About the Book:

Have you noticed how the very children who, at 5 or 8 or so, were spontaneous and articulate and imaginative suddenly become, on the threshold of adolescence, sullen or silent, bored or supercilious? No group is so hard to reach. Yet at no time are youngsters more in need of what drama has to offer.

How can you break through the emotional armor, overcome the put-down syndrome, and help these vulnerable youngsters take the risks that drama involves? People who work with this age group need all the help they can get. Breaking Through: Drama Strategies for 10's to 15's is the handbook to give you just that help. It provides theater and improv games well suited to channel the energies and capture the imagination of 10s to 15s. Barbara Goodwillie addresses the ways drama activities can meet the developmental needs of this age group. She offers techniques that have worked in improving group dynamics and social relationships, and opens up ways for individual maturation through drama. She goes on to sets up structures for satisfying dramatic exploration. Many are open-ended, with enough alternatives to help leaders deal with almost any turn this group's capricious fancy may take.

What people say:

"I see Breaking Through as a vital tool for teachers and directors who work regularly with young adolescents – as well as a satisfying even inspiring guide for drama specialists and group leaders who are enlarging the scope of their work to include older children." — Patricia Whitten, publisher New Plays Incorporated

About the Author:

Barbara Goodwillie (1926-2014) was a master teacher and drama specialist who pioneered a teaching technique called creative dramatics, which combined three of her passions: theater, education and children. For many years she worked for the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, using her craft in schools all over Connecticut, and occasionally also in a women's prison. Until the age of 84 she taught a course at Central Connecticut State University, training future teachers in creative dramatics, enticing them to use creative drama in their future classrooms.