Book 4 of the 19 X 19 CHALLENGE
The Heart of the Play
A curriculum for starting a drama circle
by Mark Perry
Ever think about starting a theatre group?
Here’s a guide to help you raise one up.
The Heart of the Play presents a course in the essentials of theatre: acting, playwriting and collaboration. Each lesson is organized around a principle or virtue inherent in the practice of the art. Participants study some quotations that relate to that principle and then engage in drama exercises that spring from that principle. By the end of the course, they have gained skills to make them comfortable to write, stage and perform their own 10-minute plays. They also have gained a more holistic understanding of essential principles in the practice of their lives.
Excerpt from the Preface:
“Theatre – like all disciplines in this evolving age – must be reconsidered in light of our growing understanding of justice and inclusiveness…
“The Heart of the Play is a facilitator‘s manual for starting a drama circle with ages 15 and up. This is an approach that has proven effective in spreading the joy of basic theatre literacy and engagement. I say literacy, but even those who might struggle to read and write may create and perform in drama. After all, theatre is traditionally a people’s venue for bringing story and history alive. And theatre’s educational promise lies not only in its power to affect an audience. Drama may also have a profound and transformative influence on those who practice it.
“The arts are our birthright. They are not simply the domain of the professional and the “talented.” Anyone can be in a play. And humanity gets closer to its golden age when the wellsprings of our creativity are opened and flowing.”
Available in Paperback
TITLE: The Heart of the Play: A curriculum for starting a drama circle.
AUTHOR: Mark Perry
PRINT FORMAT: Trade Paperback, 5½ X 8½, 260 pages. $18.00 $15 until 6/24
EBOOK: Not yet available
ISBN: 978-1-953219-04-6
LOC/PCN: Pending
PUBLICATION: June 2026 by Drama Circle.