Describes "neutral scenes," a dialog exchange for which actors must supply the meaning. Contends the exercise provides young actors the opportunity to use all the basic tools they will need when they progress to more conventional scene work, such as finding conflict, using given circumstances, playing relationships. Advises analyzing the…

That a play has one central action which is its formal cause is the most influential interpretative idea to emerge among theatre writers since the old model of situation/incident/complication/climax/denouement. Unfortunately, the action concept has been insufficiently developed, excessive hopes have been pinned on it, and it has become a reductive…

Discusses the artistry of those who write plays and films to introduce a series of sequential exercises to help student actors become more sensitive to the playwright's contribution. Outlines and explains the phases of "monologue makers": (1) tell stories; (2) make a play; and (3) get on your feet. (PA)

This collection of monologues describes women's roles in theater in 1994 as being "ripe with possibility." The collection includes work from playwrights Gloria Naylor, Harold Prince, Tony Kushner, Terrence McNally, and Harold Pinter, among others. The collection contains 57 brief audition pieces for women to perform from the 1994…

Directors of plays can make rehearsals interpretively productive, but they must first reject directorial approaches such as beginning rehearsals without analyzing the script, projecting images of the play as it is read, and using the script merely to summarize meanings, static themes, morals, and nothing more. Making rehearsals interpretively…

Describes how a theatre educator brought together her acting students and her playwriting students so that the playwrights could see their work performed and acting students see the relationships among performer, director, and playwright. Discusses matching plays to players, customizing scripts, "showtime," and adapting the project. (RS)

The last of four related manuals describing the goals and methods of an established developmental theatre project at the University of Colorado, this manual discusses the processes involved in selecting and adapting scripts for specific audiences. The manual suggests ways to cut longer plays for school audiences, methods for organizing parts of…

This guide, intended as a manual for the beginning director, educational filmmaker, or film school student, provides instruction for attending to the progressive elements of cinematographic craft, from the initial idea to the screen. The guide examines the structure of the script, aspects of acting and working with actors, music and sound, camera…