"One of the strongest incentives to perfection is to be praised and honoured for one's excellence. We want the satisfaction of having done something well." 12

A child may discover his ability in sports or in an academic subject. But whatever his main concern, whatever his life work will be, unless he has one or more of the arts, at least as a secondary interest, he will surely live an abbreviated life. Since many children (some of whom do not excel in any other thing) find that drama is the art through which they can best win a place for themselves, a teacher needs to discover this and give them their chance.

Introduction to the Elements of Drama

Some teachers or leaders begin by telling children about creative drama; what it is, how it differs from memorized plays, and how much fun it is. Others prefer to plunge into the doing of it, leaving the explanation to come a little at a time. Still others believe that creative movement of some kind is the best approach. This question might be asked

"If right now you could do the thing you enjoy doing most of anything in the world, what would it be?"

The children think a moment, and then hands shoot up. "Don't tell us what it is. Show us!"

Children are always interested in a guessing game or charade in which each one pantomimes an activity he especially enjoys, and so they pantomime such activities as playing football, helping to sail a boat, reading, playing the piano, or one of many other favorite activities.

When a group is inclined to be timid and afraid of being laughed at, a leader can enter into the playing at once by doing the first pantomime. This should be thought through carefully, practiced at home, and done with great interest. The effect will be to establish a feeling of confidence.

If the children respond well to this simple game by guessing what is being done, and then show what they like to do, what exciting experience they have had or what gift they would like to receive, it is time for pantomime involving both thinking and feeling. In the child's own character, there is a limitless number of ideas for movement having to do with a search for something or somebody. It could be the frantic search for a book he must take to school, the search for a friend lost in the woods, the search for his father from whom he has become separated in a great city.

If children are encouraged to discuss freely, they are likely to have not only realistic ideas like these but such thoughts as the search on a strange planet for signs of life, the search for peace, or even the search for God. All kinds of feelings will come into pantomime, especially if the leader contributes an idea occasionally to spark the imagination of the children. She has not only the right but the obligation to do this. The search will reveal not only anxiety and fear but hope, joy, and possibly exaltation. Some teachers never fail to get creative pantomime from children if they are given a very large veil or thin silk scarf. A girl often throws it over her head and is transformed into fog, wind, waves, birds, ghosts; while a boy is more likely to knot it around his waist and become a pirate, a genie, or a trail of smoke.

Pantomime Motivated by Some Emotion.-Interesting discussions often come about colors and the way they make one feel. Some children have written striking bits of verse about it. In a color demonstration, a circle of short capes of various colors were spread out on the floor, and a group of girls in a dance studio were invited to choose one apiece, put them on, and show in movement how these colors made them feel. A girl in pale blue wove a delicate pattern like moonlight; the purple girl walked as if in a regal procession; the green was lovely like spring; and the red and yellow danced together like flames. Many situations can be devised by both teacher and pupils, dominated first by one emotion, then changing from one emotion to another.

Characterization.-Characterization comes naturally to some boys and girls, while others are never able to do more than give a faint suggestion of anyone except themselves. It is principally a matter of imagination, although skill also has much to do with it. A child waves his hand madly in the air to have a chance to play a part he sees vividly, but unless he has had some experience in assuming a character, his playing is often not what he means it to be.

If a group of children are asked what must be done to play someone else, the answer comes quickly, "Act like them." But when the teacher says, "Is that the first thing?" Children think a moment and then one or two are ready to say, "First you have to think like them and feel like them." Characterization from the inside should always be stressed in working with boys and girls. They must learn to move imaginatively inside the lives of others, to try to understand why the other person feels and acts as he does. Encourage observation of people the children see every day. If a person is ill-natured. what makes him that way? If individuals are shifty or undependable, what might be the cause?

One good way to study character is through contrasts. Think of three different people in the same situation, such as buying food in a supermarket: a very particular housewife, a man uncertain as to what his wife will like, and a young girl whose mind is not on what she is doing. Half the class may pantomime the three characters successively, while the rest watch and evaluate. Then they reverse roles and the others assume the characters. When the teacher or the children see an especially real characterization, the child may be asked to repeat it alone. This not only encourages the child, but it stimulates the others to make a stronger effort to imagine the thoughts and actions of their characters.

Creating From a Simple Story or Poem

After children have had enough experience in characterization to acquire some skill, they are ready for a short, simple story, or poem which has many interesting characters. Upper grades or high school students may well enjoy working on Mother Goose characters, which are familiar.

One story is that priceless old folktale The Stone in the Road, which has everything needed for a first step into story dramatization. It has a good but simple story, a worthy idea, any number of interesting characters to interpret or create, and action that is definite and easy to do. Furthermore, it can have as much or as little interaction of characters as the players can manage.

Literature almost invariably offers the best material for creative drama. It should always be preceded by some of the elements of drama which have been suggested. When children have had experience in dramatic play, creative movement, situations, and characterizations, they are ready and eager for stories.

Historical and geographical content is good if it is dramatic in character; but because it is limited to fact, it seldom inspires as much natural and imaginative response as does a story. Throughout their experience in dramatics, children also need an occasional project in creating from an idea rather than a story. Sometimes they profit by creating the story itself. More often, however, they draw upon literature for their material. While it gives them much with which to start, it stirs the imagination to go far.

Some literature may tell a story so completely that all the children need to do is to invent a little more dialog to tie it all together. Most stories, however, give opportunity for the children to build whole scenes on a sentence or two. Often they imagine an episode which would naturally have happened between two other

scenes, or sequels that would be logical outcomes. These imaginary scenes usually mean the introduction of some new characters, so that there is plenty of chance for creativity.

Rachel Field's charming little poem Roads is one example of good literature for dramatization.13 By examining it, one can to a certain extent generalize on the requirements of material for creative drama.

A road might lead to anywhere—
To harbor towns and quays,
Or to a witch's pointed house
Hidden by bristly trees.

It might lead past the tailor's door,
Where he sews with needle and thread,
Or by Miss Pim the milliner's

With her hats for every head.

It might be a road to a great, dark cave
With treasure and gold piled high,

Or a road with a mountain tied to its end,
Blue-humped against the sky.

Oh, a road might lead you anywhere

To Mexico or Maine.

But then, it might just fool you, and—

Lead you back home again!

Whether the teacher or leader chooses the material, or whether the children ask to dramatize a story or poem from a book they have enjoyed, it is vitally important that all or most of the children like it. The reason a child enjoys a story is chiefly because of the kind of emotional appeal it makes to him. A story or a poem that fails to arouse emotion is dull, and will never make a creative play.

Children like this poem. If presented to them by a leader who enjoys it, they never fail to respond to it. The unusual thing about it is that it appeals to an amazingly wide age range. Beginning with about the fourth grade, one can count on its sure appeal for a creative play to every age level from 9 to 50. It means all things to all ages. Each does something different with it.

Even third-grade children enjoy hearing it; but their experience is too limited for them to grasp its real possibilities for dramatization; it is better saved for those who can do more with it.

Each description arouses the imagination to create something beautiful or funny or poignant, the final two lines ranging all the way from the pleasure of getting home to dinner to the warm, deep feeling that "home" stirs in everyone after a long absence.

13 Field, Rachel, Pointed People. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1924. Also in Stories to Dramatize by Winifred Ward. Anchorage, Kentucky, Children's Theatre Press. Permission from Arthur S. Pederson.