Describes six process guidelines for new play development to assist freshman dramaturges exploring new play development. Notes that the six guidelines form a paradigm for new dramaturges collaborating with a playwright. Suggests the paradigm, coupled with enthusiasm for the unknown and a taste for adventure, will build dramaturges informed to help…

Asks the question of what stories playwrights may use. States that dramatists have a deep commitment to explore the truth about life. Discusses questions regarding stories in the public domain, and issues of exclusive intellectual property. Concludes that the decision to use a story is a political one more than an ethical one. (PA)

Defines "adaptation" as the transformational process of taking a narrative work and dramatizing it. Stresses the importance of knowing what to leave out and knowing what to leave in. Suggests thinking of "adopting" rather than "adapting." States that artistic freedom is the playwright's right. Emphasizes the…

Uses a dialogue between two aspects of the same person (playwright/director) to answer the question posed in the title. States that initial productions of a new play are important for rewriting and reshaping the material and that performance confirms what is healthy and alive about the play. Concludes that the time for enjoying the performance…

Outlines the inception and evolution of "The Bonderman," a workshop devoted to the development of new theatre works for young audiences. Explains that the Bonderman is committed to: the development of the playwright; the development of the individual play; and the ongoing dialogue about the creation of new work for young audiences. Describes the…

Discusses the potential technology has for playwrights today, especially "technology as special effects" and "technology as subject matter." Finds it curious that very little science fantasy has found its way into the theater, and even less science fiction. Advocates exploring the world of technology through theater. (PA)

Provides the history of the Sundance Institute, which has grown to help many artists in hopes of contributing unique and original voices to the culture of the country. Describes the present structure of the institute and details the work of the 2002 lab. Notes that as the Sundance Theatre Lab continues to bring theatre artists of all disciplines…

Reproduces a conversation among playwrights, directors, and dramaturges participating in the Bonderman/IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis) experience. Features their answers to six questions regarding new play development, its focus, and influence on the world of theater for young audiences. (PA)

Explains the creation of the New Visions/New Voices festival which focuses attention on developing new scripts for young audiences. Notes that unlike other playwriting programs, New Visions does not require a complete script for application. Outlines the selection, casting, rehearsal process, dramaturg involvement, and post-reading discussions of…

Describes the ongoing work of a teacher whose Summer Institute for Drama/Teacher Education at the University of Tennessee provides training for both theater and classroom teachers. Focuses on her teaching method--improvisational drama--which simultaneously addresses elements common to fiction and script writing, and now contained in the language…

Describes the creation of a theater-based program for eighth-grade students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg (Georgia) Schools. Chronicles the efforts of playwright Ed Shockley to write a play focusing on teen violence and aimed at eighth-grade students. Concludes that the program and the play succeeded in accomplishing their goals. Relates three…

Describes a theater for children and youth on the island of Aruba and the celebration of the project in a youth theater festival. Outlines the goals of the theater project. Discusses the development of the festival plays, the themes expressed in terms of metaphor, and the communication through objects used in the plays. (CR)

Discusses, in poetic form, the writing of the play "Salvador" from the perspective of the author. Explains her thoughts about writing for children, including didactic relationships with children, didactic functions of art, and how adults teachers try to create a sterilized, lifeless, good-thinking, and artificial world for children when they are…

Describes how Foster High School, Tukwila, Washington, joined forces with Walworth, a London secondary school, to write a play. Reports that, after some Walworth teachers visited Foster, the project got underway, with a group in each place writing part of the play, and another group revising. Notes that the play was finally performed at Foster…

Describes a four-hour drama session, held one hour for each of four weeks, in which 15 girls and one boy ages six through eight participated with 17 college participant observers in a 1991 Children and Drama course, during which a drama teacher came to a "different" playmaking process, guiding children to direct their own dramas, without…