One of the world's leading children's dramatists provides a practical handbook of the skills involved in entertaining and involving audiences of children. A marvelous contribution to the world of Youth Theater...a must. —Robyn Flatt, Dallas Children's Theater. He has often been called the National Playwright for Children and he deserves it. —Cameron Mackintosh

Theatre was made for children. With their fertile imaginations and their honest ability to be carried away by a story, they are the best audiences that directors, actors, and playwrights could ever hope to encounter. They also represent the future of the arts. Theatre for Children is a collection of new and classic plays for children. Adapted from some of the most beloved stories in children's literature, such as Roald Dahl's The Witches, The Great Gilly Hopkins, and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, as well as original plays, this anthology brings together new and overlooked plays that children are sure to love. Theatre for Children is an invaluable resource for directors, teachers, and students of theatre. Foreword Country Mouse and the Missing Lunch Mystery by Sandra Fenichel Asher Ernie's Incredible Illucinations by Alan Ayckbourn Two Donuts by Jose Cruz González Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Timothy Mason and Mel Marvin A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas by Laurie Brooks Braille: The Early Life of Louis Braille by Lola H. and Coleman A. Jennings Bless Cricket, Crest Toothpaste, and Tommy Tune by Linda Daugherty The Great Gilly Hopkins by David Paterson and Steve Liebman The Witches by David Wood Mississippi Pinocchio by Mary Surface and David Maddox The Wolf and Its Shadows by Sandra Fenichel Asher Ezigbo, The Spirit Child by Max Bush and Adaora Nzelibe Schmiedl Inuk and the Sun by Henry Beissel A Village Fable by James Still The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Y York

[A] long overdue retrospective of the major playwrights, theatre companies, and professional organizations which have sustained the children's theatre movement in this country. . . . Part One of McCaslin's book is a historical overview of the significant trends and changes which have characterized children's theatre and influenced the art and craft of playwriting. . . . Part Two, the bulk of McCaslin's guide, contains an alphabetical listing of over 350 educational, community, and commercial theatre companies as wella s national and regional organizations--some no longer operating--which have made children's theatre the main thrust of their work. . . . Several appendixes augment the usefulness of this altogether practical and meticulously researched reference book. Children's Literature Association Quarterly An authoritative reference for children's theater professionals, educators, and enthusiasts, McCaslin's historical guide will be frequently used in public, college, and university libraries. ARBA Those who are associated with children's theater in any way will want to study this book thoroughly and keep it as a handy reference guide. . . . Thanks to Nellie McCaslin, the history of children's theater can take its rightful place beside all other theater history. Applause Professor McCaslin, a leading authority in the field, examines the history of the companies and organizations that struggled to bring live theatrical entertainment to children from 1903, beginning with a theater founded by a settlement house on New York's Lower East Side, to the present day. She begins with an overview of children's theatre history. The main text consists of alphabetically arranged profiles of both early and current producing companies and associations that have made a significant contribution to the field. Appendixes to the volume supply a Personalities Roster, a Geographical Index, and a Chronology of Events significant in the history of the children's theatre movement.

Drama as a process-centred form is a popular and valued methodology used to develop thinking and learning in children, while theatre provides a greater focus on the element of performance. In recent years, offering drama and theatre as a shared experience is increasingly used to engage children and to facilitate learning in a drama classroom. Using drama and theatre as a central component with children, this book is an amalgamation of theory, research and practice from across the globe offering insights into differing educational contexts. Chapters provide an exploration of the methodologies and techniques used to improve drama in the curriculum, and highlight the beneficial impact drama has in a variety of classrooms, enriching learning and communication. Contributions from 17 authors, ranging from teachers in schools or universities, to researchers and drama practitioners, examine a variety of perspectives related to drama and children in an attempt to bridge gaps and move ahead collectively as educators, practitioners and researchers in drama and theatre. Divided into two parts, Part I reflects on the use of drama in its varied forms with children, while Part II focuses on projects and experiments with children using theatre in order to draw links between drama, theatre and pedagogy. Drama and Theatre with Children will be key reading for researchers, academics and postgraduate students in the fields of drama education, theatre education, curriculum studies and child development. The book will also be of interest to drama practitioners, school teachers and teacher training leaders.

Although children's theatre has been a part of American culture from early times, historians have not always included it in the documentation of our theatrical heritage. Sometimes more the product of the educator and the social worker than the producer or the theatre artist, theatre with and for young people has been neglected in traditional theatre history studies; yet as early as 1792 Charles Stearns began creating his plays and dialogues for school children. The traditions and success of eighteenth-century school drama inspired social workers to explore similar activities in their playground and settlement house work, and at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century, professional producers began experimenting more vigorously with the commercial possibilities of children as audience. This book is a collection of essays by leading authorities in the field on various aspects of the historical development of children's theatre in the United States. The discussions focus on the marked differences that have occurred from group to group and examine the ways in which children's theatre began to find definition, as theorists and writers such as Winifred Ward and Charlotte Chorpenning strove to articulate the differences between the child as participant in creative drama and the child as audience member. The introduction provides a review of early concepts and the evolution of present-day thought, and the essays illuminate facets of the rich and varied history of American theatre with and for children. This trailblazing study will serve as the beginning of a fuller understanding of the field and a challenge to others to document the missing pieces.

As topical today as when it was first published in 1938, this book tells of Bartholomew Cubbins (from Caldecott Honor winner Bartholomew and the Oobleck) and his unjust treatment at the hands of King Derwin. Each time Bartholomew attempts to obey the king’s order to take off his hat, he finds there is another hat on his head. Soon it is Bartholomew’s head that is in danger . . . of being chopped off! While The 500 Hats is one of Dr. Seuss’s earliest works, it is nevertheless totally Seussian, addressing subjects that we know the good doctor was passionate about: abuse of power (as in Yertle the Turtle), rivalry (as in The Sneetches), and of course, zany good humor! This Read & Listen edition contains audio narration.