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Programs, if they are used, cost money. Many children's theaters have discontinued the use of programs after discovering that the audience in general seems little interested in them except as material for paper airplanes.

Electrical equipment and supplies constitute one of the first expenditures made in any new theater. Spot and flood lights and dimmers, even though expensive, contribute more than anything else to the visual aspect of a play. Dimmers, especially, are indispensable for mood lighting with its gradual changes and its dramatic climaxes.

Expert advice should be sought when the opportunity comes for purchasing a small, portable switchboard or a complete control board. Before any lighting equipment is added to what is already on the stage; the amount of electric power being brought into the building must be checked by an electrician to determine whether it is sufficient to carry the extra load.

Scenery and properties are rather large items, of course. But the trend is toward suggestive settings, less than full height, and combined with the larger stage properties, stage curtains, and an artistically lighted sky cyclorama. For folk and fairy tales or for any nonrealistic play, this type of setting can be very delightful. Even in realistic plays, it is interesting to see how satisfying a partial set can be.

Costumes, because most children's productions are costume plays with large casts, can be a big item. Since it is not fair to ask the players to pay for their own costumes, the theater should build up its own wardrobe. A large part of a production budget often goes for costume materials.

Cheap fabrics are always a poor investment. The old idea of using cheese-cloth and cambric has never been a popular one in children's theaters where costumes must be used over and over again or remodeled. Many materials can be found in theatrical supply houses which, although not cheap, look like much more expensive fabrics. Cotton duvetyn, for instance, appears to be fine broadcloth; and rayon silks, satins, brocades, corduroys, and leatherettes are wonderful substitutes for handsome and expensive materials. The cleaning and laundering of costumes can amount to rather a large sum if plays with large casts are given.

Make-up. The make-up box will need a few extra supplies for each production after the original investment.

Trucking may be an expense, if scenery is not constructed in the building in which the productions are given. It is a large item in touring.

Service. The janitors should be paid for extra work unless this is included in rental. If performances are given in a school where rent is not paid, a good deal of extra work is caused for the janitor. It is not only right that the theater should pay him a regular fee, but it will be money well spent in gaining his respect and his willingness to work for the interests of the theater. If a fire marshal is present at performances, it will be necessary to pay him also.

Music.-Nowadays, most of the music and other sound effects can be had on records, or they can be taped and used again and again. In such cases, the expense is much less than to hire musicians.

Incidental expense.-Plays for consideration, stationery, stamps, telephone bills, and occasional taxi bills, must be considered in the budget.

This list of expenses takes no account of salaries for director, technician, or costumer. For a single production, it is quite possible to do all the work with volunteer help. There are few theaters which can call on volunteers to give as much time and thought as it requires to direct, produce, and costume a series of plays without paying them adequate salaries.

If such duties are a part of the work expected of teacher or civic theater staff, that is another matter. It is easy to see that a children's theater must be an altruistic undertaking with the sharing of responsibilities by many people. Schools, public libraries, symphony orchestras, and museums do not pay their way, nor are they expected to do so. Theaters can pay their way, but they should not be asked to assume the total financial load if they contribute to the culture of the community.

Auditoriums are offered to many American theaters today with little cost. Certain staff members of schools, colleges, or civic theatres are assigned to responsible positions in the children's theater as part of their jobs, and very often theater students are given credit for laboratory work backstage. Countless men and women of the communities are doing volunteer work of all kinds.

Money taken in from ticket sales can be used for royalties, scenery, costumes, equipment, and in some instances to pay the director and certain other staff members. With the cooperation of many institutions, organizations, and individuals, children's theaters are now enriching the lives of some millions of children in this country and abroad.

Choosing the Script

Where are scripts purchased? How are plays chosen for a wide age range of children? How long should a children's theater play

be? How much difference does it make in the choice of a script whether the players are children or adults?

These are a few of the questions which are always asked by those who plan to present plays for children, whether a single play or a season's offerings. They are important questions, for on a wise choice of plays depends much of the immediate success and also the lasting value of the theater.

