Bloomsbury Publishing is under contract with Miriam Chirico (Eastern Connecticut State University) and Kelly Younger (Loyola Marymount University) to publish HOW TO TEACH A PLAY.
The editors are currently seeking submissions of teaching exercises that nourish the performative imagination. Since faculty often teach a play in the same way they teach a work of fiction or poetry, this book aims to provide exercises that lead students to discover the dramatic, performative, and living qualities of this unique genre.
Grounded in research of the playwright’s work, the exercises point out the performance elements or attributes of the specific play, while indicating how that performance element illuminates the play's larger themes or significance. Thus, we are gathering exercises that connect close textual analysis with performance. If you have a classroom exercise that deepens students' understanding and experience of a particular dramatic text, please respond to the prompts below and kindly submit for consideration.
Pay special attention to how your specific exercise illuminates a thematic aspect of the specific play. We are not seeking general acting exercises or theater games, but play-specific "gimmicks" that help drive a point home to students who may otherwise have little experience with drama. In other words, how may your exercise apply only to this play, but not to others?
There are sample exercises provided at the end of this form. Please read before submitting your work.