Aurand Harris (1915–1996) is the most produced playwright for young audiences in the United States. Over six decades he wrote more than 50 plays, many of which became classics in the children's play repertory. His play, "Androcles and the Lion", is said to be the single most-produced play in the field, surpassing even "Peter Pan" and "The Wind in the Willows." First staged Off-Broadway in 1963, the play remains Anchorage Press' top seller and it was estimated at the time of his death in 1996 to have been performed on over 30,000 occasions. The plays of Aurand Harris have been produced and applauded in thousands of productions around the world for nearly a half-century. Harris was a prodigious dramatist, writing a newly published play each season. He was a tireless experimenter of forms, themes, and subjects. This modest man of irrepressible imagination and energy carried a vast array of honors and accolades. He was the first recipient of a National Endowment of the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship in Children's Theatre. He received an honorary doctorate from Indiana University and was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre. He was the first playwright to receive the Medallion of the Children's Theatre Foundation of America. Aurand Harris died on May 6, 1996, in Manhattan, New York. He is buried in the family plot in Jamesport, Missouri.
Early life
"James Aurand Harris, the only child of Myrtle Sebastian and Dr. George Dowe Harris, was born on July 4, 1915, in Jamesport, Missouri. His father was a physician; his mother, a graduate of Northwestern University, was trained in theater and speech, and was also an active and well-know director, teacher, and amateur actress who maintained her own studio. From an early age, Aurand Harris was drawn to things theatrical, no doubt in part due to his mother's influence, but also because of the variety and high quality of the theater with which she surrounded him.
Harris' acting career began at age four when he played a bumblebee in a local musical production; before seven, he had written his first "little dramatic piece." His education was augmented with speech, dance, and musical train. In high school, he was involved in dramatic and oratorical contests, to the extent that when he graduated, he was named 'the best actor and the best orator in the state of Missouri.'"
Education
In 1936 he obtained Bachelor of Arts from the University Kansas City. In 1939, he obtained a Master of Arts from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he worked with Winifred Ward, a pioneer in children's theatre. Then he made postgraduate studies at Columbia University (1947). In 1991 he obtained his Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary) from Indiana University. Thomas Ehrlich, the 15th President of the Indiana University, presented the honorary degree.
He commenced his teaching career in September 1939 at Horace Mann High School Gary, Indiana, as a studio teacher for dramatics. He taught there for two years. In September 1941, he served as the Head of the Drama Department at William Woods College, in Fulton, Missouri. In 1946, he relocated to New York City to study writing for the theater. Simultaneously, he commenced a teaching position at Grace Episcopal Church School in Manhattan. He remained in this position for 33 years.
Initially, he was interested in adult theater, but after setbacks in that field, he turned his attention to writing for children, having already written several children's plays in his younger years.
Aurand Harris's first play was Once Upon a Clothesline. The first production of Once Upon a Clothesline was performed by the Campus Players of William Woods College, under the direction of the author, Aurand Harris.Once Upon a Clothesline was a prize-winning play in the Second Annual Seattle Junior Programs Playwriting Contest. This production featured the intermediate group of sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students from the 1951 Seattle Summer Theatre Workshop, performing in the Recital Hall at the Palisades Building in Balboa Park. This play would later go on tour at playgrounds throughout the city. Later, the play was performed on July 27–28, 1951, at the San Diego Junior Theater, directed by Signe Culbertson and assisted by James Sams.