the people of Wisconsin. (RK)

"Style" in theatrical production may be defined as a working, developing consensus, a meeting of the minds of a disparate group of artists who make up a full production crew. Some strategies for the use of "style" in production are as follows: (1) allow for the individual imagination and creativity of each member of the production group; (2) ask…

A survey of approximately 450 novice Shakespearean actors was undertaken to determine what could be learned from a careful study of the initiation of new performers acting Shakespeare that might be helpful to others. The findings revealed that the typical initiate perceives acting Shakespeare as different from other acting, indicates a definite…

The emphasis in this bibliography of theatrical craftsmanship is on live performance and related stage techniques. Entries are listed under seven categories: administration and management, educational/children's theater, acting, directing, design and technology, playwriting, and production reports and reviews. This last category lists entries…

This study was designed to test the effect of a director's expectation of a good or bad performance by his actors on the judged effectiveness of their performances. Thirty-two actors were randomly chosen from volunteers in an introductory course in communication theory at the University of Wyoming. The eight directors were students in an upper…