Gold, Muriel The Dramatic Legacy of Dorothy Davis and Violet Walters. The Montreal Children's Theatre, 1933-2009. New York, NY, Bloomington, IN, iUniverse Inc., September 2010. Paperback, 269 pp., 118 Illustrations, Endnotes, Index, ISBN 978-1-4502-6070-1. US $20.95. E-book, ISBN 978-1-4502-6071-8 US $10.00.
It was 1933 in the midst of the Great Depression. Montrealers, like their counterparts in other countries, were inundated with financial burdens. Dance lessons, music lessons, drama lessons were considered in many quarters as “frills.” This pervasive mood did not daunt two young women, Dorothy Davis and Violet Walters, from initiating their mission. Difficult times, they believed, were all the more reason to inspire children through the love of the arts, in this case drama and theatre.
Muriel Gold tells the story of these two dynamic women through innumerable anecdotes. A former student and teacher at the School, she recreates the magic of past Children’s Theatre productions, cites the monologues, the poems, the voice exercises vividly recalled by the children they nurtured over a period of close to 60 years.
Order from iUniverse, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Chapters-Indigo, or contact the author at murielgoldpoole@videotron.ca.
It was 1933 in the midst of the Great Depression. Montrealers, like their counterparts in other countries, were inundated with financial burdens. Dance lessons, music lessons, drama lessons were considered in many quarters as “frills.” This pervasive mood did not daunt two young women, Dorothy Davis and Violet Walters, from initiating their mission. Difficult times, they believed, were all the more reason to inspire children through the love of the arts, in this case drama and theatre.
Muriel Gold tells the story of these two dynamic women through innumerable anecdotes. A former student and teacher at the School, she recreates the magic of past Children’s Theatre productions, cites the monologues, the poems, the voice exercises vividly recalled by the children they nurtured over a period of close to 60 years.
Order from iUniverse, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Chapters-Indigo, or contact the author at murielgoldpoole@videotron.ca.
Gold, Muriel Drama Across the Curriculum. The Fictional Family in Practice. New York, NY, Bloomington, IN, iUniverse Inc., November 2010. Paperback, 240 pp. 14 Illustrations, Endnotes, Index, ISBN 978-1-4502-4071-0. US 19.95. E-book, ISBN 978-1-4502-4072-7, US $10.00.
Dr. Gold's Fictional Family technique was an invitation to begin one of the most exciting experiences of my teaching career...a method that would address all my teaching goals: effective writing instruction, confidence building, and writing across the curriculum. Looking at the technique from a purely pedagogical viewpoint, I had no idea what excitement the Fictional Family would engender in students from all disciplines, from fine arts to business, an excitement which has been a satisfaction to encounter. JUDY KALMAN
As I read through the chapters, I am convinced again and again of the power of drama as a learning medium across the curriculum. I am convinced, yes, partly by the various teachers who use the Fictional Family techniques creatively and sensitively, but particularly by the learners who seem to have benefitted from the techniques and whose learning is so evident in what they produce.
I invite you now to read these descriptions and to judge for yourself...It is the quality and potential of students' learning which this volume places in the spotlight and which drama seeks to serve. DAVID DILLON
Dr. Gold's Fictional Family technique was an invitation to begin one of the most exciting experiences of my teaching career...a method that would address all my teaching goals: effective writing instruction, confidence building, and writing across the curriculum. Looking at the technique from a purely pedagogical viewpoint, I had no idea what excitement the Fictional Family would engender in students from all disciplines, from fine arts to business, an excitement which has been a satisfaction to encounter. JUDY KALMAN
As I read through the chapters, I am convinced again and again of the power of drama as a learning medium across the curriculum. I am convinced, yes, partly by the various teachers who use the Fictional Family techniques creatively and sensitively, but particularly by the learners who seem to have benefitted from the techniques and whose learning is so evident in what they produce.
I invite you now to read these descriptions and to judge for yourself...It is the quality and potential of students' learning which this volume places in the spotlight and which drama seeks to serve. DAVID DILLON
Order from iUniverse, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Chapters-Indigo, or contact the author at murielgoldpoole@videotron.ca.