From the director's point of view, a "memorable monologue" is one in which the actor exhibits imagination and invention in role-playing. Memorable audition monologues require a measured degree of "risk taking" and uninhibited abandon--the first task is to select monologues that suit the type of script and the role being cast.…

To help maintain class interest in the important themes addressed in "Walden" and "The Duties of Civil Disobedience," a high school English teacher has presented a dramatic monologue as Henry David Thoreau to his students. After much library research, the teacher used some of the props characteristic of the author, such as a…

Discusses mime, masks, improvisation, body training, and choral dynamics as techniques for improving actors' body movements. (RD)

Relates students' favorite television characters to specific skill development, such as discussions in class, vocabulary development, critical thinking and evaluating occupations for future career guidance. (RK)

Describes an activity in which students selected a character from a play or novel and acted that role before the class. (SW)

Outlines a drama lesson, based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, designed to develop characterization through the use of role playing. (PRA)

Dynamic classroom role-playing is an essential ingredient in interpretation and performance if the student actor is to learn the technical skills of believable characterization. One of the first classroom performance principles in playing the role is for the student actor to read the playscript with a critical eye to grasp the creative suggestions…

This article describes how the second-graders of one school performed a first-person historical presentation using all of the presidents of the United States as their characters. In connection with Presidents' Day, students presented a one-minute overview of the president's life in first-person characterization including costumes. Rationale,…

Dynamic classroom role-playing for junior and senior high school classes in literature and acting is an essential ingredient in cultivating characterization and interpretation if a student is to learn the technical skills of performance. Although no simple classroom performance blueprint exists for predicting the degree of success a student…