Making Theater: Developing Plays with Young People

Intended for teachers who have no particular experience or training in teaching theater, but who have a love of theater and enjoy a good play, this book discusses making theater with children. It explores improvisation, reading and acting with scripts, adapting plays for young actors, and writing plays. The examples presented in the text are appropriate for a wide range of ages (from 5-year-olds to teenagers) and most can be modified to suit students of almost any age. Following an introduction discussing the power of illusion, chapter 1 deals with preparing to do theater. Chapter 2 deals with developing a performance; chapter 3 covers monologues and dialogues. Adapting plays for performance is the topic of chapter 4, and chapter 5 contains some concluding thoughts. Two appendixes contain scripts for two plays developed by the author and his classes: "The Four Alices and Their Sister Susie in Wonderland," and "Antigone." Selected resources are listed on the theory and practice of doing plays, sources for scenes, and Shakespeare. Illustrations provide photographs of the group at work, of a playbill and an invitation, and of productions. (SR)