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Open Access Knowledge and Scholarship

Date of Award

8-1959

Culminating Project Type

Thesis

College

College of Liberal Arts

First Advisor

Arthur L. Housman

Second Advisor

M.E. Van Nostrand

Keywords and Subject Headings

educational theater; actor behavior; adjustive behavioral habits

Abstract

PROBLEM: Drama is a unique art in that it uses people as its tools. No artist would be justified in practicing his art without a thorough knowledge of how his tools function. Actor behavior, then, becomes an important consideration for any director of educational theater. Although much information is available on what the actor should do, there have apparently been no studies attempting to determine how a director in educational theater can best get an actor to carry out his assignment if the actor's behavior is maladjusted. This study, then, proposes to describe and to analyze problems in educational theater which arise from actor's maladjusted behavior, and to suggest some psychologically sound solutions to these problems.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION: If a director of educational theater is to justify his activity educationally, the welfare of the student actor must be of primary importance. Assisting the students to acquire adjustive behavioral habits can be a major contribution of this activity. Often the knowledge of what causes the actor to behave as he does will, in itself, indicate the remedy without further study. Understanding, patience, and confidence appear to be the traits most necessary for a director if he is to avoid mal-adjustive behavior by the actor. Although the study seems to have posed more questions than it answered, perhaps it has made some small contribution to this vast unexplored area of educational theater.

Comments/Acknowledgements

Degree earned was an M.S. in Education.

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