Background: Long-form dramatic improvisation has been investigated as an accomplishment of emergent creativity among an ensemble of "players," focusing on how the group achieves "group flow" in performance. Methods: This article employs ethnographic methods (focus group, interviews, and video-assisted self-interviews) to…

Over the past decade, local live productions of Shakespeare have become increasingly visible to scholars and audiences alike, both through critical work on the subject as well as through public projects such as Shakespeare on the Road. This visibility highlights the cultural and artistic work of regional theatre. On the one hand, local live…

Suggesting that improvisation is an invaluable technique that can be used in acting classes and in rehearsals for school, amateur, and professional productions, this book presents 900 improvisation ideas for teachers and directors to use. The first section presents ideas for improvisations on character conflicts, including teen/parent conflicts,…

A production of Tom Stoppard's radio play, "Albert's Bridge," by high school students in Washington, D.C., showed that stage production and film effects could be used together effectively and that high school students were competent to handle difficult productions. Students were given the responsibility for photography, sound, and other technical…

The extensive use of improvisational techniques in rehearsals for chamber theatre productions develops for the performer a strong engagement with the text. The director can channel the movement and gestures that emerge from these techniques into the production itself, with results that more effectively convey the literature than traditional…

Stimulating and enjoyable dramatic activities in the classroom can nurture children's natural sympathies with drama. Re-acting a portion of a second-rate television show can help children become more perceptive critics and prepare them to view better drama that the teacher could bring to the classroom. Free, creative rhythmic movement allows…

A collection of thirty royalty-free one-act plays for young players, using a wide range of dramatic forms, imaginative settings and colorful characters, is presented. A variety of subjects is included in these comedies, dramas, spoofs and programs: science fiction, ecology, history, storybook classics, and glimpses into life and folklore of other…

This book discusses mass media, multimedia, and individual media and suggests various media activities for children. The introductory essay considers why the medium is not the message; chapter one presents a model for multimedia learning; and chapter two considers the pedagogical questions of media production. Subsequent chapters deal with stage…

Reported are the results of a 3-year project to prepare and evaluate pilot units and courses in drama and theater arts for grades 7-12 and to prepare suggested courses for the training and certification of drama and theater arts teachers. Most of the guide is comprised of descriptions of each course which give (1) the purpose and organization of…

This review of current uses of drama in the teaching of literature deals with drama that is "concerned with experience by the participants, irrespective of any function of communication to an audience." Chapters are devoted to (1) the British-influenced Dartmouth Seminar proposals emphasizing drama and oral language, (2) American…

This teacher's guide, the result of a 3-year Title 3 project, is a sequentially arranged program designed to introduct high school students to acting and to provide them with an understanding of the uniqueness of dramatic literature, particularly Shakespearean drama. The processes of the theatre are explored, introducing improvisational exercises…

Over a period of months, illiterate and disruptive Black and Puerto Rican junior high school students in New York City developed and staged an updated version of "West Side Story." Although by professional standards the results were poor, students were able to participate in a highly rewarding activity which demanded discipline,…

Fiction film production--begun several years ago to stimulate the participation of all students in dramatic and creative activities--has become a vital part of a school program, involving project organization and interdepartmental cooperation. The English department initiates the project, which provides ample opportunities for promoting linguistic…

In an experiment designed to involve reluctant learners in a creative learning experience, a class of youngsters assumed the role of a Sahara Desert tribe and talked about their perplexity in finding a chair washed up on the beach. Using this incident as the focal point for a project, the teacher divided the children into small groups to compose…