Introduction to Readers Theatre: A Guide to Classroom Performance

This complete textbook for high school and college use covers all aspects of Readers Theatre. It provides historical documentation of the earliest days of Readers Theatre and explores how it has developed into a modern art form for performing artists and lovers of literature. Traditional theatre practices like complementary costumes, props, movement, scenic design and staging are essential ingredients in today's Readers Theatre with theatrical staging as an added bonus. It clarifies methods and techniques through extensive instructions on selecting, analyzing, scripting and staging prose works of all types for Readers Theatre and the classroom stage. Also included is an extensive listing of source material idea, classroom perfomance exercises, suggested reading lists, recommended assignments, rehearsal tips, supplemental lesson plans and a glossary of Readers Theatre terms. Includes: The Canterbury Tales, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Jabberwocky, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock , The Importance of Being Earnest, The Velveteen Rabbit, The Unicorn in the Garden, and The Gap.