Bücher von Elizabeth Swados

This "Passover oratorio" by the composer of Runaways is a disarmingly simple account of the birth and life of Moses, and of the Exodus, presented with masks and a clever use of puppetry. This unusual show was originally produced (and later revived) during Passover at Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival at the Public Theater.

This "music hall" version of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glasswas a New York Shakespeare Festival production. Swados composed the score, adaptedthe book and directed for the stage. Meryl Streep starred as "Alice" at New York's PublicTheatre.¿Later aired on PBS and titled Alice at the Palace, this imaginative rendering of the LewisCarroll classic is performed concert-style on a bare stage, the actors in modern rehearsalclothes. Stylistically, the music ranges from rock to country/western to calypso, as theoutlandish characters of "Wonderland" are reinterpreted in this "story theatre"-type setting.

Young people and improvisational theater should be a natural combination-so why do we so rarely find this combo in today's classrooms? According to Elizabeth Swados-playwright, director, composer, poet, author of children's books and of an acclaimed family memoir-improvisational theater is the perfect creative outlet for junior-high and high-school students . . . if only they can be given the tools and the guidance to make the most of this natural yet rigorous art form.Drawing on her own experience teaching inner-city children in the groundbreaking musical Runaways and in teaching the techniques of improv theater in schools around the country, as well as on her own background in experimental theater, Swados provides a step-by-step guide to bringing out the natural creativity and enthusiasm key to young people creating-and enjoying-improvisational theater. Covering the basics-from freeing the imagination to learning about how to work with an ensemble, from how to master different forms of movement and sound to how to create different kinds of characters-this is the book for teachers and students eager to learn how to express fully the creative talent that all children are born with.

Runaways is a collection of songs, dances, and spoken word pieces performed by children who have run away from their homes. Initially created from interviews with homeless children and those in orphanages, Liz Swados' unique piece weaves songs about personal struggle and the world at large through the eyes of youth in New York City in the '70s. The show blends different musical styles, from pop to hip-hop and jazz to reggae, while asking why children can't remain children.The licensed version of Runaways reflects the version performed by Encores in 2016.