Three performance problems encountered in storytelling are: subordinating the perspective of individual characters to that of the storyteller; the role of the audience; and the undefined boundary between reader and audience. The concept of "Gestus" as espoused in the dramatic theory of Bertolt Brecht offers an approach to the performance…

The fourth edition of a guide originally prepared in 1964, this publication is designed to meet the need for active competition among students of varying levels of experience in the areas of speech and drama. The co-curricular program outlined is designed for use as a supplement to senior high school instruction and activities. Included in the…

Describes the interpretive elements of literary messages, participants, and interaction settings from a social contexts orientation. Presents a framework, rationale, and an implementation strategy for social contexts component in interpretation education. Claims that such programs help participants, through the sensitive communication of…

Reader's Theatre can be used to combine basic literature and writing instruction with creative arts. Improvisational playmaking by students, using literature in the form of plays, prose, and poetry, forms the basis of Reader's Theatre. Use of Reader's Theatre in the classroom can: (1) foster deeper understanding of character, setting, and plot…

Describes a project involving the presentation of "Le petit prince" as an exercise in dramatics by children in a French-Italian bilingual education class. Two steps in the process are discussed: (1) the study of the text, and (2) the activities involved in getting the play ready for performance. (AMH)

In many literacy classrooms, students engage in public performances in which they use various texts, movements of their bodies, and verbal interactions. How do we interpret such events? In this article, we critique a representational mode of interpretation and describe an alternate mode. We argue that literacy performances are often about creating…

The primary pedagogical principle of Reader's Theatre is that it "dramatizes" literature to provide both a visual and an oral stimulus for students who may be unaccustomed to using their imagination to experience literary works like novels, poems, essays, or short stories. Promoting a suggestive, "theatrical mind" approach to…

To determine whether gender differences exist in paralinguistic perception, 31 male and 59 female college students listened to an audiotape on which emotions were conveyed through ambiguous verbal statements and then indicated their perceptions of the conveyed emotions. Statistical analyses of the student responses in relation to students'…

The purpose of this state-of-the-art monograph is to describe the nature of oral interpretation of literature and to suggest contributions which can be made through this channel to the study of literature in high school. A comprehensive treatment and a qualitative assessment of the published and unpublished material on the topic are attempted and…

This study assesses the role of oral interpretation in a comprehensive theory of discourse and suggests how oral interpretation may be integrated with the study of literature. Oral interpretation is thought to be useful to the student of literature because: (1) the analysis may lead to a valid interpretation of the work; (2) focus is placed on the…

The author states that phonetic symbolism is not a generalizable phenomenon but maintains that those interested in the status of a poem as a speech event need not totally discount or discredit such perceptions. In his discussion of the theories which ascribe meaning to vocal utterance--the two imitative theories, the onomatopoeic and the gestural,…

Reading comprehension is often tested by teachers through verbal questioning of students on a literal, interpretive, or evaluative level. The drawbacks of this method are that it often doesn't develop understanding or require interpretation. Presents an example of how to develop thinking and comprehension through a questioning strategy focused on…

Provides an annotated bibliography of sources that will help teachers select materials and structure activities in oral interpretation, readers theatre, improvisation, and creative speaking for the English classroom. (MM)