Communication Theory and Interpreters Theatre: Toward a Model for the Form

For too long and for too many people the field of speechhas been characterized by fragmentation of rather than unitybetween its various areas of concentration. These areas,Interpretation, Speech and Hearing Pathology, Rhetoric andPublic Address, Communication Theory, Radio and Television,and Theatre have developed almost into singular disciplinesin their own rights. However, we cannot deny the vitalinteraction which can and does take place within the fieldof speech. The Speech Association of America has added theword Communication to its official name to acknowledge thegrowing importance of this interaction of all the disciplines.Certainly anyone schooled in interpretation would be hardpressed to discount the values of a well-trained voice orthe persuasiveness of hUman discourse. The debator is wellaware that his effectiveness is increased if he makes hisargument come alive through the dynamics of his diction.In each of these areas there is a process of communicationbetween the speaker and audience