Center Stage: One-Act Plays for Teenage Readers and Actors

The house lights dim. The curtain begins to rise... ...on ten original one-act plays by some of today's best writers of young adult fiction; Some of the plays are funny, some serious; all offer special insights into the problems and triumphs of teenagers; In Alden R. Carter's Driver's Test, a boy sets a new record by flunking his driver's test even before leaving the lot; In Walter Dean Myers's Cages, a group of teenagers is suddenly given the chance to decide their own destinies. In Robin F. Brancato's War of the Words, two gangs slug it out, one group with lofty poetry, the other with slang--and the reader, actors, and audience get to supply the ending; So settle back in your seat, and let the words of Quida Sebestyen, Lensey Namioka, Susan Beth Pfeffer, and others move and entertain you, as the lights come up on Center Stage"A fine idea generates exceptional results in this collection of ten plays . . . [that] focus on teens' courage, convictions, resourcefulness, and compassion. Among the contributors are Alden Carter, Ouida Sebestyen, Walter Dean Myers and Robin Brancato. The plays will appeal to students [and] teachers can use them in numerous ways." —SLJ. 1991 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)