www.pioneerdrama.com
POB 4267
Englewood, CO 80155
303-779-4035
By Michael Leppert
Many homeschooling families and support groups see the value in including Theatre Arts skills as part of a vital curriculum. Theatre Arts also lend themselves to a powerful unit study approach, offering a mileau in which to teach memorization, public speaking, history, musical performance – instrumental and vocal — physical education, cultural geography, foreign languages, creative writing, leadership and teamwork. Nothing can build real-life self-esteem and confidence through achievement, like working on a play or musical with other people and entertaining audiences with the fruits of your labor!
To help your group or co-op with all aspects of theatre, Pioneer Drama Service offers scripts for virtually any age group and any genre. With 50 years of experience serving the script needs of schools and homeschool groups, Pioneer Drama has grown from the passion and hobby of Shubert Fendrich to today’s large family business, run by his son, Steven and daughter-in-law, Debra. Both Steven and Debra are teachers and understand how to serve the needs of educators – professional or homeschooling parents.
Pioneer Drama Service has an international reach, having representatives and customers on every continent but Antarctica and the Arctic with the works of over 300 playwrights! Pioneer’s friendly and professional service builds relationships with teachers and parents that span decades in many instances.
Another way that Pioneer Drama serves customers well is by remaining current in technological developments. Directors and teachers can search for specific specifications of a play, such as: Cast size, length of performance, type of play and topic; Pioneer’s Search Feature will bring up plays from their catalog of 1200 plays that match those specifics. There is also an e-Script feature, which allows a customer to download a pdf of the purchased play, rather than having a paper edition delivered. The cost is the same as the paper editions and the licenses and rights are the same.
Pioneer Drama doesn’t offer only scripts, but virtually every material necessary to staging plays successfully. Makeup kits, makeup, books for directors, stage combat, costuming, blocking a scene, even a tome on music for melodramas! Pioneer’s comprehensive library of how-to books will help the novice director or other staff member develop confidence and skill to mastery!
Elementary grades to high school, murder mysteries, comedies, romantic comedies (rom-coms), musicals, and a library of virtual scripts adapted, from in-person works to perform remotely. Plays with small, medium or large cast numbers; simple to elaborate sets, and varying lengths of plays from short one-acts to more elaborate, hour-long pieces. Virtually every theatrical performance type is represented in Pioneer Drama’s catalog – T.V. commercials, T.V. shows, plays, skits, parodies, musicals, mysteries, comedies and drama.
Pioneer’s catalog includes titles such as
* “The Inn Around the Corner” a Wild West adaptation of “You’ve Got Mail”
* “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”
* “Peter Pan”
* “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”
* “Little Women”
and original works that spoof well-known plays and/or characters, providing comedy elements but bringing serious historical theatre information to students. One can learn about a classic character or setting, while poking fun.
In its royalty-free section, Pioneer Drama, as the designated sole source, offers the scripts and material for many segments of The Carol Burnette Show and parodies of four modern films, including a soap opera and Love Story. There are 10 kits of Ms. Burnette’s shows available, with cast numbers ranging from 2 to 10. These sight gag and physical comedy skits are treasures of intelligent humor and are sure to be a hit with your students and audiences alike.
If you want to give your homeschooling students the experience of a lifetime and enrich their lives forever, bring Theatre Arts to their curriculum and let Pioneer Drama be your vehicle!
