PALATINE

REVIEW: The Danillitphil site engages with theatre in church and contains instructions for mimes, monologues, interpretative readings, one-act plays, spirituality essays about theatre in church, directing for worship. Dr Debra Bruch's pages on theatre were written in 1990 and cover much ground, introducing theatre as a form of witnessing. Perhaps because it covers a breadth of material, the work is very general. 'The Prejudice Against Theatre' is subtitled as 'a scholarly essay' and is perhaps the most pertinent to general application in the performing arts. Here, Bruch examines 'Christian prejudice in the shaping of theatre theory and practice during the Medieval and Renaissance ages'. There is a link from here to Bruch's home page and from there to the Association for Theatre in Higher Education Religion and Theatre Focus Group. At the time of writing, Debra Bruch was Associate Professor at Michigan Technological University.
Reviewed October 2001, by Stuart Andrews.

REVIEW: Advertised as 'the only exercise driven directing text', Terry John's Converse's book is advertised on this one page site. Converse is Professor of Theatre at Washington State University and the book is very much a part of his teaching at WSU. Although the emphasis is on how and where to buy the book (rather than its contents), there are discussion lists for class members, syllabi and a list on the teaching of directing (very quiet). The design is somewhat garish and hence is not reassuring but this active approach to the teaching of directing is noteworthy, despite lacking examples or evidence of practice.
Reviewed November 2001, by Stuart Andrews.

REVIEW:This online lecture considers the director as manager and artist, critic, creator and conductor. Huber touches on realism, naturalism, nonrealism and fantasy, and the position of the director within a company or organisation. Towards the end of the lecture, Huber focuses on the practical aspects of directing (and specifically directing in America). The course refers to Edwin Wilson's text The Theatre Experience (Eighth Edition). Students are asked to go to the McGraw Hill Online Learing Centre, which provides chapter summaries on the text and multiple choice questions - which can then be emailed to the course tutor. This makes Huber's course a useful example of interactive online learning. Elsewhere on his homepage, Huber provides contact details, instructions for the use of online material together with an overview of the course. Dr Huber has been Professor of Theatre Arts at Cerritos College since 1988.
Reviewed October 2002, by Stuart Andrews.

Web-supported class at University of Alaska Fairbanks by prof. Anatoly Antohin

REVIEW: Louis E Catron (Professor of Theater, William and Mary College, Williamsburg USA) has worked extensively on playwrighting and on the effects of directing and performing work by single-author playwrights. The site has links to his own published material (contents pages) and interviews and to issues affecting the performance of published plays. His site is also particularly useful for its 'theatre sites for theatre people' sections. Although aimed at mainstream theatre work, the material engages with significant issues in performance that are difficult to find elsewhere. The copyright pages are extensive (although they cover only US law), there is a useful section on responding to stage directions and a list of recommended books and web-sites (Catron's book on theatre sites on line is out autumn 2001). He includes a page designed to remind students of the transferable skills learned in a theatre degree, together with another page on where to seek out theatre jobs (again, US-based). The pages are often long and the in-depth reviews of material tend to slow down navigation, but this is partly because the material and links have much to offer and demand attention. Catron also manages to combine valuable theatre resources with a little light gastronomy and it's worth checking the pizza dough recipe on Keith Ryder's page - link from this site.
Reviewed October 2001, by Stuart Andrews.

The SDCF supports stage directors and choreographers, providing a forum for sharing expertise, training and career development opportunities.