| Copies
of the late Nellie McCaslin’s book, Creative Drama in the Classroom
and Beyond (Eight Edition) will be presented to area libraries
in conjunction with recognition of McCaslin’s contribution to the literature
on the subject and the Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre. The presentation will
take place n April 22nd at 4:00 p.m. in the Founder’s Room of the Stanley
Library at Ferrum College. The event will be open to the public.
An excerpt from McCaslin’s obituary from
New York University reads, “Nellie McCaslin, a pioneer in children’s
and educational theatre whose influence spanned more than 50 years,
died on February 28 of complications following heart surgery. A long-time
New York City resident, McCaslin was associate dean of New York University’s
Gallatin School of Individualized Study for 13 years and had been an
adjunct faculty member at NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education since
1972… McCaslin’s numerous publications, which include Theatre for
Children in the United States: A History, Children and Drama, Theatre
for Young Audiences, and Creative Drama in the Classroom and
Beyond, now in its eighth edition, have widely influenced educational
theatre in the United States.”
The New York Times in February of 2003
wrote, “(M)ore and more, children’s theater is extending its reach,
moving beyond saccharine entertainments and lessons and into the heady
realm of art… When Nellie McCaslin was writing her history, Theater
for Children in the United States, in the late 1960’s, the field
was dominated by teachers and social workers, and most of the theater
people working in it were, she wrote, either beginners or ‘merely competent.’
The shows tended to be traditional, realistic renditions of beloved
tales — Peter Rabbit played by an actor in a fuzzy costume.”
Ferrum College is a four-year,
private, co-educational, liberal arts college affiliated with the United
Methodist Church. Ferrum offers a choice of nationally recognized bachelor’s
degree programs at a cost well below the national average for private
colleges. For more information on Ferrum, visit www.ferrum.edu.
Area libraries participating in event and receiving
copies:
Franklin County
Blue Ridge Regional
Bedford Regional
Roanoke City
Roanoke County
Pittsylvania County
Floyd County
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