This play is intended, not only for acting, but also for reading.
It is so arranged that boys and girls can read it to themselves, just
as they would read any other story. Even the stage directions and the
descriptions of scenery are presented as a part of the narrative.
At the same time, by the use of different styles of type, the speeches
of the characters are clearly distinguished from the rest of the text,
an arrangement which will be found convenient when parts are being
memorized for acting.
The play has been acted more than once, and by different groups of
people; sometimes on a stage equipped with footlights, curtain, and
scenery; sometimes with barely any of these aids. Practical suggestions
as to costumes, scenery, and some simple scenic effects will be found
at the end of the play.
What sort of a Christmas play do the boys and girls like, and in what
sort do we like to see them take part? It should be a play, surely, in
which the dialogue is simple and natural, not stilted and artificial;
one that seems like a bit of real life, and yet has plenty of fancy and
imagination in it; one that suggests and helps to perpetuate some of
the happy and wholesome customs of Christmas; above all, one that is
pervaded by the Christmas spirit. I hope that this play does not
entirely fail to meet these requirements.
Worcester, Mass.