Spotlight on the child : studies in the history of American children's theatre

Author(s)

• Bedard, Roger L.
• Tolch, C. John

Bibliographic Information

Spotlight on the child : studies in the history of American children's theatre

edited by Roger L. Bedard and C. John Tolch

（Contributions in drama and theatre studies, no. 28）

Greenwood Press, 1989

Note

Bibliography: p. [187]-190

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

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.

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

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

• NCID: BA13655618
• ISBN:
  • 0313257930
• LCCN: 88021336
• Country Code: us
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: New York
• Pages/Volumes: viii, 203 p.
• Size: 24 cm
• Classification:
  • LCC : PN3159.U6
  • DC19 : 791/.0226/0973
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : Children's plays -- Presentation, etc. -- United States -- History
• Parent Bibliography ID:
  • BA00205222