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Readers Theatre

The Senior Theatre Resource Center

 

Many Senior Theatres use readers theatre or script-in-hand performance styles. In fact, you can use almost all of our shows using this format. Characterization is easier, the pace is faster, and actors don't have to worry about forgetting their lines. It's a winner!

Enjoy the plays listed below, then check out the rest of our  collection. You’ll find that almost all of the ArtAge Plays can be done in Readers Theatre or script-in-hand style.

Introducing Reader’s Theatre KaraokeTM--click here for more information. You’re going to love it!

ROXIE_Cover_web270wNEW!
ROXIE MCCOY...PRIVATE EYE
Jim Gustafson

4 men, 9-12 women
15 minute mystery comedy

Roxie McCoy...Private Eye kicks off ArtAge’s new Reader’s Theatre KaraokeTM. Roxie is a street-smart, no-nonsense private eye. In this comic sketch, Roxie comes the aid of an English Baroness with a secret. When a sleazy con artist threatens to expose her highness she calls on Roxie to save the day. With some unexpected twists and a few surprise revelations, Roxie turns the tables on the blackmailer. Once the dust settles, the Baroness’ reputation remains intact and the weasel winds up behind bars.

Features several fun commercials to accommodate additional actors, if needed.

Roxie McCoy...Private Eye Readers Theatre KaraokeTM DVD has the script, background music, and sound effects built in, cued, and ready to perform.

Click here to see and listen to a sample

DVD and e-script: $24.95

 

Love Conquers for WebNEW!
LOVE CONQUERS THE WILD WEST
Jim Gustafson

3 men, 6 women, double casting possible
15 minute melodrama

A Readers Theatre KaraokeTM melodrama is set in the 1870’s when Daisy Fontaine, a young and beautiful New York socialite is engaged to marry the man of her dreams. However, as the wedding approaches she gets news that her brother, an early settler in the Wild West, has lost his wife to the fever. Faced with his raising three small children alone, Daisy leaves New York, her wealth, and the man she loves to help the family.

As the years go by, Daisy never loves again and settles in to the hard life of a frontier woman. Eventually an unusual turn of events reunites Daisy with the man she left behind and discovers that true love can tame the Wild West.  Features the normal good guys and bad guys that make melodrama fun!

Love Conquers The Wild West comes with the script, music, and sound effects on a DVD. Just insert the disc in a standard DVD player and you’re ready to perform.

Click here to see and listen to a sample

DVD and e-script: $24.95


 

AgeOnStageCover front onlyNEW!
AGE ON STAGE
®: COMEDIES FOR READERS THEATRE Volume 2
Drena Heizer
Ten 10-minute comedies

Here it is-Book Two from the author of the first best-selling Age on Stage: Comedies for Readers Theatre. Open to any page in this book and you will find quirky characters in humorous situations, and that's why these short comedies are so much fun for both actors and audiences.

For example, we've all had annoying restaurant experiences but none quite like the one Marge encounters in Lunch With Eddie. TV judges are lampooned in the ludicrous Courtroom Capers, and Mother Goose characters turn up in ridiculous roles in Law And Disorder. An amateur theatre group stumbles through a mystery play, airline passengers experience a strangely unusual journey, and a department store Santa Claus gets an unwelcome surprise. These funny adventures and many others are included in this intriguing collection of ten 10-minute comedies.

Large Print

Read about the plays in this collection

Royalty $10 per performance
$24.95

 

Age On Stage vol 1 smaller BEST SELLER!
AGE ON STAGE
®: COMEDIES FOR READERS THEATRE Volume 1
by Drena Heizer

From chuckles to guffaws, this collection of ten 10-minute comedies is a laugh fest all the way. Sparked with funny characters and humorous situations, lively dialogue, sudden surprises, and just the right touch of charming goofiness, these plays are great fun for audiences and performers alike. This collection is an invitation to laughter! Written for and performed by a Senior Theatre company. Large Print!
Click here to read more about the plays in this collection.

