Product Description

One of the world's leading children's dramatists provides a practical handbook of the skills involved in entertaining and involving audiences of children. A marvelous contribution to the world of Youth Theater...a must. --Robyn Flatt, Dallas Children's Theater. He has often been called the National Playwright for Children and he deserves it. --Cameron Mackintosh

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #677572 in Books
• Published on: 1999-02-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
For over thirty years David has had the ability to captivate children's minds.... The National Playwright for Children... -- Sir Cameron Mackintosh

The national children's dramatist. -- London Times

Customer Reviews

egotistical
Walter Piston is a composer, but in his music theory textbook, he can bring in samples from the work of other composers. Why, then, can't David Wood bring in samples from the work of other playwrights?

Incidentally, don't buy this book if you are interested in theatre for children as actors. This book is about theatre for children as spectators.

Great for Children's Theare Playwrights
I love this book. I have written several children's shows for our local children's theatre, and reading over David Wood's text only helped me improve my scripts and fed my imagination. Yes, there are sections that I scimmed through, but most of it was very helpful. I highly recommend it.

If you're a fan of David Wood buy it, if not...
Who is David Wood? "National Children's Dramatist" or not, I'd never heard of him. But I decided to give "Theatre for Children" a shot based on its subtitle (A Guide to Writing, Directing, and Acting) and positive reader reviews. I was looking for a book that would give me basic tips on getting started and avoiding the pitfalls of writing stage plays for children. There is that sort of information buried in "Theatre for Children", but unfortunately the reader has to wade through such a relentlessly pounding sea of personal anecdotes and name dropping (again, mostly of Mr. Wood's own works and of other people I'd never heard of) that one's ability to salvage such practical information is called into question. This is not a beginner's guide to children's theater, but rather a professional memoir thinly disguised as a "how to" book. The writing style is dense and stuffy -- not "highly readable" as claimed in the cover blurb.

If this book wasn't so darned expensive, I'd be tempted to let it slide. ...(!) I felt I had to give fair warning.