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##  Online Resources for Theatre Education. ERIC Digest.                         

Research demonstrates that dramatic play has a strong impact on                 children's cognitive and social development as well as provides                 children with opportunities to learn to express their feelings and              become sensitive to the values of others (Coney & Kanel, 1997).                 Theatrical expression-both oral and written language-is also a                  medium through which teachers may under-stand and interpret                     children's thinking (Sierra, 1997). Further, since drama has become             an important method of understanding others and our own lives,                  children need to learn to appreciate, interpret, and evaluate it.               Regrettably, theatre education has often been missing from school               curricula (Wright, 2000). 
The National Standards for Arts                     Education in Theatre, written by the Consortium of National Arts                Education Associations, are designed as guidelines to introduce                 teachers and students to multiple aspects of this art form within an            age-appropriate framework, to help them develop new breadth and                 depth for teaching and learning, and to encourage them to study the             discipline as a professional practice (Mahlmann et al.,                         1994). 
Since the Internet has become a primary information source,            this Digest offers a list of online resources to assist teachers and            educators in conducting research and curriculum development and in              meeting the National Standards for Arts Education in Theatre. The               Digest provides some general resources. It then details the theatre             content standards, and presents related research and supporting                 websites for each standard. Finally, it lists and describes                     important professional development organizations. GENERAL                     RESOURCES:Theatre Lesson Plan Exchange                                      http://www.geocities.com/shalyndria13/plans.htm 
The Theatre Lesson            Plan Exchange provides a large collection of lesson plans on all                aspects of theatre and also includes resources on using drama to                teach emotional intelligence and improvisation for social                       studies. 
Children's Theatre Resource Webpage                                  http://faculty-web.at.northwestern.edu/theater/tya/ 
The mission of            this award-winning website is to assist the growth of Children's                Theatre into the 21st century by expanding the resources and                    information into Cyberspace. 
The WWW Virtual Library for Theatre              and Drama http://vl-theatre.com/ 
The WWW Virtual Library for                  Theatre and Drama offers links to international online articles,                journals, museums, organizations, and theatre companies. It is a                valuable site for amateurs, professionals, and students from all                over the world. THEATRE CONTENT STANDARDSContent Standard #1:             Script writing by planning, recording, and creating improvisations              based on personal experience, heritage, imagination, literature, and            history. 
Students are encouraged to create characters and                     environments for classroom dramatizations, to record the dialogue               and improvisations, and to construct the scripts. Improvisation,                often applied to strengthen social studies concepts, has been found             to be effective in building relationships between teachers and                  students (Sierra, 1997). 
Readers' Theatre Resources for teachers              and students http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/langrt.htm 
This site is            clear and comprehensive, and includes: (1) definition of readers'               theatre; (2) samples of readers' theatre scripts; (3) an opportunity            for writing your own readers' theatre scripts; (4) recommended                  resource books; and (5) recommended on-line resources. 
Content                Standard #2: Acting by playing roles, developing basic acting                   skills, communicating characters in improvisations. 
Students                  imagine and analyze characters and their relationships, and they                develop acting skills. By portraying roles in dramatic plays,                   students gain better understanding and empathy toward                           others (Farris & Parke, 1993). 
The Drama Teacher's Resource Room              http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/erachi/ 
The Drama Teacher's Resource              Room encourages creative and challenging theatrical experiences and             provides teachers and students with lesson plans to improve acting              skills as well as other resources to support classroom                          production. 
Content Standard #3: Designing by arranging and                   developing environments for improvised scenes and informal or formal            productions. 
Students learn to create an environment appropriate              for the play and to work collaboratively to construct designs for               the environment. It has been shown that student designers have a                broader view of theatre than the actors, who often view theatre as a            place for gaining self-satisfaction based on audience                           response (Wright, 2000). 
Glossary of Technical Theatre Terms                  http://www.theatrecrafts.com/glossary/glossary.shtml 
Many teachers            and students find that technical terms in the field of theatre are              complicated. This website offers definitions of stagecraft terms and            a forum for answering questions about theatrical terms. 
The                   Original Online Resource for Stage Managers                                     http://www.smnetwork.org/ 
This site, maintained by a professional             stage manager, is an excellent source of help for technical                     questions.  It is a professional site but also a good source of                 ideas for amateurs. 
Content Standard #4: Directing by planning                classroom dramatizations, organizing and conducting rehearsals for              improvised scenes and informal or formal productions. 
Students                plan improvisations, demonstrate varied ways of presenting classroom            dramatizations or improvised scenes. Traditionally, teachers are the            directors in student productions; however, research has concluded               that students who have worked as directors gain the deepest                     understanding of theatre (Wright, 2000). 
Introduction to Directing            http://www.byu.edu/tma/arts-ed/units/1dirunit.htm 
Introduction to             Directing is a lesson plan, which takes students step-by-step                   through the basics of directing. The objective of this unit is to               help students learn the fundamentals of directing for the                       theatre. 
Content Standard #5: Researching by finding information              to support classroom dramatizations, improvising scenes, and by                 further evaluating cultural and historical information to support               artistic choices. 
Students communicate and exchange information               with each other about their play, apply their research to script                writing, acting, design, and directing choices, and evaluate                    cultural and historical information for informal or formal                      productions. Through this experience, students will be motivated and            be given the opportunity to develop artistic skills and theatre                 literacy (Wright, 2000). 