Royalty: $10 per performance
$24.95    

 

return 202RETURN ENGAGEMENT PLAYS FOR SENIORS
Volume Two
Jules Abrams

Jules is back with another collection of his popular plays for Readers Theatre. Here are ten more short upbeat plays. Most have 5-7 characters and last 30 minutes long. They’ve been used with great success in retirement communities, senior centers and drama clubs. Jules writes dynamic characters in plots that interest many older performers and audiences. The plays are easy-to-use and come in Large Print. Volume I has been so popular that we’re sure your audiences will love these also.
Read more about Jules Abrams
Read about the plays in the book
 

Royalty: Buy 2 copies of the book and the plays become royalty-free
$23.95 

 

return 102Very Popular!
RETURN ENGAGEMENT PLAYS FOR SENIORS
Volume I
Jules Abrams

This book of plays, Jules’ first collection for Senior Theatre, has been so popular that some groups performed all the plays in the book, then they started all over and did them all again! He has found a very easy, yet successful format that uses 5-10 characters in 30-minute shows. All that have been have been successfully produced in retirement communities, senior centers, and drama clubs. Perform one play or blend several together for a longer production. Jules extensive work in Senior Theatre helped him create roles for dynamic seniors in relevant plots that interest older performers and audiences. There are ten short upbeat plays written to be performed as Readers Theatre. Large Print.

Click here to read about the plays in the collection.

Read more about Jules Abrams.

Royalty: Buy 2 copies of the book and the plays become royalty-free
$23.95 

 

A COLLIE FOR CHRISTMAS
Jules Abrams

4 women, 1 veterinarian (male or female), 30 minutes

Julie is determined to get a dog and when she does, it has troubles that only the veterinarian can cure. It’s a ‘feel good’ play that warms the heart. The women in the show are supportive and happy to make a difference. Excellent for Readers Theatre. Available as an e-script in Word, WordPerfect or on Paper.

$15.00 

 

plays for02PLAYS FOR READERS THEATRE
Albert and Bertha Johnson

So many senior theatre directors recommended this book that we knew you’d want it in the collection. It includes Macbeth, Tartuffe, Hedda Gabler, The Cherry Orchard, Importance of Being Ernest and Lysistrata. 

“It’s an excellent collection of plays specifically adapted for readers theatre. They vary in length and our audiences love them” One Senior Theatre director who recommended this collection

$10.25 

 

np03Best Seller!
NEW PLAYS FOR MATURE ACTORS
Bonnie L. Vorenberg, Editor

Here are 10 wonderful plays and sketches selected from 300 in two nationwide searches. Useful for amateur to professionals. You’ll find plots and characters with a modern, positive image of aging and primarily females roles. Can be used for readers theatre or staged for any audience. Click here to read more about the plays.

“Useful and entertaining...” Booklist, American Library Association

$24.95 

 

irtINTRODUCTION TO READERS THEATRE
Gerald Lee Ratliff

This basic guide makes readers theatre come alive! Learn how lovers of literature can produce Readers Theatre in class or on stage by easily adapt poetry, stories, and plays with simple theatrical staging. Click here to see the Table of Contents.

$19.95 

 

rtaREADERS THEATRE ANTHOLOGY
Melvin R. White

A recognized authority brings you 28 readings from  classical & contemporary writers, journalists, and playwrights, all ready for Readers Theatre performance. Includes The Taming of the Shrew, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Wind in the Willows, Where Have all the Flowers Gone and much more! Click here to see the Table of Contents.

$19.95 

Click here to see photos of readers theatre in action!

The ArtAge Senior Theatre Resource Center

Play and Book Directory

NEW plays and books

Holiday Plays

Play Collections

Senior Theatre  Directing, Acting and more!

Single Plays

Readers Theatre 

From Memories to Theatre

Sketches and Skits

Short Plays

Intergenerational

Monologues and Scenes

Grantwriting and Fundraising

Creative Drama and Improvisation

Musicals

Theatre Games

Theatre with a Message

Dance

Makeup

How to Order

What about Royalty?

FREE REGULAR SHIPPING (in the U.S.) when you order $125 of books & plays. It’s our way of saying “Thank You!”

ArtAge Senior Theatre Resource Center
PO Box 19955
Portland OR 97280
503-246-3000 Phone     800-858-4998 Toll Free
503-246-3006 Fax
bonniev@seniortheatre.com
www.seniortheatre.com

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