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The Play's the Thing: the Need for Some Critical Perspectives in Children's Drama

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The Play's the Thing: the Need for Some Critical Perspectives in Children's Drama DOCUMENT RESUME ED 101 356 CS 201 810 AUTHOR Gay, Carol TITLE The Play's the Thing: The Need for Some Critical Perspectives in Children's Drama. PUB DATE Nov 74 NOTE 8p.,; Paper presented at the Forum on the Criticism of Children's Literature\ at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Modern Language Association (St. Louis, Missouri, November 1974) EDRS PRICE MF-$0.76 HC-$1.58 PLUS POSTAGE DESCRIPTORS Childrens Books; *Childrens LiteratUre; *Drama; *.Education; Language Arts; Litera;Ey Criticism; Literature; Literature Appreciatio Theater Arts ABSTRACT In spite of the fact that there has been aninterest in children's theatre since after World War I andpractically everyone--from the Junior League to theeducationist--recognizes the need for and the value of good drama, there is adearth of good drama of 14terary worth for children. It is true thatchildren have been , exposbd to drama of some kind--there is intense interestin creative drama (especially on the part of educationists),there are anthologies of children's plays which ra from mediocre to poor in literary, quality, and there is a videsprea practice of adapting literary works for juvenile thadtre audiences. However,good drama must become part of children'slit&zature because (1) it belongs there as an accepted literary genre;'2) teachers should be able to deal with it critically and practicably on alllevels; and (3) an art form needs an active and viable body ofcriticism in order to grow in stature. (3M). ti .- U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO DUCEO EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FkOM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN A: INC. IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED 00 NOT NECESSARILY REPRE SENT OFFICIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY The Play's the Thing: Perspectives in Children's Drama The Need for Sane Critical pi iiMiSSIONIt)III l'I401111111 III!,COPY RIGHTED MATE RIM HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Carol Gay Carol Gay (1PI HA TIM TO I RIC AN() OFIOANIZA I H1!i1 NA I tofiAt IN UNDE MIRE I N CD Youngstown State University SMUT' OFE DU( A1tI1N F uli It+( HE PRO DUC HON OUTSIDI IHE ERIC: SY5IIM 141 THE COPYRIGHT ()LANESPEPNIi,,SION OF C:S OWNER LIJ The'intent.of this paper is toeXhort, survey, analyze, and decry: It attempts, indeed, to do too much, but solittle has been said aboutchildren's drama as a. literary art that too much needsto,be said. I would like principally to comment on some of the possible causesfor the neglect of,drama inthe field of children's literature, and by so doing, toocusattention on the need fordeveloping. critical interest in drama as a literary art, Fifty-three years ago, M. J. Moses wasdismayed at the difficulty he hadgather- ing together an anthology of plays which were writtenwith areal sense of drama and which were clothed in language oflasting literary worth. He was seeking plays that "were not written to prove anything exceptthat the more one is brought in contact the life with imaginative literature, the moreis imagination fed; and the wider adventures of fictitious characters, the morewide does our own experience'become." But though he found that "thelibrary shelves are full of story playsfroth history, material along and biographical plays. there, isstall a poverty of real dramatic Material is lying loose and no onewill use it as it should be these lines. discovered that "the writing of playsfor used."Surveying the field of drama, he such plays in children has mostly been done tosatisfy the sparse means of producing the classroom, in the churchhall, or in the assembly -roan ofsettlement houses. story, on. Perfunctory courses are given in normalgrades on how to dramatize a simply how to produce it along lines ofpractical stage directing. But somehow the spirit, is being the beauty, the depth of thetheatre is missing. .1 am fearful that joy is driven from the plays writtenlorthe schoolroom. Remember, 'perfunctory dialogue not drama!" But w3 have notremembered.Unfortunately, in the fifty-three years with real lite- since Mbses urged us to turn ourattention to the creation' of plays no one followed his lead. rary value , briefly in his One voir:e was raitied in 1971when Dewey W. Chambers pointed out artist (alonCv Children's Literature in the CUrriculum:"The playwright is another language effectively in yet anotherform. Viiihrifie novelist andrire-TFeTTligrals The The playwright uses language in adrimatic form to communicatehis ideas. when script is the technique he employs totell his story.