Scenes That Happen: Snapshot Dramatizations about Life in High School [Paperback]

Mary Krell-Oishi (Author), Mary Krell Oishi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1991

13 scenes for 2 girls; 11 scenes for 2 boys; and 10 scenes for 1 boy and 1 girl.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Thirty-four real-life scenes for guys and girls and mixed casts of two to four actors. Scene lengths vary from four to seven minutes each. Suitable for classroom or stage performance. Excellent contest scripts because student actors portray themselves in the believably unbelievable situations of teenage life. Themes include dating, popularity, growing up, graduation, suspension from school, and moving - experiences to laugh and cry about.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-12-- Krell-Oishi's attempt to capture the voice of adolescence comes close at times, but ultimately misses the mark. Her subjects--dating, teen pregnancy, sibling rivalry, friendship, college plans, grades--are certainly the stuff of daily teen discussions. However, the slice-of-life scenes read more like case studies from a guidance counselor's files. Occasional attempts at slang and street language can't disguise the preachy tone of these homogenious model teens as they unerringly find the right path in a few carefully constructed sentences. If YAs are going to the trouble of memorizing someone else's words, something that stretches their minds and vocabularies is more worth the trouble. Perhaps a drama teacher stuck for ideas might find these scenes useful as a launching point, but the vivid character studies in Mel Glenn's poems in Class Dismissed (Clarion, 1982) are much more evocative. In most schools, Scenes That Happen probably won't. --Sally T. Margolis, Park Ridge Public Library, IL
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Meriwether Publishing; 1st edition (September 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0916260798
• ISBN-13: 978-0916260798
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,141,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Most of these scenes DON'T happen, September 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Scenes That Happen: Snapshot Dramatizations about Life in High School (Paperback)

Krell-Oishi's book attempts to fill a much needed void in the world of high-school scene study: the need for brief, interesting scenes which teenagers can relate to and are interested in. Unfortunately, almost all of these scenes completely lack active dramatic conflict. Characters generally talk about problems they are having with offstage unseen characters; those on stage are almost all in agreement. As the subtitle states, these are mere "snapshots" of adolescent life. Accurate, but like the average snapshot, not very interesting. Yes, the writer has a good ear for teen dialogue, but she seems to lack a true affection for young people. The characters tend to be drawn as nothing more than charicatures with simplistic motives. High school kids are complex, and I've yet to meet one who was only shallow, or bitchy, or self-absorbed, as most of Krell-Oishi's characters are. As a drama teacher, I'd recommend others to look elsewhere for good scenes for teens.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for beginning students., March 10, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Scenes That Happen: Snapshot Dramatizations about Life in High School (Paperback)

No, this is not high drama. But, as slices of life, these scenes are good for young students who are new to the world of acting. As a drama teacher, I use these scenes in my beginning classes as simple scenes that inexperienced performers can tackle and in which they can perfrom well. I would not recommend this book for the advanced acting student, except for some scenes in this book and the sequal, that I actually think are very well written and include a lot of depth. This book also helps by providing some good 3 character scenes that are hard to find.

4.0 out of 5 stars Right Length and Style for 1st Time High School Actors, December 6, 2011

By 

Matthew Ballin (Alameda, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Scenes That Happen: Snapshot Dramatizations about Life in High School (Paperback)

I agree with others about the blandness of the scenes in this book, but for me, a high school drama teacher (11 Years), that can be a strength at times. One of the most difficult things to get beginning actors to do is take risks. Most of these scenes don't require much of that,and because memorizing the lines, being loud enough, staying open, are still struggles for them, something safe is helpful to many of my students. I wish more of the scenes were comic, that helps bring more out of them as well. But, I have been working with this book for years and have not found anything else that has the right length and style for my students on a repeated basis. Of course I only use this for their first scene, after that we require much more. But has worked for me and they leave alot of room for creative students to expand on what's there, while not intimidating students who are more timid.