ONE-ACT PLAY EDITED BY M. A. JAGENDORF
A group of thirteen one-act plays for children between the ages of six and fifteen
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NEW YORK
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ONE-ACT PLAYS FOR YOUNG FOLKS
7
ONE-ACT PLAYS FOR YOUNG FOLKS EDITED BY
M. A. JAGENDORF Stage Settings and Illustrations by JAMES SHUTE
NEW YORK
BRENTANO'S
PUBLISHERS
COPYBIGHT, 1924, BY
BRENTANO'S, INC. AH rights reserved Third Printing
May, 1929
Production rights of all these plays are strictly reserved by the authors. Applications for permission to produce should be made to the authors, in care of Brentano's, 225 Fifth Ave., New York. Any infringement of the authors' rights will be punished by the penalties imposed under the United States Revised Statutes, Title 60, Chapter 3.
Printed in the United States of America
To SOFIE JAGENDORF AND THE CHILDREN
at Mohegan Colony WHO WORKED UNCEASINGLY FOR THE SUCCESS OF
'THE CHILDREN'S PLAYHOUSE"
Many thanks are due to Miss Rowe Wright, Sofie Jagendorf, Miss Marguerite Entler of the New York Public Library, Mr. T. Shipley, and Manuel Komroff for their kind assistance in preparing the volume. Mr. W. D. Laing designed the drawing for "The East Wind's Revenge."
CONTENTS PAGE
Alice Rostetter
....
3
. . . Florence C. Comfort
33
WHICH IS W I T C H ? T H E SING-A-SONG MAN
T H E GARDEN AT THE ZOO .
John Farrar
45
FIVE GHOSTS
Rowe Wright
55
BUMBO AND SCRUMBO AND
Moritz Jagendorf
BLINKO
..
Helen C. Crew
T H E PASSWORD
69 87
I N THE K I T C H E N OF T H E
Lillian B. Lawler
KING MOTHER GOOSE DROPS I N
. Joseph
Shipley
..
Ill
....
127
...
143
T H E SANDMAN'S B R O T H E R .
T. C. O'Donnell
T H E HERITAGE
Nina Purely
155
T H E EAST WIND'S R E VENGE M R . BUNNY'S PRIZE
Sam Janney Frances Cavanah . .
173 195
ONCE IN YEARS
Moritz Jagendorf
207
A
HUNDRED
..
INTRODUCTION For Boys and Girls Who Would Like to Stage These Little Plays and Their Parents and Friends Who Would Like to Help Them Once upon a time, years ago, I wanted to have a theater of my own. At that time I lived in Europe, in a large house that had, amongst other outbuildings, an empty stable. With the help of a few friends I cleaned it thoroughly and hung it with sheets and colored curtains. Then a platform of boards on old boxes was built,—and there was my first playhouse. I produced Shakspere, pantomimes, and plays I myself had written. I even had a circus. When the weather turned cold I moved my theater into the pantry, which was a good sized room; there I continued my performances. Sometimes, when my mother was away, or in good humor, I would use the living room for my theater, and there, instead of curtains, I used screens (Spanish walls, we called them) for my settings. If the scene painted on the screen did not suit my play I covered it with colored bits of material. To-day, when I stage plays for my little friends and at "The Children's Playhouse," * I still * "The Children's Playhouse" is a children's theatre at the Mohegan Modern School in Peekskill, N. Y., where plays are produced by the children. xi
xii
INTRODUCTION
use the same method of stage settings. And you, or anyone else, by the same simple means, can have a "Children's Playhouse" of your own that will give you more pleasure than words can tell or pen can write. The following suggestions may help make the work easier. There are five things necessary for a "Playhouse": plays ; actors ; a stage; costumes; and scenery. Plays are sometimes difficult to find. This little book is an attempt to help you out of a dilemma. If you find none in this or any other book to your liking, then write them. That was how I commenced to write children's plays. Actors, your friends and acquaintances must supply. For a stage, any room,—or a barn,—or a bit of sloping outdoor ground will do. In the room or barn, your stage need not be raised. Make the first row of spectators sit on cushions on the ground, the second on low stools, and the others in regular chairs. It may be a little inconvenient but an amusing play and good acting will compensate for all. If you want a raised stage and can afford to pay a carpenter, the best thing is to have it arranged in small sections, or boxes a little longer than they are wide, possibly two by four feet and about two feet high. If your stage is arranged in this manner, you can, first of all, put it away conveniently and, what is more important, you can increase and decrease it in size as you desire. You can also build steps and platforms; and create very fine scenic effects.