“I experienced all the emotions. I laughed. I cried. I got angry. It was wonderful!”

No, this wasn’t a teacher summarizing her school year. This was an adult viewer of our recent fifth grade performance of “The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage.” But over the course of a full school year, I have no doubt you’ve experienced all the emotions, and if you’re approaching the conclusion of your year, you deserve to experience some joy. One way is to chill out with some end-of-year reader’s theater.

Our plays are masterfully crafted to make your students laugh, cry, and get angry… okay, mostly just laugh.  And for you, the teacher, these plays are easy time fillers. Devote 45 minutes or so to a single reading, or better yet, read it three or four times over a week for an impromptu in-class performance. Up the stakes by splitting the class into two or three groups and assigning each a different play. All you have to do is print copies and divvy up parts, and voila! — that’s a week’s worth of enjoyable language arts time! Along with Sausage, here’s a few recommendations:

Goldi Locks Home Reno – Our heroine wants to renovate your home!

The Pied Piper Slightly Twisted – the Revenge of the Rats!

The Nose – Gogol’s absurd story about . . . a runaway nose?

How the Elephant Got Its Trunk – From the Jungle Books

Barbed Wire – A rootin’ tootin’ cowhand version of Maupassant’s classic, A Piece of String

Toad’s Wild Ride – Even better than the Disneyland ride!

Nature Talks Back – talking trees and “killer” insects

And many others, too!  Or, if you’re looking for something more poignant, consider our Juneteenth play, Freedom for the First Time, or Stolen Childhoods, our wonderful script about Lewis Hine’s effort to end child labor a century ago. Our Newsies play is also a great season-ender. Whichever route you take, know that our plays are authentic, human made literary works, they’re kid-tested, and despite costing just four bucks, they all include basic performance rights and a comprehension activity.

Thanks for all your hard work this school year. Finish it up in style! Happy directing!