Curtains Up!: Theatre Games and Storytelling Book

Help students communicate better through theatre! Theatre games develop students skills in storytelling, improvisation, and public speaking. They also build confidence, teamwork, and vocabulary. Take, for example, the activity "The Monster with Three Heads." Three students become one monster and each may say just one word at a time in response to student questions. The monster must answer in complete sentences. Just imagine the classroom engagement and discussion! This is just one of numerous theatre games in this collection of classroom-tested activities.

Children's Literature

Based on the idea that laughter promotes good health, and written by a middle school teacher, this interesting book would be useful for anyone responsible for group leadership. It contains various activities, games and storytelling ideas to help people of all ages feel comfortable in front of a group. The book begins with warm-ups where an entire group or classroom participates in a group activity that breaks the ice and puts everyone on an equal footing. It goes on to activities for only two or three participants and to ideas for storytelling, all designed to put a people on an equal footing and to laugh at themselves. The author has developed this from an initial class in middle school as well as students performing at the community level. Some of the ideas are quite silly, but that's the purpose—to trick the group, especially students, into learning when they think they are only having a good time. A great mental health idea book. 2000, Fulcrum Publishing, $17.95. Ages 8 up. Reviewer: Meredith Kiger