Over years of writing and directing Playing With Plays scripts and working with directors all around the globe, there are several tools that I’ve learned directors love to use. I’m consolidating them here in this simple Director’s toolbox. Please note, most of these tools are specific to directing Playing With Plays scripts. First: Cast size…
Category: Performing Shakespeare for kids
Shakespeare is considered one of the greatest playwrights in history. His plays have been performed and studied for hundreds of years, and they continue to be a cornerstone of theatre and literature education. But why is it important to introduce Shakespeare to kids? More importantly, how can it benefit their education and personal growth? First…
Playing With Plays scripts are designed to be flexible. You have a small class, a large class, or somewhere in-between, we have a script that can be adjusted for you! Each book comes with 3 plays for 3 different group sizes: small, medium, and large. I designed these because I used to teach afterschool programs…
The beauty of Playing With Plays scripts is they are designed to be flexible, having 3 different cast sizes allowing the teacher and/or director to have a few or many kids. However, regarding the large cast size in each book, there are a few that have 20 or more characters. Allowing you to have larger…
Have you ever been in a position where you have some decent actors that have maybe one, two, or possibly no lines? You want to give them a little more meat for the play, but you don’t quite have the material to fit in those extra kids? Well, a homeschool mom gave me an idea…
Online drama classes with your kids can come with some challenges. We did a Zoom of our Hamlet for Kids for teachers by teachers, and it was fantastic and a great way to engage your kids back into performances. However, time, access to technology, lack of bandwidth, and a variety of other reasons can hinder…
Was it perfect… no way. Was it fun, oh yeah! A group of theatre educators, drama teachers, and I got together, via zoom, to perform our Hamlet for Kids. We were from all over… Houston, Seattle, Chicago, Anaheim, and San Luis Obispo. We did this to inspire other teachers to do remote online performances. We…
Want to run your own summer drama program? Learn how to run a 1-week summer drama camp and all the questions around it. If you’ve ever thought about running your own program and getting kids excited about Shakespeare and drama, this page is for you! First of all, YES, yes you can do it. It’s…
I am often asked by teachers, when I present to their classes, to give their kids my top two or three tips they should focus on while they rehearse. Although there are so many tips that one could give, it always comes down to the following three for me: 1) PROJECT YOUR VOICE – One…
A few costumes to make The Christmas Carol for Kids play that much easier to perform. Here are the links… Marley’s chain Top Hat Bed sheet to make Marley’s Ghost – and don’t pay for that sheet, get it free here! Vests – check with your local Goodwill or thrift store … finding vests with…