Describes the Geraldine R. Dodge Theatre Program for Teachers and Playwrights that serves New Jersey drama teachers and professional playwrights, actors, and directors. (SR)

Discusses some of the reasons Shakespeare should remain at the center of culture, not as a museum relic, but as an active contemporary. Focuses on Shakespeare's writings in relation to questions of language, culture, and identity. (SR)

An education in the performing arts provides students with a rich growing environment and facilitates learning by requiring students to think, not just memorize. The performing arts also teach students to celebrate the differences between themselves and others, understand our pluralistic society, and learn discipline, self-respect, perseverance,…

Theater and other arts provide valuable insights into periods of history, complement works of literature, and enrich the study of themes in science and human nature. Integrating theater into the curriculum would benefit both teachers and students. It would inspire more creative curricula, give students hands-on experiences, and encourage them to…

Suggests a framework of six steps that can be used as a starting point to improve a secondary theater program to meet mandated standards: define motivation, study the standards, analyze the present program, create a planning team, determine student goals, and revise the curriculum. (PA)

Continues a discussion of script analysis for actors. Focuses on specific scenes and how an eventual scene-by-scene analysis will help students determine a "throughline" of a play's action. Uses a scene from "Romeo and Juliet" to illustrate scene analysis. Gives 13 script questions for students to answer. Presents six tips for…

Reports on a study which interviewed children (fourth, fifth, and sixth graders) on the following issues: who should play child protagonists in children's theatre (adults or children); which actor in a particular production was most believable and realistic; and casting advice for directors of children's theatre. (SR)

Conducts an informal inquiry into the early influences on the careers of various theatre professionals. Suggests the role of those in secondary school theatre education is to honor all students' dreams and passions. (NH)

Argues that linking ethics to rituals in drama lessons can promote reflection on individual responses to moral dilemmas. Describes how a group of drama teachers and theater students worked with 24 children (9 and 10 years old) from a public primary school in a process-drama in which the children worked in-role to solve a dilemma. (SR)

Examines ideological implications of the term "outreach" and explores the author's personal reflections and dilemmas regarding the ideological underpinnings of educational outreach around productions of theater. (SR)

Describes an effective scene study class including the sequential tasks of: analyzing the script independently; collaborating with a scene partner and finding common ground; developing the throughline of action; and working the moments, the beats, and the overall scene until each moment flows into the next. Considers ways to set up classroom…

Suggests that stories are a survival mechanism--they are the way people make sense of their lives. Notes the author has made it her personal mission to encourage people to tell their own stories, the stories that will die with people if they do not pass them on. Includes excerpts from the author's readers theater scripts to illustrate the…

Presents excerpts from a workshop that actively explores four instructional activities to illuminate the let's-put-on-a-show myth. Notes that the workshop illustrates the National Theatre Standards in action by integrating several aspects of the art form: script writing, acting, designing, directing, researching, comparing art forms, analyzing and…

Presents ideas for activities geared to children ages seven and up that revolve around the Harry Potter books, based on a Harry Potter Holiday Club developed at the Beverly Hills (California) Public Library. Includes costs, craft activities, theater performances, and games. (LRW)

Suggests that improvisation is an excellent catalyst for getting a scene jump-started or back on track. Presents two specific examples of how the author used improv in his own scene study classes. Notes the fundamental task teachers must master prior to improv work is how to isolate the essential dynamics of the scene. (RS)