Asks why so many students come out of high school, college, and university training programs ill-equipped in the most basic and essential skills of acting. Presents and explores the idea that the single most important thing that a teacher must understand is that the only thing that really communicates from the stage is what the actor truly knows.…

Presents a book excerpt that introduces the author's "Hope Is Vital" program and methods. Shares his vision and methods for creating performance workshops that actively investigate social concerns. Considers a series of gradually intensifying exercises leading from fun warm-ups to image-building bridge activities. (SC)

Presents a scene from the multimedia performance of "We're Not Nice Little Old Ladies." Notes that the performance was the culmination of a 3-year research project called "Stories of Ageing" intended to explore what ageing means from the point of view of the older woman. (SG)

Practical and academic, the interrelationship of the visual and performing arts opens unique frontiers to aesthetic pioneers. Divergent in aim from the historic search for similar tonalities between the Synchronists and Stravinsky or atonal musicians of the 1950s-70s and minimalist painters and sculptors, the present use of the visual arts as a…

Russian theatre for young audiences has had a long tradition of professional, state subsidised theatre, with a strong educational function specifically for young people. The primary task of the "tiuz" ("teatriunogo zritelia," theatre of the young spectator) was to contribute to the ideological and aesthetic education for future Soviet citizens. To…

Images can be and have been used in various ways, and by their man-made nature they cannot be considered independent of their providers' intentions. Yet, identifying such intentions is complex, and requires a critical look supported by relevant information on what is being represented, how, and why. In this article, the author illustrates some of…

Readers theater is a familiar literacy strategy for children who can read independently; however, it can also be used with younger children who have not yet developed independent reading skills. The purpose of this article is to adapt the concept of readers theater for use with emergent readers. It focuses first on defining readers theater and…

Secondary school theatre programs in the United States range from a single class or an annual play or musical to programs with comprehensive curriculums and production seasons headed by several certified theatre teachers. Whatever the size of the program, whenever adults are engaged in dynamic educational and artistic experiences with children…

Arguments for the arts in education generally focus on their imaginative, individualistic, and risk-taking characteristics. In this article, the author contends that there are important lessons about intellectual development to be learned by looking at the neglected aspects of the arts, including their formal, controlled, and authoritarian side.…

During the last century, appreciation courses and theatre departments have gained a place in community colleges. An examination of current textbooks reveals that pedagogical approaches to introductory theatre courses have focused on fostering an understanding of the history and the "poetics" of theatre. While this avenue is useful, I propose that…

High school theatre productions can have broad beneficial effects. In addition to helping students, they can bring a sense of unity and focus to a school in ways most often associated with higher-profile athletics. The community in which the school resides often benefits from the entertainment and the visible expression of student achievement.…

The centenary of the first performance of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan was celebrated in December 2004. Taking account of the various events in Britain to mark the occasion--newspaper articles, radio and television programmes, retrospects in the original theatre--this article examines the status and popularity of Peter Pan after a hundred years. The…

This essay presents an account of a whole-school faculty designing and teaching a five-month whole-school curriculum based on an exhibit of modern American art, "In the American Grain," in a public school in the Pacific Northwest, grades 6-12. This account is a case-study of a successful attempt of teachers, students, and administrators at one…

Learning to write well often proves to be one of the most difficult areas in the English language arts for young children. However, in these fourth- and fifth-grade language arts classrooms, children are offered opportunities to explore, think through, and express meaning across and within sign systems--in particular, using art, drama, and…

Using a critical race theory (CRT) framework, this article compares the playwriting methods of the Chicano--Latino theater trio, Culture Clash, to a counterstorytelling methodology. The author uncovers the tenets of a critical race theater in the trio's site-specific ethnographic play, "Radio Mambo: Culture Clash Invades Miami". He…