Theater, Drama, and Reading: Transforming the Rehearsal Process Into a Reading Process

Drawing on both the production aspects of theater and the generative learning elements of drama, Theater, Drama, and Reading provides language arts teachers the tools and resources they need to help students transform text from print to interaction and deeper understanding.

Judith Freeman Garey establishes a simple framework for how to read as an actor who builds characters’ lives, a set designer who constructs context, and a director who generates action. In the same way that theater artists engage in a rehearsal process to transform printed words into a world of people, space, sound, and action for the stage, readers can learn a modified version of this process to make text visible and concrete, unlocking its meaning.

This significant and practical new resource for all language arts teachers details the components of these reading strategies, provides step-by-step examples from classroom practice, and clearly demonstrates how the strategies achieve the Common Core State Standards. Additionally, the book defines a unique approach to teaching dramatic literature, features a short overview of additional popular classroom drama strategies to engage students with written text, and integrates practical suggestions to convert all these strategies to online instruction.