Want to try reader's theater but don't know where to start? Or have you tried it but want to find ways to bring it more to life? Or are you just looking for a fun, easy way to lure young people into reading fluency, cooperative effort, effective communication, and love of literature?
"Readers on Stage" is a collection of resources for scripting, directing, and teaching reader's theater, primarily to ages 8 and up. Part 1 offers three sample scripts to learn from and enjoy: "The Legend of Lightning Larry," "Peddler Polly and the Story Stealer," and "The Baker's Dozen." Part 2 highlights each major aspect of reader's theater -- scripting, staging, and dramatic reading -- offering tips and tricks you're not likely to find elsewhere. For instance, you'll learn how young readers can easily create their own scripts!
Part 3 provides all the plans, notes, handouts, and worksheets from actual reader's theater workshops, ready for copying. Use them to start with reader's theater tomorrow in a classroom or library, or to lead your own workshop for adults. Finally, Part 4 gives listings of additional resources.
Whether you're working with young readers, training teachers, or directing a professional company, you'll want this unique, detailed guide.
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Aaron Shepard is the award-winning author of numerous picture books and magazine stories, as well as two acclaimed reader's theater script collections, "Folktales on Stage" and "Stories on Stage." He spent five years as a professional actor in reader's theater, performing in schools and conducting workshops for teachers, librarians, and students. He now hosts Aaron Shepard's RT Page, the Web's most popular reader's theater destination, with visits by over ten thousand teachers and librarians each week.
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"Aaron Shepard does it again! . . . In Shepard's familiar lighthearted style, 'Readers On Stage' distills the world of RT into a highly readable manual for educators and instructors at all levels of the K-12 spectrum. Community theatre folks who take the time to peruse the pages will gain a greater understanding and appreciation of RT as theatre." -- R. Demers, Readers Theatre Digest, Fall 2004
