This collection of six plays written for young audiences—from primary school right through high school—showcases some of the recent inspiring works developed by Green Thumb Theatre. These plays include characters struggling with addiction, isolation, low self-esteem, rape, and concern for the environment, but never cross the line to become the dreaded "issue" plays that are often aimed at youth.

 

Includes the plays Blind Spot by Meghan Gardiner, Cranked by Michael P. Northey, Derwent is Different and Showdown by Jamie Norris, and The Invisible Girl and Tree Boy by Michele Riml.

 

 

Green Thumb Theatre was founded in 1975 to develop original Canadian plays for young audiences. Since that time, Green Thumb has emerged as one of Canada’s leading theatre companies for young people, producing excellent material for audiences and artists, and contributing to the growing body of work evolving in this field. Green Thumb demonstrates a new excitement and potential for children’s theatre.

 

 

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The Green Thumb Collection: Plays for Children, Youth, and Young Adults

The Green Thumb Collection: Plays for Children, Youth, and Young Adults, edited by Green Thumb Theatre, is a collection of six plays by Canadian playwrights Jamie Norris, Michele Riml, Michael P. Northey and Meghan Gardiner. The plays deal with characters struggling with addiction, isolation, low self-esteem, rape and concern for the environment. They are written for young audiences from primary school right through to high school and students will see themselves in the characters in these plays. Anyone who’s ever been bullied, felt out of place, dealt with addiction or rape or been concerned about the unnecessary cutting down of trees will connect with these characters and possibly find the courage to change or act upon something they didn’t think they could. This is an excellent collection of plays to be read aloud, acted out, viewed and discussed. What I particularly liked about this collection is that a play like Tree Boy could be integrated into a social studies class just as easily as an English or Drama class. Or the play Cranked could be used in a health class when discussing addiction. The possibilities are endless for teachers willing to branch out and embrace the arts in all areas of the curriculum.