Winifred Ward
Winifred Ward, second from the bottom left
Books
Creative Dramatics, 1930, D. Appleton & Co., N.Y. Theater for Children, 1939, 2nd Ed. 1948, D. Appleton-Century Co., Inc., N.Y. Playmaking With Children, 1947, 2nd E. 1957, Appleton-Century-Crofts, N.Y. Stories to Dramatize, 1952, published by the Children's Theater Press, Cloverlot, Anchorage, Kentucky
Pamphlets
"Choice and Direction of Children's Plays," 1928, L.D. Horner, Redfield, Iowa, and "Drama with and for Children," U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Office of Education, 1960.
“The founder of the discipline of creative drama, the author of our seminal textbooks, a visionary director of Children’s Theatre, a mentor to a generation of drama specialists and international ambassador for arts advocacy, Winifred Ward was the most significant figure our field has ever known.” Rives Collins, Professor of Theatre at Northwestern University.
Winifred Ward was born in Eldora, Iowa and spent summers with her her family in Washington, D.C. where she had the opportunity to see theater that influenced her throughout her career.
Ward attended undergrad at Northwestern University and received her Ph.D. in Education at University of Chicago. In 1918, she returned to her alma mater to begin teaching at Northwestern’s School of Oratory.
Ward is widely known as the mother of creative drama, a teaching method that emphasizes self-expression and literature appreciation. In her own words, Ward explained that “instead of memorizing set speeches and acting parts in the way the teacher directs, the children develop plays out of their own thoughts and imaginations and emotions.”
In 1925, Ward assigned her students at Northwestern to study theater for youth by performing plays for an Evanston elementary school audience developing a partnership that led to the creation of the Children’s Theater of Evanston, which she directed for 25 years.
Ward was engaged in numerous professional organization throughout her career, and in 1944 founded the National Children’s Theater Conference hosted by the children’s Theater Committee of the American Educational Theatre Association, now known as the American Alliance for Theater & Education (AATE)
In 1950, Winifred Ward retired. After her retirement she continued writing, teaching workshops across the country, and attending and organizing numerous conferences and conventions.