In conventional drama, circularity is a positive thing, a return to the beginning, a symbol of the cyclical, generative nature of life. Part of John Guare's intent in his post-Absurdist play, "The House of Blue Leaves," is to help establish a new theatrical aesthetic by violating theatrical convention. For Guare, circularity is not a…

The articles in this publication trace the historical development of the theatre workshop, explain the relationship between the workshop and experimental theatre, and analyze the ways in which current drama workshops teach and develop the dramatic skills of the participants. The topics discussed include the special skills, production-oriented, and…

Argues that when the comic world or worlds" are examined as independent entities . . . useful information about comic character, plot, and setting" can be obtained. (Author/SW)

Contends that Pinter's play, No Man's Land, is about impotency as well as stasis and old age. Focuses on the allusions to sex which function both literally and figuratively and includes metaphorical ramifications of the mentally, emotionally, and spiritually barren. (MH)

Discusses the casting of small roles in television's dramatic series in terms of social stereotyping. Information is based on interviews with writers, producers, directors, casting directors, and talent agents. (JMF)

Explains how the movie "The Lion King" may be used to elucidate Shakespeare's "Hamlet," a play about a prince who does not always seem heroic to modern audiences. Gives specific points of comparison between the two works concerning heroes, characters, conflicts, themes, ending scenes, and archetypal patterns. (TB)

This book with a three-part format contains information which the would-be thespian needs to know for maximum enjoyment and success in stage activities. The first part, "Heritage," traces the history and development of the theater from primitive ritual through the drama of classical Greece and Rome, the Renaissance, and modern Europe and America,…

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…

Suggests the possibility of using two actors to portray one narrator in a Chamber Theatre performance of Herman Melville's short story, Bartleby the Scrivener. (MH)

Focuses on the traditional comic acting style that prevailed in England from 1820 to 1840 by examining the acting of the commedienne whose sixty-year career spanned the first half of the century. (MH)

Article analyzed the soliloquies in Hamlet and showed that Shakespeare used the device of the soliloquy not for clarification (as he did elsewhere) but for complication instead, so that the audience is made to see Hamlet's character as consisting of diverse ingredients, a personality fragmented rather than whole. (Editor/RK)

You will search and search and you will never find a way to teach creative writing. Artists are superior beings. (Author)