AATE 2025 National Conference

Early childhood drama rightly includes many games, open dramatic play, and creative dramatics, among other activities; however, engaging very young children in actual script writing is often overlooked. After all, at this age, children are learning the basics of language and still building the fine motor skills to physically put words on paper. This session will give drama educators/directors a manageable process to transform very young actors into script writers capable of composing their own monologues. Using a modified sentence frame format, young actors combine growing skills in ELA, academic language, performance sensibilities, and imagination to create a written monologue that they can perform or that can be performed by others. In addition, the session will include extensions of this project that help children build on their vocal and movement skills, as well as a number of ways for teachers and directors to differentiate the process for all actors' talents and abilities.