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2014 Youth Stages Programs for "Fizz, Boom, Read!"
Libraries
Bring library story hours to life with participatory workshops that dramatize literature.
Since 1996, Youth Stages has conducted workshops for over 180 libraries in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York many of which book programs regularly!
Library Programs for Preschool to Grade 6
Contemporary Literature
Children dramatize scenes from books by contemporary authors such as John Burningham, Lois Ehlert, Ezra Jack Keats, and Daniel Pinkwater. Children dutifully polish swords and make scary faces as they “prepare for battle” in Tomie dePaola’s The Knight and the Dragon…then settle the “battle” by reading books!
Classics
Scenes from Winnie the Pooh to The Velveteen Rabbit and many others come to life as young people become their favorite characters. Listen to the children “boast and swagger” (through improvised dialogue) as the mechanical toys in Margery Williams’ classic tale.
Fairy Tales
Using exciting picture book versions of classics as a means of visual inspiration, children dramatize Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Rumplestiltskin and others. Watch how gracefully the actor-educator leads 6 pathetically crowing roosters, 8 dying dogs, 6 bedraggled cats, and 5 aging donkeys into a robust group of talented musicians headed for Bremen.
Nursery Rhymes
“Pat-A-Cake,” “Old Mother Hubbard,” “The Old Woman Who Lived in A Shoe,” “Little Miss Muffet”, and a host of Mother Goose Rhymes take on new meaning when dramatized. Explore what Old King Cole would have been like if he were “a grumpy ol' soul!”
Poetry
The verses of Shel Silverstein, Paul Fleischman, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jack Prelutsky and others become a gateway into the children’s own imaginations as they act in their own poetic creations. As children writhe in pantomime being eaten by a “boa constrictor,” the sounds of gleeful giggling fill the library function room!
Multi-cultural stories
Utilizing wonderful visual picture book versions by Verna Aardema, Gerald McDermott, Arlene Mosel, Ed Young and others, tales from Africa, India, China, Japan and other countries are enacted by children. Be amazed at the creative ways the children find for the Boy to tame the creatures in each kiva of Arrow To The Sun.
Performances for Youth
Youth Stages' Acting Company also tours seven productions.
Three shows are 40 minute productions for children ages 3-9 years:
Four shows, 30 minutes in length, are specifically for ages 3-5 years:
These shows can be performed in a program room. Based on great literature, Youth Stages productions encourage audience participation and imagination, thus making them a wonderful choice for libraries.
PLAY-SHOPS for ages 3-9 years
A Youth Stages actor-educator will bring dramatizations of stories and songs to your library programming! These run 35-45 minutes and include a great deal of audience participation!
Library Programs for Middle and High School Students
A Youth Stages actor-educator will guide teens in enacting scenes from their favorite books—from classics by Shakespeare to contemporary works by J.K. Rowling! Students will be encouraged to create believable characters and make up dialogue for improvisational scenes in Whose Library is it Anyway?, an improvisational acting take-off of a popular cable TV program. Youth Stages also offers a session about New Jersey's favorite "monster"- The Jersey Devil.
Professional Development Workshops for Librarians
Read A Book–Then ACT On It! is a two-hour (or longer) workshop. A Youth Stages actor-educator will demonstrate some creative drama techniques used in story dramatization, then librarians choose a familiar book and work in small groups with their colleagues to create their own creative drama session to accompany their next story hour. Youth Stages’ Suggested Books for Dramatization will be disseminated. Have you ever watched your co-workers hide under a sheet and pretend they are a dragon? It is a sight not to be missed!
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