As written in Northwestern University Press:
"Winifred Ward (C1905) opened the wonderful world of drama to children. She developed the fields of children’s theater and creative dramatics, allowing children to experience and appreciate the art of theater. Children’s theater began when Ward assigned her School of Speech students to study theater for youth by performing plays for an Evanston elementary school audience.
The first production, in 1925, was Snow White. It was a hit.
For the next 25 years Ward directed the Children’s Theatre of Evanston, a collaboration between Northwestern’s School of Speech and Evanston’s elementary schools. She later founded the National Children’s Theatre Conference in 1944.
Ward also founded the field of creative dramatics, a classroom teaching method that emphasizes self-expression, training in spoken English and literature appreciation. The most distinctive characteristic of creative dramatics is its lack of scripts. Ward, a supervisor of dramatics for Evanston’s elementary school district, taught 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.”
Winifred Ward’s Benediction
Go on your way,
to your own life full of wonder,
to be surprised by joy,
to be astonished at the miracles of nature,
to be embraced by someone,
to be refreshed in the wonderment of every day,
to be set atingle at the simple victory of love
– all through a living story that is always yours to teach.
- Winifred Ward