Editor's Comment

Editor's Comment In this issue, our colleagues continue to share their explorations of process. The length of several articles exceeds our usual limits for "Comments on Process," but the nature of the investigations made that heading appropriate. We begin with two pieces in which Robert Barton and Patsy Rodenburg raise significant questions about the acting or voice teacher's responsibility for the well-being of students. Barton presented an earlier version of his article at the 1993 ATHE Conference as part of a session on "Theatre and Therapy" organized by Kristin Linklater. Four articles address challenges posed by theatrical biography: How shall a historical figure be represented? What aspects of his/her life should be told? Does performed biography reveal more about the artist/biographer than about the ostensible subject of the performance? What role can autobiography play in the theatre? Robert Schanke chronicles the scholarly biographer's struggle, while Nancy Copeland, Ellen Donkin, and John Lutterbie examine biographical performance. The issue concludes with two case studies: Steven Sarratore's postmodern approach to scenography and Stephen Johnson's integration of historical research and production process. Incidentally, to accommodate Czech accents in names and titles, we present True Type™ fonts instead of Palatino in the Johnson article and in the Table of Contents. We also confirm our commitment to the process of writing itself as a means of reflecting upon and sharing with the profession our experiments and our discoveries. A 1994 ATHE Conference workshop, "Writing for Journal Publication," initiates our mentorship program. We thank Bob Pevitts, VP for Conferences, for his enthusiastic support; the mentors for donating their time and expertise to working with writers; and the writers for the dedication to writing which led them to participate. We hope the workshop will become an annual event. The reorganization of our editorial staff noted on this issue's masthead reflects the inauguration of the mentorship program. Suzanne Burgoyne Editor ...