The Big Book of Skits: 36 Short Plays for Young Actors
Gr 7 Up--This collection includes mediocre skits by different authors for casts ranging from 2 to over 30 participants and running from 3-11 pages in length. The writing is pedestrian and the stories are unimaginative. Both the situations and characters are predictable throughout, encouraging stereotypes. Although the characters are two-dimensional, they nevertheless have a middle-class, Caucasian feel to them. With very few exceptions, they are adults. Many of the skits are spoofs of European myths, fairy tales, or historical figures. Older students would do better to excerpt scenes from published plays, and younger students would get more enjoyment from writing and performing their own.Darcy Schild, Schwegler Elementary School, Lawrence, KSCopyright 1996 Cahners Business Information, Inc.