Artslynx International Theatre Resources             http://www.artslynx.org/theatre/index.htm 
The mission of Artslynx             International Theatre Resources is to provide the most efficient                navigation to valuable information for the student, scholar,                    educator, and researcher. Teachers and students can utilize this                website to search for resources to support their                                productions. 
Content Standard #6: Comparing, connecting, and                  incorporating art forms by describing and analyzing theatre and                 other art forms. 
Students describe and compare different elements             in theatre, express personal reactions to several art forms, and                illustrate the integration of arts media. Through theatrical                    experience, students will discover the unique characteristics of                theatre: it is active, collaborative, temporal, interactive, and                composite (Farris & Parke, 1993). 
Storytelling, Drama, Creative               Dramatics, Puppetry & Readers' Theater for Children & Young Adults              http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/drama.htm 
This website presents               various resources for theatre as well as other performance arts.                Teachers and students will find it useful for demonstrating,                    comparing or incorporating the different functions and interaction              of various art forms. 
Content Standard #7: Analyzing personal                 preferences and constructing meanings from dramatic play or other               productions. 
Students articulate emotional responses to personal              experiences, support the meaning constructed from their own and                 others' dramatic performances, analyze and critique the dramatic                context, constructively evaluate their own and others' efforts and              artistic choices in both informal and formal productions. This                  standard is supported by an educational concept, "develop through               drama," which means that dramatic experience will promote                       development of the child (Urian, 2000). 
Comprehensive Guide To                Theater on the InterNet                                                         http://www.stetson.edu/departments/csata/thr_guid.html#Start 
This             Guide provides varied resources, and includes electronic journals               and magazines to support students' advanced studies. 
Content                  Standard #8: Recognizing and analyzing the role of theatre, film,               television, and electronic media in our lives. 
Students discuss               characters and situations in dramas in sociocultural context,                   analyze drama's impact on our lives, and explore how social concepts            such as cooperation and communication apply in theatre and our                  lives. In this way, students discover how dramatic context, as a                vehicle to develop thought and language, can be incorporated in art             forms such as literature, visual arts, music, and dance (Farris &               Parke, 1993). 
Television, Radio, Film, Theatre Internet Resources             http://www.library.sjsu.edu/subject/Theatre_Arts/tares.htm 
This               site, developed by San Jose State University, provides broad                    information for different art forms, and links to professional                  organizations and research in TV, radio, films, and                             theatre. 
Advanced Professional Development 
The struggle for                 comprehensive theatre education is difficult and ongoing, and many              teachers are concerned about dealing with all these                             standards (Bedard, 1994). Theatre educational organizations provide             a broad range of professional services and support to both teachers             and students. 
American Alliance for Theatre and Education                     http://www.aate.com/ 
This professional theatre educators'                     organization provides teachers and students with opportunities to               connect with each other and exchange ideas and                                  resources. 
Educational Theatre Association's (ETA) website                    http://www.etassoc.org/default_html.asp 
The ETA provides a broad              range of professional services and support such as theatre festivals            for students, professional development programs for theatre                     teachers, a magazine, and a quarterly                                           journal. REFERENCESBedard, R. L. (1994). The American alliance            for theatre and education: Scenarios for the future. Arts Education             Policy Review, 95(5), 35-38. 
Coney, R., & Kanel, S. (1997).                   Opening the world of literature to children through interactive                 drama experiences. Paper presented at the Annual International                  Conference and Exhibitions of the Association for Childhood                     Education,Portland, OR. [ED 412 577] 
Farris, P. J., & Parke,                  J. (1993). To be or not to be: What students think about drama.                 Clearing House, 66(4), 231-34. [EJ 466 679] 
Consortium of National            Arts Education Association. (1994). National Standards for Arts                 Education: What Every Young American Should Know and Be Able To Do              in the Arts. Reston, VA: Author. [ED 365 622] 
Sierra, Z. (1997).              Children's voices through dramatic play. Paper presented at the 14th            Annual Qualitative Analysis Conference, Toronto, Canada. [ED 418                344] 
Urian, D. (2000). Drama in education: From theory to "study              cases." Contemporary Theatre Review, 10(2), 1-9. 
Wright.                      L. (2000). But are they implemented? The promise and reality of the             national theatre standards. Arts Education Policy Review, 102(1),               11-19. 
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Digest #168 is EDO-CS-01-09 and was published in               December 2001 by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English and                 Communication, 2805 E 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47408-2698,                  Telephone (812) 855-5847 or (800) 759-4723. ERIC Digests are in the             public domain and may be freely reproduced. Additional copies may be            ordered by contacting the ERIC Document Reproduction Service                    at (800) 443-3742. 
This project has been funded at least in part              with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education under                  contract number ED-99-CO-0028. The content of this publication does             not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department            of Education nor does mention of trade names, commercial products,              or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.                   **Title:** Online Resources for Theatre Education. ERIC Digest.                         **Note:** ERIC Digest D168.                                                            **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Target Audience:** Practitioners, Teachers                                                      **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading, English, and Communication, Indiana              University, 2805 E. 10th Street, Suite 140, Bloomington, IN                     47408-2698. Tel: 800-759-4723 (Toll Free). For full text:                       http://eric.indiana.edu.                                                     **Descriptors:**  Art Education, Curriculum Development, Elementary Secondary                    Education, Higher Education, Information Sources, Internet,                      National Standards, Professional Development,  Theater Arts                 **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests, Theater Research                                               
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