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 Like two other plays, “Master Skylark of Stratford” was an American Association of Theatre Educators (AATE) Unpublished Play Project winner.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.”

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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...

Mrs. Peck's Christmas Puddin'

Classic by Sylvia Ashby

32 pages

4 m, 4 w, 3 boys, 2 girls

Freely adapted from Eliza Lee Follen's 19th century American play. Poor Widow Peck struggles to raise her youthful brood. Though out of money, food and places to turn for help, she is determined to have a Christmas pudding. As every effort ends in disappointment, she grows increasingly desperate until a mysterious stranger appears. This is a charming play with delightful characters and colorful dialect. The youngsters' ages are flexible.