Spotlight on the Child: Studies in the History of American Children's Theatre

by Roger L. Bedard, C. John Tolch

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313257933
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	01/20/1989
Series:	Contributions in Drama and Theatre Studies , #28
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	207
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

ROGER L. BEDARD is an Associate Professor of Theatre and Coordinator of the M.F.A. Program in Child Drama at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. He currently serves as Executive Secretary for the American Alliance for Theatre and Education.

C. JOHN TOLCH is Professor of Theatre at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a former editor of Children's Theatre Review and former vice-president for research and publications for the Children's Theatre Association of America.

Table of Contents

The Dramatic Dialogues of Charles Stearns: An Appreciation by Jonathan Levy
Theatre for Young Audiences in New York City, 1900-1910: A Heritage of Jolly Productions by Laura Gardner Salazar
Junior League Children's Theatre: Debutantes Take the Stage by Roger L. Bedard
Edith King and Dorothy Coit and the King-Coit School and Children's Theatre by Ellen Rodman
Children's Theatre Activities at Karamu House, 1915-1975 by Noerena Abookire and Jennifer Scott McNair
Charlotte B. Chorpenning: Playwright and Teacher by Roger L. Bedard
Children's Theatre in the Federal Theatre Project by Doreen B. Heard
Winifred Ward: Catalyst and Synthesist by Charles E. Combs
Sara Spencer: Publisher, Advocate and Visionary by Katherine Krzys
The Children's Theatre Company and School: Raising the Curtain by John V. Hicks
Aurand Harris: Playwright and Ambassador by Rachel Fordyce
Bibliography
Index