Abstract
There are a number of reasons why children's pretend play should be of interest to those in theatre. As our definition of theatre changes to include non-literary theatre and performance art, children's pretend play can be seen as theatrical activity, or at least as a paratheatrical activity as worthy of attention as are the religious ceremonies and popular entertainments currently being analyzed by those in theatre. To renew and justify our theatre we currently look to shamanism and ritual as sources for theatre and, as sources, in some ways its essence. We can find inspiration for theatre in children's pretend play as well as in shamanism and ritual to very different effect. Indeed, critic Noel Carroll claims that in the work of Paul Zaloom, Spaulding Gray, and Stuart Sherman a genre is emerging based, consciously or not, on children's play.1
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