Drama

Hawthorne Valley Harvest

Hawthorne Valley Harvest is a collection of 23 plays spanning the full elementary school grades and including a Michaelmas Pageant for the entire school. The author offers teachers practical suggestions for preparing a play with children for production.

Contents:

• First Grade
• "The Light Child" by Andree Ward
• "The White Snake" by Ariana Hays
• "The Devil with Three Golden Hairs" by William Ward
• "The Six Servants" by Jolene Jackson
• "Snow White" by William Ward

Second Grade

• "The Voyage of Saint Brendan" by Kevin Kilb
• "Saint Jerome and the Lion" by William Ward
• "Odelia and Aldaric" by Laura Summer
• "Saint George and the Dragon" by Claire McConnell
• Saint Martin Legend by William Ward
• "Saint Martin's Pageant" by William Ward
• "Jumping Mouse" by Patrice Maynard

Third Grade

• "Passover Celebration" by William Ward
• "The Maccabees" by Patrice Maynard
• "Joseph and His Brothers" by William Ward
• "Moses" by William Ward

Fourth Grade

• "The Forging of the Sampo" by Kevin Kilb
• "The Death of Baldur" by William Ward

Fifth Grade

• "The Epic of Gilgamesh" by Gloria Kemp
• "Zarathustra: The Golden Star" by Jolene Jackson

Sixth Grade

• "The Peacemaker" by Beatrice Cohen
• "The Sacred Flame" by William Ward

Fifth-Eighth Grades

• Michaelmas Pageant Introduction by William Ward
• "Michaelmas Pageant" by William Ward

The Breman Town Musicians

Donna Simmons as adapted this favorite Grimm's tale into a charming play for 8 or more players, each with a markedly different character, making it an excellent choice within the context of Waldorf education. There's a part for everyone in this little gem, from the most tidy and organized to most unkempt and boisterous (and all the places in between).

In addition to the script, Donna has included

• an excellent essay on the nature of drama and its use in Waldorf and home education,
• a list of characters with costuming suggestions,
• props and scenery descriptions
• and even staging suggestions and tips for the director.

With Donna's play in hand, everyone will enjoy the performance!

The Magic of Patience - A Jataka Tale

Donna Simmons has crafted a beautiful play that can be used with equal success in classroom or homeschool. It calls for characters who can be of different ages and differently levels of participation. And best, it is an engaging story, one which dramatizes well at levels ranging from mixed classroom presentation to sophisticated professional performances.

Donna's inspiration to transform this beloved Jataka Tale (Jataka tales are stories of Buddha's previous incarnations) into a play when she realized that the principle characters were outstanding presentations of the qualities of the four temperaments.

With very simple props, a few children and a bit of joy this lovely play can come to life for you and the children you teach.

The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde

Donna's adaptation of Oscar Wilde's story of rebirth and redemption gives us a quiet, beautiful moment of the heart. The simple story can be played with different aged children, with the simplicity of the story transforming the uncomplicated set and dialogue into a vividly imagined feast about love and renewal. Truly a gem!

Plays for Puppets

This little gem contains dialogues and diagrams fro handpuppet productions that can be performed by two puppeteers, perhaps with the help of an assistant. Notes are also given on performing these plays with groups of children.

The plays are:

• The Billy Goats Gruff
• The Owl
• Rumpelstiltskin
• The Travelling Musicians
• The Dragon and the Boy with the Flute
• The Donkey, the Table and the Stick

Twenty-Five Plays

This remarkable collection of plays comes from Waldorf teachers across the face of North America. These teachers have selected a theme and written or adapted plays specifically for the class they were teaching. Some of the worlds most creative master teachers have contributed to the wealth this volume holds.

Sure to inspire anyone working within a classroom or homeschool collective, these magical plays can also be adapted for different numbers of student actors.

Music of the Spheres

This musical for middle school students is a delightful adaptation of a scene from the life of Johannes Kepler. It is valuable for all teachers preparing the biographies of Kepler and Tycho de Brahe - and a really delightful musical drama as well!

Pedagogical Theatre

Ever want to write your own plays for children? To use the stories that are personally meaningful to them and to you? This book offers a wonderful guide to doing just that - and the author goes on to offer experience-based suggestions for organizing play practice and motivating the students in a way that results in worthy performances.

Don't let the somewhat awkward title put you off - this is a great hands-on resource that will open the gates to your own creativity on behalf of the children in your class or home.

Creative Pathways

I really, really like this book.  It has just about every activity and craft I've ever witnessed at a Waldorf school, along with lovely pencil drawings, color painting examples, and instructions for stage craft, upright loom building, guidance for main lesson illustrations and content, as well as its core grade-by-grade discussion of activities to integrate into the lessons.

There is a vigor and a joy to it that will inspire and energize any teacher or parent who uses it as a resource.  Whether you are teaching in a classroom, teaching at home, or simply want to integrate these activities into your child's life, this is a book to love.  Thank you, Elizabeth Auer!

Grades 1 thru 8.

Comedy and Tragedy

Donna Simmons was asked by the Youth Initiative High School in Viroqua, Wisconsin to teach a 4-week block on Comedy & Tragedy.  Her experience inspired her to share her notes with others - we are so very glad that she did.

In this little booklet is one of the most insightful and sensitive approaches to teaching adolescents about the world of drama that we've seen.  Donna's approach is engaging, fascinating in it's information, and designed to call forth in the student a discernment and love for the stories and wisdom that have appeared on the stage throughout history.  She begins with Greek Theater and closes with the modern play - throughout the block students learn about the structure of the play, the nature of characters and their creation, and discover the wonder of the seminal plays of Western theater. 

As I reviewed this little book, I found myself longing to go back and reread (or see again) many of the plays Donna teaches.  I can't help but think that her block lesson will inspire the same enthusiasm in high school students.  This is a lively and invigorating block lesson!

Stages of Imagination

This book is alive with the author’s conviction of the importance of drama for adolescents. He presents drama as an antidote to the cultural wasteland available for today’s youth. Also included are speech exercises, dramatic exercises, an outline of how to stage a play, and suggestions of appropriate plays.

Working Dramatically with Adolescents

This research paper, born out of the author's determination to remove the chaos and tension from the rehearsals, preparation and production of Waldorf high school plays, is a terrific blow-by-blow account of the nature of high school actors, exercises to harness their energy and engage their interest, and a 15-rehearsal plan for a well-developed, well-acted performance.

Parsifal - A Play in Twelve Pictures

In this work, Russ Pooler has allowed von Eschenbach's Parzival to cross centuries and appear in a new form. For the teacher and parent, watching this performance can transform our thoughts and feelings toward adolescents, helping us become more truly their friends and companions who, out of a generosity of heart, help them realize their true importance within the world.

Dramatis Divine

Here's the whole nine yards of a balanced and beautiful Waldorf drama curriculum. Includes: drama teaching, verse plays, puppet theater, play-writing, pantomime, history and geography of drama, music drama, 12 elements of theater, film making, dance drama, radio plays, individual performance, "Dawn to Dusk to Dawn" - a teacher's play for children.

Parzival & Gawain

A beautiful way to encounter the archetypal characters of the Grail legends, whether you already know the stories or not. These plays read beautifully and are suitable for high school and community drama performance.

A worthy contribution to the Grail literature, Daniel Polikoff's inspired translation captures the high drama and lyric beauty of Miller's art. These dramatic recastings of the German original build a bridge to modern times, and admirably reflect the ideals and enthusiasm for the spirit that the Grail legends evoke in so many seekers.

Bruce T. Donehower, PhD University of California, Davis