Original Student Plays

Children studying scripts.

1957 original student play entitled "The Purple Tiger Who Loves Pancakes." Written and performed by 11-12-year-olds at Baylor Children's Theater in Waco, Texas. Supervised by Jernine Wagner and Ruth Byers. In the play, Bumpy Grump, a sorceress,  conjures a purple tiger to terrorize the village. The children use pancakes to tame the tiger.

1956 original student play entitled Tin Can Man and the Painted Town from Creating Theater book. The photo shows original characters including Pixy purple, Miss Pretty Pink, and Atomic Green. The play is about an outcast mixed color, Mr. Chartreuse, who is not trusted in a town populated by single colors. The children rebel against their parents' bigotry and include Mr. Chartreuse in their activities.

Original Student Productions

Following the philosophy of Baker, Wagner’s teaching style is evident in original student productions. Wagner wanted students to have full creative control in their theater productions in order to develop their creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork skills. Instead of performing a traditionally published play, Wagner encouraged students to create their own original productions. These plays included original plots, characters, and settings, costumes, and props. Students started by brainstorming in groups and Wagner guided them as they gradually refined their ideas. Students then wrote and edited the screenplays and created the physical theater props. Examples of original student plays include “The Tin Can Man and The Painted Town” and “The Purple Tiger Who Likes Pancakes.” This allowed the students to feel more personally invested in the theater process and gain confidence in their abilities.