A trained children's theater director has read most of the available plays, has worked on some of them, and knows how to judge a play for children. But if a group inexperienced in children's theater must choose, it is a good thing to seek advice from people who do know children's plays.*

The Children's Theatre Conference, a division of the American Educational Theatre Association, has materials on the criteria for evaluating children's plays, lists of published plays, and many other helpful materials, which are very valuable to inexperienced members. Most of the experienced children's theater people in the country work on various committees and projects of the Children's Theatre Conference. Its quarterly Newsletter is full of information as to what goes on in the field. The Educational Theatre Journal, which is sent to all its members, has articles both on adult and children's theaters. Explanation of membership is given on page 13.

Age Range in Audience

Since the understanding and interests of children differ from year to year, it is not easy to choose plays which are best suited to all. Some few children's theaters have two series of plays, one for children from 4 through 7 or 8, the other for children from 8 to 13 or 14. In such a plan, suitable plays can be chosen for all. Simple, onehour dramatizations of Peter Rabbit and The Three Bears, for instance, delight the little folk. Longer and more complex plays such as The Prince and the Pauper, Tom Sawyer, and Treasure Island are meaty fare for the older children. Most beginning theaters plan plays for children between the ages of 6 to 10, since attendance within this age range is largest. Such tales as Jack and the Beanstalks Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs The Adventures of Tom

4 WARD, WINIFRED.

Press, 1958.

Theatre for Children. Anchorage, Ky., The Children's Theatre

5 Chorpenning, Charlotte. Jack and the Beanstalk. Theatre Press.

Anchorage, Ky., The Children's

6 White, Jessie Braham. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. New York, Samuel French.

Sawyer, can be counted on to attract large audiences of children. As long as the theater is a novelty, it is likely to draw the older children; almost everyone remembers with joy these stories of their childhood. Witness their popularity when produced in moving-pictures, television, or ballet. If the plays and their directing continue to cater to the appeal mainly of young children, the attendance of the older boys and girls will soon fall off. It is difficult to find an answer to this problem unless certain plays each season are chosen and advertised for a particular age range.

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Flip Jackson and Wilbur. Puppets are always popular with young audiences.

Story Interest.-The first requirement for a suitable play script. is a story which will interest and be understood by children in the age range for which it is intended. To children this is the most important aspect of a play.

Take Tom Sawyer as an example. It can always be counted on to interest boys and girls from 8 to 14. Charlotte Chorpenning's adaptation, called, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is one of the

7 Chorpenning, Charlotte. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Chicago, Coach House Press.

very popular plays now being presented in children's theaters. The Mark Twain novel is episodic, but the writer, in the interest of keeping it within a reasonable time limit, and at the same time holding it to a direct dramatic line, worked out the plot in four scenes. Because so many incidents had to be omitted, it was found necessary to take some liberties with time and space. The story is not changed, however, and the scenes build directly to the climax. Because the novel is so full of fascinating adventures, some directors prefer to use a play version consisting of many short scenes, including more of the episodes, even though each one is less fully developed. Story Meaning.-A play should have meaning-should say something. It need not have a theme, like The Blue Bird, which says that we may search the world for happiness when all the time we might have found it at home. However, it must have universal truths. It may show the power of human kindness, the superiority of keen wit over brute strength, the struggle within a boy who is afraid to do what his conscience tells him is right.

This last is one thing which Tom Sawyer says. Even though Tom is far from being a "model" boy, the struggle within him between the urgency to tell the truth to save Muff Potter's life, and his terror both of Injun Joe and the probable consequence of breaking his vow not to tell, could scarcely be stronger. It is so real that every child lives through it with him, and there is a certain exaltation, even beyond admiration, when the good in Tom is victorious.

This was not the object of Mark Twain's story which was written as a reflection of his own boyhood in a little town on the Mississippi River. Every really good story has certain threads of universal truth woven into its fabric: Tom Sawyer is no exception.

The exposition should make clear in the first few moments of the play what the situation is and who the characters are. The settings, costumes, and properties will help, but the dialog and action should tell the audience what it needs to know. It should evolve a little at a time as it is needed. The most natural exposition comes from what one character says to another, and the more skillful the playwright the less noticeable it is that he is putting certain speeches into the mouths of his characters in order to inform the audience.

The play. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, opens with lively action: Tom darting out of the house, jam on face and hands, followed shortly by Aunt Polly who suspects he has been up to mischief. Even for children who do not know the novel, the situation

S Sara Spencer's Tom Sawyer is in eight short scenes. Anchorage, Ky.. The Children's Theatre Press.

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