The purpose of my study was to discover the most performed plays in Southern Arizona high schools, the teachers' considerations when choosing these scripts, and the implications these scripts have for the adolescent student. The first two sets of data were collected from a questionnaire sent to 33 high school theatre educators in Southern Arizona. I created a list of the full-length plays/musicals and a list of what teachers felt were the most important considerations for script selection. I analyzed the four most performed scripts, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Our Town, Once Upon a Mattress, and Footloose, and discovered four prominent themes (the future, adolescent love, power, and image) and discussed the implications they have on the adolescent actor.

Twenty-one original prose selections were written for use by junior high school students of oral interpretation. A survey of textbook publishers and junior high school teachers revealed a need for material of appropriate length and of suitable reading and interest levels for oral reading in the junior high school classroom. The selections were read and evaluated by a group of junior high students and a junior high teacher of speech. The responses indicate that the selections are effective and usable as an instructional aid in teaching oral interpretation in junior high school.

The following thesis draws from my experiences during my first year teaching at an inner city public school, John Marshall High School, from September 2007 to June 2008. It details apprehensions, conflicts, adjustments and corrections, both in my instructional method and personal interaction with students. I seek to illustrate mistakes and insights any first-year teacher might experience, as well as synthesize my own impressions regarding my evolving teaching philosophy.

How do conventional performance-based models of drama in high schools serve to oppress students? How can Applied Drama models serve to emancipate students? This thesis invites educators to imagine drama programs in high schools as being capable of employing the use of imaginative dramatic arts processes for their emancipatory potential aimed to break oppressive habits and to rehearse alternative dialogue and action in the lives of students. Drama processes in high schools could be designed within an emancipatory paradigm of curriculum-making. Instead of designing drama programs around the goal of producing scripted theatre performances, drama programs in high schools can be designed with the goal of engaging students imaginations. Specifically, Applied Drama processes have the potential to nurture students social and moral imaginations which, in turn, allow students to become more empathetic. Moreover, through dramatic role-play, students enter an imaginary world and rehearse alternative ways of acting in the world. If the dramatic role-play addresses issues of oppression in the world, then the imaginary world presents scenarios in which students can rehearse emancipatory ways of acting and thinking about their lived reality. Specifically, Applied Drama processes are best suited for emancipatory, imaginative drama programs in high schools. In this thesis, I also discuss the importance of reflection in emancipatory drama processes.

How do conventional performance-based models of drama in high schools serve to oppress students? How can Applied Drama models serve to emancipate students? This thesis invites educators to imagine drama programs in high schools as being capable of employing the use of imaginative dramatic arts processes for their emancipatory potential aimed to break oppressive habits and to rehearse alternative dialogue and action in the lives of students. Drama processes in high schools could be designed within an emancipatory paradigm of curriculum-making. Instead of designing drama programs around the goal of producing scripted theatre performances, drama programs in high schools can be designed with the goal of engaging students imaginations. Specifically, Applied Drama processes have the potential to nurture students social and moral imaginations which, in turn, allow students to become more empathetic. Moreover, through dramatic role-play, students enter an imaginary world and rehearse alternative ways of acting in the world. If the dramatic role-play addresses issues of oppression in the world, then the imaginary world presents scenarios in which students can rehearse emancipatory ways of acting and thinking about their lived reality. Specifically, Applied Drama processes are best suited for emancipatory, imaginative drama programs in high schools. In this thesis, I also discuss the importance of reflection in emancipatory drama processes.