Student Actors Research Articles

An objective structured teaching examination (OSTE) for faculty development

ObjectivesOpportunities for faculty development are required by APCE accreditation for Doctor of Pharmacy programs, yet few faculty development programs reported in the literature have formal structures or measureable outcomes. The goal of this project was to pilot and evaluate an objective structured teaching examination (OSTE) for faculty development. MethodsTwo OSTE cases were developed. Student actors were trained to portray each OSTE role in a standardized manner. Case A simulated a student–preceptor interaction in which the student is disorganized and timid when presenting a patient case. Case B simulated a student–faculty interaction regarding a challenge to an examination question and emotions escalate. All interactions were video recorded, remotely observed, and evaluated by one of the investigators using a standardized performance checklist. Faculty, standardized students, and the investigators participated in a one-hour debriefing session immediately following the OSTE. Pre-post feedback was collected from participants. ResultsMost participants (>80%) scored well on the standardized checklist items. Some faculty failed to redirect the student to present data in an organized manner (Case A), respond empathetically (Case B), or offer follow-up (Case B). All participants agreed the role portrayal was realistic, the debriefing session was useful, OSTEs are an effective approach, and they would participate in future OSTEs. One participant noted “all faculty in all departments should complete this activity.” ConclusionsOur experience suggests that OSTEs are a realistic and well-received approach for faculty development that merits further investigation.

Brain mechanisms of imagination in solving creative verbal tasks

The brain’s mechanisms of imagination were studied using electroencephalography (EEG) spectral analysis in student actors and student non-actors under three experimental conditions: when they generated coherent stories on the basis of art reproductions (STORY task); listed the details of art reproductions presented (DETAIL task); and performed simple arithmetic calculations while observing a neutral background (COUNT task). Statistical analysis showed that, in α1 (7.5–10 Hz) and α2 (10–12.5 Hz) frequency bands, in both groups, execution of the STORY task, in contrast to the DETAIL task, was accompanied by significantly higher spectral power (synchronization) in most of the cortical areas studied; while, the contrasts STORY-COUNT and DETAILS-COUNT, were associated with a decrease in the EEG’s power (desynchronization) in all of the areas studied. Topographic mapping of the EEG’s power showed that, in both groups, maximal differences between the STORY and DETAILS tasks were related to the central parietal area. Maximal differences between the STORY and COUNT tasks, as well as those between the DETAILS and COUNT tasks, were related mainly to the occipital areas. Based on these findings, we consider parietal areas to be stable elements of integrated brain mechanisms underlying verbal creativity in actors and nonactors. Comparing our data with previous studies, we suggest that the parietal areas are involved in the selective inhibition of visual information processing during the involvement of brain structures in the processes of imagination.

Мозговые механизмы воображения при выполнении вербальных творческих задач

In the present study, EEG spectral analysis was used to examine the brain mechanisms of imagination in student actors and student non-actors under three experimental conditions: when subjects created a coherent story based on a presented picture (STORY), listed the details of the presented picture (DETAIL) and executed simple calculation while they looked at neutral background (COUNT). Statistical comparison of STORY and DETAIL conditions revealed significantly higher spectral power in alpha1 (7.5-10 Hz) and alpha2 (10-12.5 Hz) bands in the most of investigated cortical areas in actors and non-actors. By contrast, in comparisons STORY-COUNT and DETAIL-COUNT significantly lower spectral power in the same frequency bands in all investigated cortical areas in both groups was obtained. The most prominent differences in comparison STORY-DETAIL were revealed over the central parietal area. The most prominent differences in comparisons STORY-COUNT and DETAIL-COUNT were revealed mainly over the occipital areas. These EEG changes were found in both groups of subjects. Taking this fact into account we consider parietal areas to be stable element of the brain system which maintain verbal creativity in actors and non-actors. The discussion of our results with respect to those obtained in previous studies leads to conclusion that parietal areas are involved into the mechanism of selective inhibition of visual information processing during imagination.

Mobilising the Child Victim: The Localisation of Human Trafficking in Singapore through Global Activism

In this paper I examine the local mobilisation of the dominant global framing of the problem of human trafficking through ‘the female child victim’ in child sex trafficking advocacy campaigns. The child victim is a symbolic and emotive frame embodied in the Third World female child and enacted through her helplessness and experiences of extreme violence and (sexual) abuse in trafficking situations across diverse contexts globally. I use The Body Shop's (TBS's) 2009–12 global campaign against child sex trafficking as my site for discussion of the way frames in global human rights activism move into local contexts, often coming to define the ways contemporary human rights problems are understood and reproduced locally. I draw on ethnographic research on human trafficking in Singapore to explore the ways in which the child victim frame is mobilised in a specific locale through the involvement of a local nongovernmental organisation and university student actors as part of TBS's campaign strategy. Although recent geographical scholarship on social movements has embraced a networked approach, I argue for heightened attention to the geographies of scaled (re)iteration, or local mobilisation that occurs as transnational activism connects with particular places. The role of framing in embedding global human rights issues locally in transnational activism is central to this process.