- It is a rare occurrence The whole issue of a language orreading text will offer a goodscript to children. authors of some of 'our the script and drama seems tohave been neglected by the ren,have little opportunity .better textbooks. The result, of course,s that child to interact with thisform of literere.' experiences of real Is there an explanation forthe dearth of exciting dramatic failure of all the major literary worth for children? Is there a reason for the to include drama as a texts and anthologies usedin Children's literature courses legitimate literary genre? children's literature At a recent conference ofpeople interested in approaching of children's from a scholarly and criticalpoint of view, someone asked a panel Two editors of well- editors why so few qualitydramas are published for children. that there had been known publishing houses statedthat attempts had been made but that no one was interested in no response fromthe public. One ventured the opinion market for them. It is putting on good plays forchildren and wherefore there was no that r, attempt' true that these remarks werecalled forth on the spur of the moment, was made to present them ascareful, soundly based explanations;however, they are worth considering at least to determineif there is any basis to the complaintthat no one is interested in putting ongood children's plays. The evidence would seem to indi:atethat there is no justification to thecharge. As a matter of fact, it is paradoxicalthat while children's drama as aliterary form is almost non-existent, children'stheater is now at a peak. Interest in the Children's Theater movementdeveloped in America after World WarI. We began to realize that "No art canbecome a vital, moving force in a countryunless the children grow up in it, umless it is partof their lives from the time they are very young." These are the words of Winifred Ward, oneof the voices in children's theater that made us realize this'(that is, those of uswho do). There were many organizations and many individuals that made children'stheater a reality. Junior Leagues throughout the country played an active part (andstill do) in founding and maintainingtheaters for youngsters. Many universities, such as Rifts andNorthwestern and the California colleges, not only founded children's theatersbut began dramatic programs totrain the actors and crews to staff them.Theaters were founded and fundedin a variety of only) ways. The Nashville Children's Theatre was thefirst (and perhaps even yet the one to be funded by amunicipal bond issue._ There is even onesupported by the Community Chest. There are touring companies, amateurcompanies, and professional companies. There have been important names in thehistory of children's theater in Northwestern University and America: Winifred Ward, for instance, for many years at the author of many books; and CharlotteB. Chorpenning, who breathedlife into the Goodman Children's Theatre in Chicago. Probably the most significant indicationof the importance and widespread interestin children's theater was theChildren's Theatre Conference first held in 1944under the auspices of the AmericanEducational Theatre Association. The annual conferenCe serves as aclearing house and mediumof communication for all thoSe interestedin'providing an active theater forchildren, and grew out of the Children's TheatrePress, which was founded in 1935. beneficiaries of It has been estimated that overfive million children are, the it is important the Children's Theatre in America.As impressive as this figure is, it is still the to note that no matter how manychildren the theater groups can reach, The teacher is teacher in the classroom who reachesand touches the most children. lead him to appreci- 'the one who must first kindle aspark of interest in the child and with ate and love and understandquality drama. Those who are dedicated to working children's theater in this countrydeserve the support and theintelligent, educated literary point help of the classroom teicher whohas been introduced to drama from a rof view and who can help children torespond to it in the theater. children's litera- Nor can we blame the absenceof any consideration of drama in will not have the ture textbooks and anthologies onthe supposition that the teacher recent opportunity to deal with it in theclassroom. Paradoxically again, many of the and junior high class- basal readers and literaryanthologies used in the elementary rooms include sections ondrama and at least one formal playfor each reading level. the few quality plays To their credit, the editorshave chosen relatiVely wisely among available to them. They have either stuck to thefew artists of proven literary you've men- worth--like A. A. Milne--who have writtenplays for children (and after that are at tioned Milne, the list dwindlesdrastically), or they have picked dramas exclusively, void of least adequately written,although on the whole, indeed almost seeking in children's the "spirit, the beauty, thedepth of the theatre" that Moses wns drama. League to the educa- Why is it, then, thatpractically everyone from the Junior drama--practically everyone, that tionists recognize, the needfor and the value of good is,except those in the fieldof children's literature?And why, with more of a and in market--in the form of an activechildren's theater throughout the country before, why is there television, commercial and public --than, drama has ever enjoyed such a dearth of good dramaof real literary worth forchildren? inappropriate for children, or Some might answer that dramaby its very nature is at hest is appropriate only in certain forms--farce and melodrama, for instance.
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