(University of Oregon, 2009-06) Ott, Meredith C., 1984-
Many plays with adult themes involve a child character in order to
help present controversial issues. Little is written, however, concerning
the ethics surrounding the involvement of children in adult-themed
plays, and there is no formal code or guide for theatre companies to
follow when choosing to work with a young actor on one of these
complicated scripts. There is little dispute that children have a strong
effect on an audience when they appear onstage, but the argument as to
how a child actor might be adversely affected by their participation has
not been fully explored.
The focus of this study is on four different case studies of children
involved in regional theatre productions of plays with different adult themes, such as war, death, sex, and violence. From these observations,
I will propose an effective guide for theatre companies to use when
involving a child actor in an adult-themed play.