Pretty/sexy: impacts of the sexualisation of young women on theatre pedagogy

This paper examines a broadly based and pervasive cultural pattern – the media-driven campaign of the sexualisation of girls and young women – and its effects on physical theatre training in particular, and on theatre pedagogy as a whole. This article argues that these sexualising discourses have measureable negative effects on the capacities of female acting students in physical theatre training. The piece originated in observations collected over years of classroom experience, and produces its results based on observable differences rather than hard data. The effects of sexualising influences on student actors' work are tested by summarising gender differences in the realisation of an assignment that tends to reveal such differences in a marked manner. Offered in support of the hypothesis is the body of evidence assembled as part of the Report of the Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls commissioned by the American Psychological Association, and the case is made that conventionalised notions of the feminine play into the hegemony of psychological realism in most university theatre programmes in North America. The article concludes by proposing specific strategies that instructors might employ to counteract sexualising effects by raising the issues surrounding this cultural pattern, and by undertaking specific interventions in the classroom.

Adaptation of alcohol and drug screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) to a department of intercollegiate athletics: The COMPASS project

Objective: To develop and implement an intervention for problem alcohol and substance use among student athletes at a large Midwestern department of intercollegiate athletics in the USA, by use of screening, a brief intervention, referral to treatment (SBIRT) and motivational interviewing (MI). This paper outlines the development of the protocol, the way in which athletic staff members were trained to conduct SBIRT/MI interventions with student athletes who screened positive on the ASSIST screening tool, and the initial fidelity assessment used to demonstrate levels of athletic-staff learning and retention of the process. Design: The developmental phase of the project used focus groups. Athletic staff members were trained by a clinical psychologist, during two face-to-face sessions. The recorded practice sessions with student actors were assessed for adherence to project protocols and MI principles. Setting: This study was conducted at a large Midwestern university in the USA. Method: Four focus groups were held with a total of 29 individuals from distinct segments of the athletics department. Five athletic staff members were trained in SBIRT/MI. Each staff member completed between 4–8 practice sessions with student actors, which were later assessed for implementation fidelity. Results: In pilot testing with student actors, staff achieved “good” (µ ≥ 1.5 on a scale of 0–2) performance ratings on the majority of protocols and displayed mixed, but generally positive abilities to utilize MI techniques while avoiding MI-inconsistent behaviors. Conclusion: A relatively short training sequence can adequately prepare non-clinical staff members in an athletics department to be ready to deliver a SBIRT/MI-driven protocol to any future at-risk student-athletes identified by drug and alcohol screening.

Observations of Adolescent Peer Resistance Skills Following a Classroom-Based Healthy Relationship Program: A Post-intervention Comparison

This study examines peer resistance skills following a 21-lesson classroom-based intervention to build healthy relationships and decrease abusive and health-risk behaviors among adolescents. The Fourth R instructs students in positive relationship skills, such as negotiation and delay, for navigating challenging peer and dating scenarios. Observational data from 196 grade 9 students participating in a larger cluster randomized controlled trial were used to evaluate post-intervention acquisition of peer resistance skills. Pairs of students engaged in a role play paradigm with older student actors, where they were subjected to increasing pressure to comply with peer requests related to drugs and alcohol, bullying, and sexual behavior. Specific and global measures of change in peer resistance responses were obtained from two independent sets of observers, blinded to condition. Specific peer resistance responses (negotiation, delay, yielding to pressure, refusal, and compliance) were coded by research assistants; global peer resistance responses were rated by teachers from other schools (thinking / inquiry, application, communication, and perceived efficacy). Students who received the intervention were more likely to demonstrate negotiation skills and less likely to yield to negative pressure relative to controls. Intervention students were also more likely to use delay than controls; control girls were more likely to use refusal responses; the number of times students complied with peer requests did not differ. Teacher ratings demonstrated significant main effects favoring intervention youth on all measures. Program and research implications are highlighted.

Taboo or not taboo: a collaborative hospice/theatre/schools project

IntroductionDuring their school years, an estimated 22 000 children and young people will lose a parent. Many others will experience the death of close relatives or friends, yet schools and...

Laban for Student Actors: Probing Physical and Mental Limits

What moves a student of acting? Many undergraduate actors—and particularly those actors in their first or second year of study—experience movement in two distinct and problematically separate realm...

Jenny Jan's dilemma: applying the principles of resource dependence theory to vendor selection negotiations

This paper describes an original exercise developed to apply resource dependence theory (RDT) in an interesting and educational series of role plays. The exercise creates simulated negotiations between a fast-food sandwich shop and various supply vendors, where student actors representing these entities experience the dynamics between dependence and power. Complete theoretical background on RDT is followed by step-by-step instructions and processing information. Pre- and post-assessments, student reactions, and a photo-ready hand-out of the activity are also provided.

