Rachel Ironmonger

Thea 303
Annotated Bibliography Assignment
Lazarus, Joan. Signs of Change: New Directions in Theatre Education. Chicago,
Intellect, 2012. Print.
This is a great source by Joan Lazarus who has been not only a theatre educator
herself, but also an educator of those wishing to become theatre teachers. Lazarus
has been on several national committees- including serving as the president for
American Alliance for Theatre and Education- and helped to develop theatre
curriculums across the country. The book includes contributions from several
theatre educators across the country, both new practitioners and ones who have
been involved for decades. This text was created for theatre educators across the
country looking to better their practices. It was also created for new theatre
educators who dont necessarily know in which direction they are headed in yet. Its
a great source because it includes several different contributions from a number of
people, allowing the reader to expose themselves to multiple views on the same
topic. Lazarus argues that the current idea of education and teaching theatre is
outdated. She, along with the other educators, provide ways to effectively progress
and allow students to have the most beneficial experience possible. Through
Lazaruss experience with theatre educators across the country, she has come up
with the idea of Best Practice which describes the best way to practice theatre for
young audiences. The testimonials provided in this book all provide ways for the
readers to enact Best Practice in their own classroom.