Video segments captioned at different speeds were shown to a group of 578 people (ages 8 to 80) who are deaf, hard of hearing, or typically hearing. The most comfortable speed was found to be about 145 words per minute (WPM), close to the 141 WPM mean rate actually found in television programs. (Author/CR)

Discusses the arduous task of casting and directing untrained middle and secondary school actors in terms of auditioning, getting started, planning for the first meeting, focusing on the obvious, rehearsing, learning the lines, becoming the character, running work-through rehearsals, and doing run-throughs and performances. Notes not to forget to…

Responds to an article in the same issue of this journal describing a high school play director's use of "democratic" directing methods. Explores questions about methodology and study design and the role of the researcher in examining her own practice. Argues that the study makes a strong contribution to the field, especially for those involved in…

Describes how some high school students, encouraged by their theater-loving teacher, suspiciously approached Shakespeare, chose "Macbeth," made the language slowly their own, improvised scenery and costumes, delivered the performance with energy and pride and much extemporizing, and found themselves at last in love with Shakespeare and…

Ten production sites in the United Kingdom, North America, Japan, and Malta tested a model of worker discretion in job tasks, based on customer preferences. Results suggest that production jobs should be designed to maximize worker judgment, knowledge, and initiative, allowing broad discretion in all tasks except those that can have a negative…

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)

Suggests that a successful publications staff can thrive, digitally speaking, using Bill Gates' 12 key steps to reinvent the way the staff functions. Lists each rule and the parallel rule for scholastic journalism staffs. Notes two of the rules are use email and the Internet; and all staff members need a working knowledge of all areas of a…

Describes the development of a program that incorporates materials for 8 productions with an interest in: opening the doors to theatre by using dramatic working materials; building a bridge between the education institution and the art institution; and expanding educational understanding and repertoire by learning art production processes. (SC)

The video production field has evolved beyond being exclusively relevant to broadcast television. The convergence of low-cost consumer cameras and desktop computer editing has led to new applications of video in a wide range of areas, including the classroom. This presents educators with an opportunity to rethink how students learn video…

There is a link between the context of production and the content of rap music singles. This research finds that when independent labels owned most of the charted singles, lyrics emphasized features of the local environment and hostility to corporate music production and values. In contrast, the major-label dominated market featured lyrics…

This paper contrasts classical Aristotelian narrative, which encouraged intellectual reflection and came to dominate Hollywood film by the 1930s, with the pulsating images which began to appear in the 1980 as a result of MTV's influence on films. The discussion focuses on two major Hollywood films: "Grapes of Wrath" (1940) and "Top…

This paper discusses a class project in which a broadcast education professor's students at Southern Arkansas University produced campus news stories for the local NBC affiliate--the affiliate ran the stories once a week on their newscasts. The paper begins with a short explanation of course requirements for Advanced Electronic News Gathering and…

This comprehensive guide for instructors and students is designed for both beginning and advanced courses in directing for the theater. The guide presents the basic concepts of directing progressively and is the only directing text that combines theory with "hands-on" participation units. The exercise-driven guide's approach is totally…

Interactive theater is a performance based medium which utilizes drama to present and provide a forum for the discussion of socially sensitive issues which impact youth and adults. A scene is presented to an audience up to a crisis point, at which time the audience asks cast members questions while the cast stays in character. Interactive theater…

This paper presents creative drama activities based on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" for use in ninth-grade English classrooms. The activities are divided into sections on improvisation, pantomime, image-making and creative drama, reader's theater, drama scenes, interior monologue, and producing plays. Each section of the paper…