Editor's Comment

Editor's Comment Diversity is a theme that runs through all the articles in this issue: cultural diversity, gender diversity, diversity of values, diversity of pedagogical approaches. Oscar Brockett opens the discussion by pointing out that censorship battles raise difficult questions: Does any group have the right to impose its world view on another? On the other hand, should artistic visions which attack any group's values be permitted? What are the limitations on artistic freedom, and who shall have the power to define them? When Brockett presented his provocative address at the Kennedy Center in April 1993, his auditors suggested that it be shared with the profession at large, and we are honored to provide the means to do so. The censorship issue also arises in Roberta Uno's analysis of how South African playwright/director Mbongeni Ngema's theatrical style has evolved from the socio-political context in which he works. In Uno's timely study of this significant artist, biographical detail helps illuminate Ngema's strategies for overcoming censorship. Interdisciplinary alliances can also strengthen opposition to censorship, as Sam Able argues in his plea for theatre programs' participation in the development of a gay and lesbian curriculum. Two complementary articles examine diverse approaches to the teaching of theatre history (Jerry Dickey and Judy Lee Oliva) and introduction to theatre (Alicia Kae Koger). Both articles encourage innovative pedagogy, including experiential learning methodologies. Performance activity is itself an experiential learning method which can contribute to other disciplines, as Assunta Kent points out in her article on the use of creative drama to promote social change. We close with two descriptions of intercultural experiments, dramaturg Susan Haedicke's experience with Velina Hasu Houston's Tea and director M. Josh Karter's Moscow production of 'night, Mother. Both authors analyze difficulties encountered in the process of crossing cultural boundaries—and emphasize the values of the struggle. Haedicke's article brings us back to the concerns about power and diversity with which we began this issue, as she describes how the production team for Houston's play about Amerasian experience wrestled with the problem , described by Sue-Ellen Case and Janelle Reinelt in their Introduction to The Performance of Power, of "what is represented and who is authorized to represent it." In an era in which theatre educators often feel disempowered—and in which "power" itself can sound like a dirty word—the voices in this issue encourage us to acknowledge, re-examine, and reclaim our own power to make a difference in a world which does not always honor diversity. Suzanne Burgoyne Editor ...