CHAPTER ELEVEN

DRAMATIZATION

Contemporaneous with what may be termed a renaissance in story-telling is a strong sentiment in favor of dramatization. Child leaders have observed that children dramatize spontaneously, and that after they have heard a tale they often play it without suggestion from an older person. They impersonate the characters, crudely perhaps, but they represent the action and portray the story as they understand it.

This they do because the dramatic instinct is a universal instinct. We are all born imitators, and we like to experience the feelings and experiences of others. That is why the little girl impersonates her mother and takes delight in dressing in grown-up attire and playing lady. It is what actuates the boy to play Indian or soldier or fireman. He wants to live through the experiences of Indians and soldiers and firemen; so he goes into the world of make-believe and acts the part. During that time he is a larger and a different personality. He is not a little boy who must go to bed before he wants to, and must stay inside the yard when he longs to be out on the highway; he is a grown man in a uniform dashing along on an engine; he is a mighty chief in feathers and war paint, leading his tribe against the enemy or speaking words of wisdom around the council fire.

There was a time when this sort of play was believed to be of no value beyond that of a romp that helped to stretch the muscles, but today there is a very different attitude toward it. Close observation of children and a more general knowledge of psychology have brought educators to realize that imitative play is a big factor in mental development. As the boy impersonates a fireman or Indian he must choose movements in keeping with the part and reject those not in keeping with it. He must select and evaluate, and in doing this he is acquiring a power of discrimination that will be of great value to him later.

The childhood of many famous men of the past was distinguished by an unusual amount of imitative play, a free expression of the dramatic instinct. Goethe, in his memories, speaks lovingly of his early years thus:

From my father I have my stature, My earnest aim in living; From little mother, my joyous nature, My love of story weaving.

Continuing, he tells of the tales he heard, and what they meant to him as he played them:

Sometimes I was a prince and sometimes a peasant. Now I was rewarded for being a bountiful and considerate king, then punished according to the deserts of a wicked and revengeful giant; and always as I played these parts I was learning the unchangeable laws of life.

What Goethe learned through acting tales his mother told him, the child of today is learning as he dramatizes stories, although not always in as great a measure as was learned by the author of _Faust_ and _Werther_. But he is learning according to his ability and within his limitations. When he has played the part, the laws involved in it become fixed principles with him, and a big step is taken in the direction of his moral training. Because of a growing recognition of this truth the present strong interest in dramatization in schools is becoming general throughout the country. Teachers are beginning to realize that they can give no more eloquent sermon on truthtelling than to tell the story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” and then let the children dramatize it. There is no more effective means of giving a lesson in contentment than presenting the tale of the pig who thought his life hard and leading the boys and girls to play it.

Therefore it follows that dramatization should be encouraged, and to be most far-reaching in its results, it should be done by means of story-telling, because by proceeding from the story to the action the child creates the play and makes it his own.

There are many books of plays for children, carefully written and adapted to their interests in word, style, and theme. But such plays do not mean as much to the child as those he makes for himself. They are not as much his own, and consequently they contribute less toward his growth and development.

The natural way is for the child to hear the story and then act it. Therefore every story-teller should have in his possession a number of tales with dramatic possibilities. He should tell one of these vividly and dramatically, using much dialogue, and then, while it is still fresh in the minds of the children, encourage them to play it. It is well to use the published plays also, because there are many excellent ones, but the narrator should read them over, get the plot, and tell the story, before putting them into the hands of the children.

Shall dialogue be dictated by the story-teller and the children drilled in their parts? No. Conversation used in telling the tale will suggest to the children what to say, and they will make up their own parts. They must be led and directed, but help from the teacher or leader should be given in such a way that the children feel they are _making_ the play themselves. Help them by questions that will lead them to think and act instead of telling them what to do and say.

Suppose “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” is to be dramatized. After the story has been told, say to the children, “Do you want to play it?” Of course they will want to. Then, by questioning, lead them to constructive effort.

How many people shall we need? Immediately the answers will come, and as the different characters are named make a list, thus getting the cast. Who can be the mayor, members of the council, the piper, rats, mothers and fathers, lame boy, etc.?

There will be two divisions, those who are forward, eager to take a prominent part, and the shy, retiring ones who will not offer. This latter group must not be ignored, and to draw its members into the work requires much tact. Sometimes when it is impossible to get a child to take a speaking part, he can be encouraged to be one of a group of “supers,” as they are called on the professional stage, because although he lacks the confidence necessary to make him lift his voice, his diffidence vanishes in doing pantomime with a number of other children. He will be a rat or a citizen when he cannot be coaxed or driven into being the piper, and after many pantomime performances he gains the confidence in himself that enables him to take a speaking part.

