Gevirtz School alumna Judith Freeman Garey has published Theater, Drama, and Reading: Transforming the Rehearsal Process into a Reading Process (NCTE 2021).
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. Drawing on both the production aspects of theater and the generative learning elements of drama, Theater, Drama, and Reading shows readers how to transform text from print to interaction, establishing 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.
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 of these strategies to online instruction.
Retired theatre professor Judy Garey taught in the California Community College system for over 35 years, serving as department chair for theater and dance at Ventura College for many years. In addition to her recognition as an outstanding stage director by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, she served as a national scholar with the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL), a major initiative of the Carnegie Foundation built on the concept of teaching as scholarly work, and is a fellow of the South Coast Writing Project. Her article, “Activating Reading: Giving Readers the Tools to See and Hear What They Read,” appeared in California English Journal, November 2016. Dr. Garey holds an MA in Theater from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana and a Ph.D. in Education (’03) from UC Santa Barbara.
The book also features a foreword by Dr. Sheridan Blau, longtime professor in the Gevirtz School’s Department of Education and former director of the South Coast Writing Project (SCWriP).