Paper Topic:

Children theater

Children 's Theater has been an integral part of American culture for centuries . However , it was not documented until the end of the eighteenth century when Charles Sterns started writing his dialogs and plays for school children . At that time , theatre was represented by mostly social or educative works rather than something where young people could participate by themselves . Therefore , Sterns 's successful experience inspired his contemporaries who worked in the field of school drama to experiment and create similar activities for children . In that context , the processes of informal dramatization by

young people as well as the practice of adults performing specialized dramatic fare for young people were explored in many settings throughout the country (Bedard Tolch 2

Later , at the beginning of the twentieth century , children have been viewed as a potential audience , so professionals started exploring this commercial possibility . For example , George Baker trained numerous theatre actors . He was the one who taught his classes that special attention needs to be given to the staging of plays for school children Famous playwright Charlotte B . Chorpenning , his prized student , was the one who emphasized , both practically and theoretically , the difference between a child as a part of audience and a child as a drama participant . She also was a founder of the children 's theatre movement in America at that time . Chorpenning often raised identity and growing up problems in her stories showing how seriously she was taking her young audiences . For instance , in the `Red Riding Hood ' she added another wolf and therefore raised the issues of conflict between generations

In fact , in the first half of the twentieth century mostly educators and amateur artists were the main `propelling force ' for theatre , trying to keep the balance between the stage and classroom requirements . It began to be `with and for children . Activities in the theatre significantly varied because were performed by students as well as professionals . In this period , definition of children 's theatre was becoming more and more clear . Many artists and educators have subsequently tested and refined these ideas . The publisher Sara Spenser nurtured the artistic in children 's theatre by guiding and supporting several generations of playwrights , from Chorpenning to Aurand Harris . The Federal Theatre Project introduced professional theatre artists to young audiences on a large scale . And artist /managers such as John Clark Donahue developed comprehensive theatres and schools to entertain and to train young people (Bedard Tolch 2

Thus , there were many artists , educators and social workers who greatly served in developing certain institutions and organizations which help to develop dramatic in a child 's soul until now . Although seemed to work separately , they became more and more connected with time . For example in eighteenth and nineteenth centuries educators were teaching their students to find moral truths in drama despite of opposite opinions Also , those who studied with Baker had later made great contributions to children 's theatre . Moreover , the ideas of social workers about using drama as a tool for raising...

5 pages

39.5 KB

Free sing-up