Talking our world: an experiment in community theatre for women

This project melds the creative and the theoretical in its presentation and analysis of two community theatre projects which were devised and performed by a group of women at a local amateur theatre. The first production was titied Just Between You And Me. and the second. All This Talk. Both plays foreground the "talk" of women in celebration and in questioning the roles of women. The scripts of the plays were workshopped and written using a consensual methodology. The dynamics of group interaction inspired the productions with an intensity which brought considerable audience comment and no small amount of personal satisfaction to the group members. The thesis provides an understanding of the texts, both in the process of creation and in performance. Of importance to this understanding is the creation of meaning and the process of communication. The thesis includes the playtexts (bound separately), a theoretical overview, the annotated playtexts and a videotext of selected scenes.