Shakespeare Performance in Hong Kong: The Chinese Universities Shakespeare Festival

In May 2009, The Chinese Universities Shakespeare Festival will celebrate its fifth year. The event involves twelve teams of student actors from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan (culled from an initial entry group of over thirty teams) performing short (15 minute) Shakespeare scenes before a Hong Kong audience including three renowned international judges. The winning team, along with their director, is awarded an all-expense paid trip to the UK, and there are other prizes as well. I have been involved in the Shakespeare Festival since its inception, and this talk will provide an introduction to the event, one that might be modulated to become a performance festival in other Asian locations. The talk will also cover such topics as the range of performance styles used in Shakespeare Festival performances, the qualities looked for (in terms of acting and staging) by the Festival judges, and the challenges involved in presenting exciting Shakespeare performances given the very brief (15 minute) time limit and the requirement that each team consist of only three actors. In addition to discussing the Shakespeare Festival itself, this conference presentation will also attempt to situate the event in the context of other contemporary Shakespeare performance competitions and celebrations in Asia today.

Causas y consecuencias de la apatía en un grupo de estudiantes del programa de psicología frente a los cursos de mediación virtual

<p>Conocer el porqué de la apatía frente a matricular cursos en mediación virtual que, periodo a periodo en época de pre matrícula, manifiestan los estudiantes de todos los programas y especialmente los de Psicología, se ha convertido para esta investigadora- que además cumple con funciones de tutora virtual-, en un reto en el sentido de revisar las causas que están generando este malestar que aunque se hacen evidentes, en muchos casos seguimos haciendo caso omiso a su afrontamiento.</p><p>Muchas investigaciones han estado orientadas a ir al fondo del problema, se han determinado causas y consecuencias y se han diseñado diferentes herramientas que le han permitido<br />al estudiante y a los actores académicos utilizar nuevas estrategias pedagógicas y nuevos programas que mejoren la receptividad de todas las actividades diseñadas en un curso virtual.</p><p>El malestar que se manifiesta, también se trasmite de estudiantes antiguos a nuevos, se hace evidente en el no rotundo de algunos de ellos a matricular cursos virtuales y se cristalizó en la comunicación que a través de la red social Facebook registra: “No rotundo a obligar a la mediación virtual en la unad”.</p><p>Todas estas inquietudes vienen generando consecuencias tanto negativas como positivas; se han revisado muchos de los procesos de aprendizaje y en especial el diseño de ambientes de aprendizajes autónomos y la construcción de escenarios digitales para la educación a distancia. En lo negativo, a partir de la situación generada, se busca contrarrestar la situación con un acercamiento pertinente y consecuente a las necesidades de los estudiantes y apoyar la práctica pedagógica que garantice acompañamiento académico y pedagógico en donde se hace evidente nuestra responsabilidad formativa.</p>

Performing Gender at the Beginning of Modern Chinese Theatre

In the early twentieth century, female impersonators in Japan's first Western-style theatre, shinpa (new school drama), employed gender performance conventions based on kabuki onnagata and European melodramatic techniques. Shinpa performers influenced the performance of gender in early Chinese spoken drama. Chinese student actors emulated shinpa conventions in Tokyo and popularized them in Shanghai in the 1910s, where they were accepted as being accurate enactments of modern women.

Empowering Bystanders to Prevent Campus Violence Against Women

Researchers at a midsized public northeastern university evaluated the efficacy of a poster campaign to determine if students increase their knowledge of prosocial bystander behaviors and willingness to intervene in instances of sexual violence after viewing a series of campaign posters where student actors model appropriate bystander behaviors. During the last week of the campaign, undergraduates were invited to participate in a Web survey. The results of this preliminary evaluation indicate promising variation in the awareness of students who reported seeing the campaign compared to those who did not.

Monopitched Expression of Emotions in Different Vowels

Fundamental frequency (F₀) and intensity are known to be important variables in the communication of emotions in speech. In singing, however, pitch is predetermined and yet the voice should convey emotions. Hence, other vocal parameters are needed to express emotions. This study investigated the role of voice source characteristics and formant frequencies in the communication of emotions in monopitched vowel samples [a:], [i:] and [u:]. Student actors (5 males, 8 females) produced the emotional samples simulating joy, tenderness, sadness, anger and a neutral emotional state. Equivalent sound level (L_eq), alpha ratio [SPL (1–5 kHz) – SPL (50 Hz–1 kHz)] and formant frequencies F1–F4 were measured. The [a:] samples were inverse filtered and the estimated glottal flows were parameterized with the normalized amplitude quotient [NAQ = f_AC/(d_peakT)]. Interrelations of acoustic variables were studied by ANCOVA, considering the valence and psychophysiological activity of the expressions. Forty participants listened to the randomized samples (n = 210) for identification of the emotions. The capacity of monopitched vowels for conveying emotions differed. L_eq and NAQ differentiated activity levels. NAQ also varied independently of L_eq. In [a:], filter (formant frequencies F1–F4) was related to valence. The interplay between voice source and F1–F4 warrants a synthesis study.