One of the difficulties incident to dramatization in the schoolroom is that the same children always clamor to take the star parts, and sometimes sulk if not permitted to do so, or sneer at the efforts of others. This situation must be met as any other problem in discipline is met, by skill on the part of the teacher and by inculcating a sense of fairness and courtesy that holds selfishness in check. Lead the child to see that what gives him pleasure gives some one else pleasure also, and that it is the right of each member of the class to experience that pleasure. Once the boy or girl realizes that well-bred people are considerate and do not deride the efforts of others, no matter how imperfect their achievement may be, the dramatization period loses its greatest bugbear and shy children do not hesitate to take part because of fear that they will be laughed at. This result cannot be brought about instantly, but persistence and tact will finally accomplish it.

Do not be discouraged because it seems that some of the shy or less capable children will never take a speaking part. Sometimes even after they perform in pantomime they still hang back and will speak only in chorus. But this last is at least a step in the desired direction. Keep working them in groups, and gradually from group speaking they will advance to individual speaking. Sometimes this process is slow and discouraging, but the teacher should remember that mental development is never a mushroom growth, and that great achievement is not wrought in a day. The marble block yields so slowly to the shaping of the sculptor’s chisel that sometimes it seems it never will take the form he visions for it, but ceaseless effort always brings results. So it is with the teacher in molding human material. Results are sure to come if persistence and patience are unflagging and faith is deep and strong. It is worth much for a shy, self-conscious child to grow to the point where he can lose himself in the rôle of a play, and no matter how crudely he does it, he should be encouraged and given frequent opportunities to express himself, because as a means of self-development his crude performance is of as much value as the artistic one of the talented child, although it may be less enjoyable to spectators.

With little children especially, it is desirable to use some play whose cast will include every member of the class. It gives the eager child a chance to be “in it,” as children say, and makes it easier to draw the diffident child to participate, because he wants to do what all the others are doing. “The Pied Piper” is ideal for this, because of the flexibility of groups. There can be enough rats, parents, children, or council members to include twenty or forty children, and the larger the groups the more intense the interest.

After the cast is decided upon, plan the scenes, again by questioning the children. What is the first thing to be done and where is it done? Thus, by question and suggestion, work up the lines. In other words, have the children create the parts themselves and they will play them spontaneously. The production may not be highly artistic, but it will have greater educational value than one worked out by an adult and merely acted by the children. After it has been created in this way it may be put into finished permanent form. Little children may practice it until they memorize the lines, while those in the grammar grades may write parts, thus making a play that can be used many times. This sort of work is very valuable, and may form a composition or language exercise that will be enjoyed by the class.

Another method is to have the various members suggest lines to be spoken by the different characters and choose the best for the play. Sometimes a child who does little in the usual composition work and never gets a high mark, will suggest an excellent line or sentence, and to have it go into the play is a tremendous joy to him, especially if he doubts his own ability. Another plan that makes the class interest keen, is for each member to plan or write a scene, and without the members knowing the authorship of the various papers, have them read, and select the best by vote, whereupon the name of the writer is revealed. This method can be used in writing parts for one character or for all the characters, and in several other ways that will be of much value to the children.

Of course the teacher or leader must be the guiding spirit, because a well-built, correctly proportioned plot is necessary. But her suggestion should be chiefly by way of question, leaving the children to feel that they, and not the instructor, are doing the work, although in reality the teacher’s judgment is the foundation upon which the structure stands, and she must use it in building the play just as she uses it in telling the story.

For little people there are many stories with dramatic possibilities, some of which may be acted wholly in pantomime, some with combined pantomime and spoken parts, and others entirely of spoken parts. In working with foreign children it is well to begin with pantomime plays, as the child who knows he cannot express himself easily in English will always balk at taking a speaking part. Some of Æsop’s fables lend themselves particularly well to pantomime, especially “The Lion and the Mouse,” “The Fox and the Grapes,” “The Dog and His Shadow,” and “The Hare and the Tortoise.” _The Dramatic Festival_, by Craig, and _Festivals and Plays_, by Chubb, give valuable suggestions for pantomime work, as well as a list of plays adapted to it, and the worker with older children will also find these books to be excellent guides.

