ACTING IT OUT 74 Short Plays for Starting Discussions with Teenagers Acting It Out Joan Sturkie and Marsh Cassady, PhD Paper, $21.95 358 pages, 6” x 9” ISBN 0-89390-178-4 Quantity:

Do you need ideas for getting teens to talk about their feelings and personal experiences? Acting It Out can help! Teens act out a short play from the book and then discuss how the characters dealt with the particular issue. The teens focus on the characters rather than on themselves, which encourages more open dialogue. Questions at the end of each drama will help them articulate issues and feelings. These dramas address challenging subjects: abortion, suicide, child abuse, gangs, anorexia, home life, drugs. Issues are presented in a straightforward manner so teens will feel comfortable talking about them in the same way.

About the Authors

Joan Sturkie is a nationally recognized author and peer counseling consultant. She is a former high school counselor and peer counseling teacher. Her other books include Listening with Love: True Stories from Peer Counseling (which has a companion teacher's guide), Christian Peer Counseling: Love in Action, coauthored with Gordon Bear, and The Peer Counselor's Pocket Book, coauthored with Valerie Gibson. She is a popular motivational speaker for conventions, workshops, and parents' groups. Marsh Cassady earned both his MA and PhD at Kent State University. He has been a college professor, high school teacher, newspaper writer, and musician. His main attention, however, is the theatre. He has directed and acted in more than 100 plays. He also gives workshops on fiction writing and playwriting. His other books include Playwriting Step by Step, Acting Step by Step, and Storytelling Step by Step.