Creativity, emotional intelligence and emotional creativity in student actors: a pilot study

This article frames the demands made on the actor in this specific field, but specifically attempts to argue the interface between emotions and creativity in the actor, using the notions of emotional intelligence and emotional creativity as a way of interrogating the connections.

Acoustic Changes in Student Actors' Voices After 12 Months of Training

This study was to evaluate acoustic changes in student actors' voices after 12 months of actor training. The design used was a longitudinal study. Eighteen students enrolled in an Australian tertiary 3-year acting program (nine male and nine female) were assessed at the beginning of their acting course and again 12 months later using a questionnaire, interview, maximum phonation time (MPT), reading, spontaneous speaking, sustained phonation tasks, and a pitch range task. Samples were analyzed for MPT, fundamental frequency across tasks, pitch range for speaking and reading, singing pitch range, noise-to-harmonic ratio, shimmer, and jitter. After training, measures of shimmer significantly increased for both male and female participants. Female participants' pitch range significantly increased after training, with a significantly lower mean frequency for their lowest pitch. The finding of limited or negative changes for some measures indicate that further investigation is required into the long-term effects of actor voice training and which parameters of voicing are most targeted and valued in training. Particular investigation into the relationship between training targets and outcomes could more reliably inform acting programs about changes in teaching methodologies. Further research into the relationship between specific training techniques, physiological changes, and vocal changes may also provide information on implementing more evidence-based training methods.

The Effective Delivery of a Streaming Video Course Lecture

This study compares the effects of a faculty-read non-interactive streaming video lecture to the same lecture read by paid actors on student performance and perceptions. The scope of the study is limited to one learning objective of the first accounting course. No significant differences were found in student performance (n = 46), as measured by quiz grades, or student perceptions, as measured by a survey instrument, between the lectures read by faculty members and the lectures read by actors. These findings have implications for authors of online course content because the results suggest that the effectiveness of a non-interactive video presentation might not be dependent on the presenter. Faculty time might best be spent developing content with paid student actors going on-camera for recording the actual presentation.

JOHN RUSSELL BROWN, Shakespeare Dancing: A Theatrical Study of the Plays. Pp. viii + 210. Basingstoke, London, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Paperbound 15.99 (ISBN 1 4039 4196 3). * FREDERICK KIEFER, Shakespeare's Visual Theatre: Staging the Personified Characters. Pp. xiii + 358. Cambridge, New York, Oakleigh: Cambridge University Press, 2003. 50.00 (ISBN 0 521 82725 6).

JOHN RUSSELL BROWN was a pioneer of the study of Shakespeare in performance in Britain. For nearly forty years no conscientious student can have avoided his work. Close reading of playscripts combined with a sensitivity to the craft of theatre have shaped a critical practice that led to new insights. In an age obsessed with grand theory his work remains valuable. And yet his recent output leaves me uneasy. He seems to have been writing the same book over and over again tinged with a strain of Bardolatry. His 1999 study of Shakespearian production in Asia attempted to break new ground but lacked academic rigour. His latest book makes little advance on Shakespeare's Plays in Performance which was first published in 1966. It makes the bold claim that ‘this is a practical book’ and each chapter ends with some perfunctory suggestions for activities which could form the basis of further investigations. Any student actors who buy this hoping for a Shakespeare Masterclass will be sorely disappointed. The best they will get is the banal assurance that ‘if an actor's imagination is committed to even a few of the images, his speech will awaken such physical reactions in himself that an audience will see what is happening to the man besides hearing what he says’. At times Brown conflates Shakespeare and Stanislavski claiming that the former's text will provide actors with ‘many suggestions to awaken their imaginations and personal memories’ which may have been a surprise to Burbage and his fellows. Those training to enter the profession would be better off with Peter Hall's Shakespeare's Advice to the Players.

Enacting This Is for You, Anna

In the spring of 2004, I had the opportunity to direct a student production of the play This Is for You, Anna at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta. The play was done in our black box theatre with seating for about 200, as part of Theatrextra, a “second season” of plays intended to offer smaller or more “experimental” shows. In this article, I will consider how the play attempts to re-enact the circumstances and context of a real-life crime in a non-realistic, yet evocative, manner. I will also consider the fact that to perform This Is for You, Anna is, to an unusual degree, to re-enact the history of the play’s creation through collective process. Finally, I will comment on the effectiveness of enactment as a tool of feminist pedagogy with student actors.