Sylvia Ashby
Sylvia Ashby concentrated on acting as an undergrad at the University of Iowa and grad assistant at the University of Hawaii long before starting to write scripts for young audiences. “Master Skylark of Stratford” is her fifteenth published play (including “King Stag” and “Mrs. Peck’s Christmas Puddin’”). Like two other plays, “Master Skylark of Stratford” was an American Association of Theatre Educators (AATE) Unpublished Play Project winner. "Master Skylark" was also a semi-finalist in the prestigious Bonderman (Indiana University/Purdue University) Symposium. Her work has been produced on three continents. Other scripts have been recommended by “Stage Directions Magazine,” “Children’s Book and Play Review,” and “Plays for Children and Adults.”
King Stag
Fairy Tale by Sylvia Ashby
50 pages
Flexible cast, 5 m, 4 w, 9 flexible, doubling possible
(Based on Carlo Gozzi's "Il Re Cervo") King Seren depends on the uncanny ability of a magic statue to decipher a dishonest heart while trying to pick a queen for his kingdom. He desires nothing more that a young lady who truly loves him. When he finds her he calls for a royal hunt in the forest in celebration. The jealous Periglio is out to hunt kings and not stags. The spell of the court magician falls into the hands of the untrustworthy Periglio and he uses the spell to change the King to a stag and himself into the king. Chaos breaks out in the kingdom as ...
Master Skylark of Stratford
Classic by Sylvia Ashby
60 pages
From a large cast of 24 or more to an ensemble cast of 5-6 m, 5-6 w.
Adapted from a novel by John Bennett. Here is an excellent picture of the Shakespearean era from a young person’s point of view without being about the Bard himself. Young Nick is so enamored of the theatre that when his strict father forbids him from attending, Nick runs away from his home in Stratford-upon-Avon. When a disreputable actor, just released from jail, discovers Nick’s beautiful voice, he calls him Master Skylark and forces him to perform with his troupe. Nick's captors treat him well, but he longs for freedom and his home. His voice eventually b...