You're On!: Seven Plays in English and Spanish  (Spanish and English Edition)
Grade 4-10-These short plays vary in length from 2 to 10 pages and range from fairly straightforward to complex to several very brief, poetic works that have an experimental-theater flavor. Difficulty of staging varies. Gary Soto's "These Shoes of Mine/Estos zapatos mios," in which a boy gives his new shoes to his uncle and grows in understanding of his mother, could be mounted easily in most school venues. Denise Ruiz's "Jump In/Saltando" in which a young girl out jumps the unpleasant neighborhood double Dutch champion and earns a place for herself, requires both space sufficient for jumping and actors who can skip rope well. Textual difficulty also varies: Oscar Hijuelos's elaborate "Christmas Fantasy/Fantasia de Navidad," about Santa's lost son, reads easily, while the text for Federico Garcia Lorca's "The Girl Who Waters Basil and the Very Inquisitive Prince/La nina que riega la albahaca y el principe pregunton," which rhymes in Spanish, is rendered a trifle incomprehensible in the English translation. Several of the shorter plays have elements of magical realism, and may be confusing to young audiences. Nonetheless, these selections, especially if done bilingually, would be an intriguing presentation. While Barbara Winther's Plays from Hispanic Tales (Plays, Inc., 1998) gives an English-only rendition of one-act plays from both Spanish and Latin American sources, directors and students interested in more challenging scripts might want to consider You're On!-Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WACopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.