ils may be trusted to arrange the entire
distribution of scenes and roles. When their preliminary planning has
been finished, they should hand to the teacher a schedule of scenes
and participants.

Whenever a play is read or studied, pupils will be attracted more by
some passages than by others. A teacher may dispense with all
assignments. The pupils could be directed merely to arrange their own
groups, choose the scenes they want to offer, and to prepare as they
decide. In such a voluntary association some members of the class
might be uninvited to speak with any group. These then might find
their material in prologue, epilogue, chorus, soliloquy, or inserted
songs. Nearly every play contains long passages requiring for their
effect no second speaker. Shakespeare's plays contain much such
material. All the songs from a play would constitute a delightful
offering. Nothing in all the acted portion of _Henry V_ is any better
than the stirring speeches of the Chorus. _Hamlet_ has three great
soliloquies for boys. _Macbeth_ contains the sleepwalking scene for
girls. Milton's _Comus_ is made up of beautiful poetic passages. Every
drama studied or read for school contains enough for every member of a
class.

Some pupils may object that unless an exact preliminary assignment is
made, two or more groups may choose the same scene. Such a probable
happening, far from being a disadvantage to be avoided, is a decided
advantage worthy of being purposely attempted. Could anything be more
stimulating than to see and hear two different casts interpret a
dramatic situation? Each would try to do better than the other. Each
would be different in places. From a comparison the audience and
performers would have all the more light thrown upon what they
considered quite familiar.

It would be a mistake to have five quartettes repeat the same scene
over and over again. Yet if twenty pupils had unconsciously so chosen,
three presentations might be offered for discriminating observation.
Then some other portion could be inserted and later the first scene
could be gone through twice.

Assigning Roles. Teacher and pupils should endeavor to secure variety
of interest in roles. At first, assignments are likely to be
determined by apparent fitness. The quiet boy is not required to play
the part of the braggart. The retiring girl is not expected to
impersonate the shrew. In one or two appearances it may be a good
thing to keep in mind natural ap