There is an equally large amount of material for dramatic work with older children. _Hiawatha_ never fails to delight fourth and fifth grade boys and girls. _Robin Hood_ in dramatic form is loved even more than in story, as are some of the exploits of King Arthur and his knights and of Pwyll, the hero of the Mabinogion. Any of these tales may be carried out simply or may be worked into elaborate performances with costumes and stage settings. If the latter be the choice, much pleasure and useful experience will come to the children through making the properties. Any boy who can whittle can fashion spears and swords, and gold and silver paper is wonderfully effective in supplying glitter. Does a knight need colored hose to be in keeping with his doublet? Let him borrow a pair of his mother’s or sister’s white ones and coat them with blackboard crayon of the desired hue. One laundering will make them spotless again, and there is no outlay of money for something that must be discarded at the end of the performance. Helmets, shields, and pilgrim hats can be made by the manual-training boys, and girls in the domestic-science class will enjoy sewing the costumes.

The teacher in the ungraded school is particularly fortunate in opportunities for this kind of work, because she can correlate it with other subjects in ways that workers in schools using the departmental system cannot do. One country teacher had her eighth-grade history class give a pageant portraying the French exploration in the Mississippi Valley. The class devoted a term to the preparation; the subject was made the nucleus of their reading, language, history, and manual work, and the results were most gratifying. Boys who never had written a readable paper did some astonishingly good work in composition because of their interest in the play and their desire to contribute to it, and the standard of class scholarship was raised, to say nothing of the joy the children derived from it.

Many other historical subjects are equally rich in possibilities. The Spanish exploration in Florida, the Dutch in New York, the Spanish settlement of California, the framing and adoption of the Declaration of Independence, John Smith and Pocahontas, Ponce de Leon seeking the fountain of youth, the story of Columbus, and many similar themes afford good opportunities for class play-making and correlation of school subjects.

Sometimes a picture will suggest an entire scene in a dramatization, or even an entire play; the following are especially good for this purpose:

BACON: The Burial of Miles Standish.

BALACA: Departure of Columbus from Palos.

BOUGHTON: Pilgrims Going to Church; Pilgrim Exiles; The Return of the Mayflower; Priscilla.

KAULBACH: The Pied Piper of Hamelin.

PILOTY: Columbus on the Deck of the Santa Maria.

VAN DER LYN: The Landing of Columbus.

Those wishing to make a specialty of dramatization will find the following books helpful:

CHUBB: _Festivals and Plays_.

CRAIG: _The Dramatic Festival_.

CURTIS: _The Dramatic Instinct in Education_.

The following are excellent stories for dramatic work with little children, and are included in so many books that they are available to every teacher:

Three Billy Goats Gruff; The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids; Chicken Little; The Old Woman and Her Pig; The Pig Brother; The Gingerbread Boy; The Boy Who Cried Wolf; The Town Musicians; Mother Goose Rhymes; The Three Bears; The Pancake; The Discontented Pig.

Many others will be found in the list of story collections for children in the rhythmic period, and in the bibliography on the following page.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MATERIAL FOR DRAMATIZATION

_For Primary Grade Children_

BELL, FLORENCE E.: _Fairy Tale Plays and How to Act Them_.

CHADWICK, M. L. PRATT-, and FREEMAN, E. GRAY: _Chain Stories and Playlets_.

NIXON-ROULET, M. F.: _Fairy Tales a Child Can Read and Act_.

NOYES, M. I., and RAY, B. H.: _Little Plays for Little People_.

PERRY, S. G. S.: _When Mother Lets Us Act_.

STEVENSON, AUGUSTA: _Children’s Classics in Dramatic Form, Books 1-3_.

WELLS, CAROLYN: _Jolly Plays for Holidays_.

_For Intermediate Grade Children_

HARRIS, F. J.: PLAYS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE.

SIDGWICK, ETHEL: _Four Plays for Children_.

SPOFFORD, HARRIET PRESCOTT: _The Fairy Changeling_.

STEVENSON, AUGUSTA: _Children’s Classics in Dramatic Form, Books 4-6_.

_St. Nicholas Book of Operettas and Plays._

_For Grammar Grade Children_

FRANK: _Short Plays about Famous Authors_.

LANSING, M. F.: _Quaint Old Stories to Read and Act_.

LÜTKENHAUS, A. M., and KNOX, MARGARET: _Plays for School Children_.

RUCKER and RYAN: _Historical Plays of Colonial Days_.