Contemporary Scenes for Young Actors: 34 High-Quality Scenes for Kids and Teens

This writer writes very well for children and young teens; he has a great mastery of their language so the scenes are funny on their own and work well for this age group without being offensive or stupid. I've bought book after book of useless scenes written for children that don't go anywhere and use inappropriate language or situations that Midwestern parents just don't appreciate. These scenes really worked - which was a relief as it can take FOREVER to find useful and relevant scenes with appropriate language for children that doesn't belittle their development. I used these for my acting classes scene night this fall (which ranged in age from 8-14) and the scenes were very successful. Will definitely buy more from this author!

I've used a couple of scenes from this book for a drama/theatre camp that I'm teaching this summer and the players love it! It really is accessible for the kids and the scenes are actually interesting for both them and adults alike. Some of the scenes are serious while others are light-hearted. I could definitely recommend this to anyone wanting some quick scenes to practice characterization and working with a partner. Most of the scenes are brief and contain 2 parts. There are a couple of three-part scenes that are slightly longer.

Wow - I was definitely not expecting this level of craft. So many scene books for younger actors seem to have such ridiculously unrealistic dialogue that I did not have high hopes for this one and I'm happy to say that I was very pleasantly surprised. The funny scenes are funny in a real way (not in an "aren't kids cute" way). And there are scenes in this book that are so touching, I actually teared up.

You know it works when the kids like it as much as the teacher. My group this semester has gotten such a kick out of this book. Very accessible scenes. Great range of emotions and characters. Unexpected twists in virtually every scene.

I volunteer teaching theater to middleschool strudents. What I like most about this scene book is the variety. Not only the variety of moods, characters, relationships, etc., but also the way most of the scenes give my young players an opportunity to “shift gears” in mid-scene. Some offer more of an emotional challenge, some are just straight-up fun. Best of all, so far I haven’t had a single one of my players not be able to find some scene or character that truly engaged them.

My sister-in-law works with young actors and, knowing my background, suggested I pick up a copy of Mr. Parker’s book. Wow – I wish I were still working with kids myself. It's like this book comes from a different universe. Someplace where young people have real emotions and talk like real people.

This was the ONLY book I could find on this site with scenes that had appropriate language and storylines. I would definitely recommend!

Miles ahead of similar books I've bought over the years. Solid material that treats the emotions of young people with intelligence and gives younger actors challenges with sharp, smart and very entertaining scenes.

Very good book if you teach drama. A lot of the skits are two or three person skits and allows you to keep your groups small. Some of the skits are very basic and simple but you use that to your advantage and get your students to extend the skits, add a character etc. I would recommend this book to any other drama teachers. I think it's worth owning.

I use this book with my drama students in elementary.