Acting Out

by Avi, Sharon Creech, Patricia MacLachlan

With a star-studded lineup of writers, there’s a stage full of drama, comedy, and great storytelling waiting behind these curtains!

Sharon Creech spoofs a publishing office in The Raven , and the environment fights back against overdevelopment in Susan Cooper’s The Dollop . Patricia MacLachlan puts a twist on detention in The Bad Room , and Katherine Paterson revives a classic fairy tale in The Billionaire and the Bird . Richard Peck has schoolboys doing their best to trick a spooky substitute in Effigy in the Outhouse , and Avi’s Not Seeing Is Believing has words playing tricks on everybody. There’s something for everyone in this all-star lineup.

Genres: Plays, Childrens

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 17, 2008

About the author

Avi is a pen name for Edward Irving Wortis, but he says, "The fact is, Avi is the only name I use." Born in 1937, Avi has created many fictional favorites such as The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Nothing but the Truth, and the Crispin series. His work is popular among readers young and old.

Reviews

[Kim Hampton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book of plays.

[Amy Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny and clever!

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

What happens when you ask six Newbery Award winners to write one-act plays? Well, you get a book like ACTING OUT, and you get the potential for a lot of fun.

Award-winning authors Avi, Susan Cooper, Sharon Creech, Patricia MacLachlan, Katherine Paterson, and Richard Peck were asked to write one-act plays. They were given the freedom to write about anything, but there was one catch. Each author picked a word which was to be used in all six plays. The words chosen were dollop, hoodwink, Justin, knuckleball, panhandle, and raven. Their creative efforts are a pleasure to read.

The subjects of the plays include school topics like the detention room and a scary substitute, a mysterious voice, a moving, talking giant rock, a childhood Edgar A. Poe, and a selfish billionaire. Each script includes stage directions, character descriptions, and production hints.

ACTING OUT is successful as a casual reading experience as well as for its potential for actual staged performances. Readers will appreciate seeing a different side of some of their favorite Newbery authors.

[Kami · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plays in this book are funny, clever, and sometimes quite touching. I really love the basic concept, using an improvisational theater game where the players are given a word that they have to drop into a scene. Each author contributed a word, so there are words like "Dollop," "Justin," and "panhandle," that they must use in their play. It's fun to identify the words, but the plays themselves don't need a gimmick to be fantastic reading. I can't wait to use this book with my class!

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun to read these one act plays by Newbery-winning authors. However, I was kind of disappointed in the quality. I thought they would be so much better, maybe even something we could perform for our fine arts plays this year. The first one by Sharon Creech is really the best in my opinion, but there are too few characters. Bummer.

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read this style of writing often, play format, but I really enjoyed it. I like other works by most of the authors who wrote a play for the book. It was clever to have words that they all had to use in the play to connect them all a little.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of short plays! It was interesting to see how the Newberry-award winning authors approached a different medium.

[Kenneth]

not surprisingly, I loved Susan Cooper's entry

[Kendall]

I lost this book when I checked out from the library. Then I had to go and pay for it. Awesome. I still don't know where it is...

[Beth]

Inspire creativity by reading or acting out these one-act plays by acclaimed authors.

[Salsabrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite play was Paterson's "Billionnaire and the Bird." These plays appear easy to stage, using one part props and one part audience imagination.

[Carterkempgmail.Com · Rating 2 out of 5]

These plays were worth reading, but each one is odd enough, in its own way, to make me think I probably wouldn't have kids acting them out.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of these were not great, but these made it worth the read:

The Billionaire and the Bird by Katherine Paterson
Effigy in the Outhouse by Richard Peck
Not Seeing Is Believing by Avi

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Avi's play was the best, naturally.