Findings of this study on the validity of script reviews in preproduction formative evaluation support the use of script evaluations as a means of identifying program strengths and weaknesses and serving as a guide for revision. Program areas that can be reliably evaluated at the script stage are discussed. (RAO)

Discusses the use of the term "creativity" in television and how it functions within the technical, economic, and organizational framework of the industry. Three common uses are identified: the creative writer of a script; the originator or producer; the director or middle-level personnel who may exercise "creative freedom."…

A producer of children's television shows explains the challenges of providing appropriate programing for children. (FL)

Describes a simple process for making an animated film by moving sand patterns on a lighted surface. (SJL)

Advocates rearranging the steps directors follow in conventional theater productions. Describes a collaboration with an artist and a group of Lake Ridge Academy (Ohio) theater students that began with the construction of a sculpture/set piece that inspired the performers to write. The company then performed these writings around the sculpture/set…

Presents 23 photographs and discusses techniques used in taking each photo. Considers the aperture, depth of field, shutter speed, film type, exposures, equivalent exposure, and lenses. Presents an exercise worksheet for students to fill out incorporating these techniques. (SG)

Discusses the production of an autobiographical play about the Holocaust, "Who Will Carry the Word?" by Charlotte Delbo. Notes that the play is in three acts, needs a large female cast, and was mounted by the Teen Repertory Company of the Oddfellows Playhouse of Middletown, Connecticut. Describes rehearsal techniques and audience…

Presents a condensed method for involving students in the kind of theatrical problem-solving that transforms a script to a play. Describes how to incorporate a "human slide show" into the class. Notes that students must read plays not just to understand events, but to make artistic choices about how to stage the action so that an…

Presents the author's experiences as a kind of case study of what it looks and sounds like when "doing" Shakespeare is in the foreground of instruction and "play" is the thing that makes that happen. Discusses guidelines and suggestions for putting a play together. (SG)

Discuses mainstreaming students into drama classes. Suggests ways to determine whether a student is ready to be mainstreamed, the importance of age and interest-appropriate mainstreaming, and casting scenes and plays. (RS)

Notes that film has no clear set of rules, unlike all languages, which are deductive systems interpreted according to clear sets of rules. Suggests that film is an inductive system whose interpretation is based on a general understanding of events depicted as modified by production variables such as lighting, camera angles, and the context of…

Describes the author's directing experiences in Lima, Peru, and in San Migual de Allende, Mexico. Includes insights gained through work in both Spanish-spoken theater and bilingual Spanish-English theater. (SR)

Describes an easy, inexpensive way for students to create photographic prints without a camera or film. The prints, or photograms, are made by placing objects on photographic paper, exposing the paper to light, then processing it. For a class of 25, the project costs about $1.50 per student. (SM)

Describes "collective creation," an instructional technique involving drama that is useful in a wide range of disciplines. Discusses choosing the topic, gathering material, exploration, refining the collective creation, rehearsal and performance, and reflection. (SR)

Describes the effect of first-year directing students using short, abstract poems rather than scenes from classic plays as the basis of their productions. Notes that the images in these poems speak loudly and intensely to the audience, in contrast to the usual "talking heads" result of producing scenes from classics. (RS)