A study was conducted to survey current directions and conventions in Interpreters Theatre (includes readers theatre, presentational theatre, and chamber theatre) through a literature review and to note the presence and function of these conventions in current Broadway shows that are predominantly representational. The essential conventions were…

The diversity of important work being done by women in many aspects of theatrical performance in the United States is illustrated in this journal issue. The nine articles provide discussions of the following: (1) women's careers, images, and movements in the American theatre; (2) the evolution of La Mama, an off-off-Broadway theatre group begun in…

In spite of the importance of the one-act play as an art form and as a tool for teaching playwriting, authors of playwriting texts have devoted little space to the study of the form. Because of this neglect, there is no definition of the form that is simple and specific enough to undergrid efforts to teach or write it. In the absence of a solid…

Discusses the depiction of women characters in the plays of Alice Childress. Analyzes "Wine in the Wilderness" to demonstrate Childress' skill at characterization and calls for further scholarship on this neglected playwright. (KH)

The ideas and techniques of post-modernist art and the imagist theatre represent an important preparatory stage in the revival of poetic drama. During the 1960s and early 1970s, a number of experimental companies rebelled against the realism of the American theatre and began to produce works that stressed emotional authenticity in acting, active…

Discusses the plays of Wendy Kesselman. Analyzes the plays in light of the special demands they make upon young audiences. (MS)

In recent years some exceptionally optimistic writings by feminist scholars have addressed a shift away from the male manque model of femininity to one celebrating feminine growth. Archetypal myths have inculcated people's minds with the notion that domination and conquest serve to justify men's domination over the feminine. Narrative communicates…

Presents opinions of professionals on the current state of the high school play. Participants include a playwright, play supplier, high school theater instructor, workshop leader, and play publisher. Discusses selection, production, and performance of plays. (JMF)

Discusses the life and works of playwright Eugene O'Neill and provides a selected bibliography that records the major book trends of scholarship on O'Neill, including reference works, biographies, criticism and interpretation, anthologies of criticism, and collections of major libraries and archives. (LRW)

A history of American women dramatists is provided in this paper with emphasis on the period 1960 to 1980. It is noted that by 1960 several American women had earned sizable reputations as dramatists; that prior to 1960, especially in the 1920s and 1930s, they had offered both commercial and experimental pieces; and that, like their male…

Presents a study of the use of serious subject matter in plays for youth by (1) tracing the trends of increasing advocacy and acceptance of such subject matter and (2) outlining patterns in the ways in which such subject matter is presented, focusing on original, contemporary plays, written by American playwrights. (JC)

Alice Childress, Lorraine Hansberry, and Ntozake Shange have in their plays created images of blacks that dispel the myths of "the contented slave,""the exotic primitive," and "the spiritual singing, toe-tapping, faithful servant." (BJV)