Alex Baldwin, 11, playing the part of the Wolf, left, beckons Little Red Riding Hood, Iris Hyde, 9, during rehearsals of the play in March. Third- through fifth-graders were rehearsing Fractured

Acting instructor Jennifer Glenn, top right, gives some peformance tips to students rehearsing Fractured

Jed Davis literally wrote the book on children’s theater.

The retired Kansas University professor wrote the teaching classic “Theatre, Children and Youth” after working as the longtime director of university children’s theater at the school.

In his expert opinion, there are several good opportunities for children to get an education in theater here in Lawrence.

“There’s some difference in theater for children and theater by children, but that’s just a matter of selection and slight differences,” he says of both the passive (audience) and hands-on (production) opportunities for children. “But here in Lawrence, kids have quite the opportunity to be a part of production programs. And certainly to learn what being in a play is all about.”

What it’s about, he says, is not only an educational experience in the arts, but also in shaping values that will affect them for the rest of their lives.

“They have to learn their parts, they have to attend rehearsals, they have to be there on time — sort of some general good living habits,” Davis says. “But, of course, lots of other activities do the same thing. I think being a part of something that reaches fruition after a concerted effort, a group effort, they’re very aware and very dependent on everybody else to do their part.”

Among the highlights for kids interested in theater:

School’s Out, Theater’s In — The Lawrence Community Theatre: Lawrence Community Theatre Director Mary Doveton says this is the organization’s flagship children’s program. Started in 1986, the idea is that children can get an education in theater during the days when school is not in session.

“When there are days with no school, like teacher in-service and school holidays, we have all-day workshops,” says Hailey Gillespie, youth education program director. “We’ve always been able to reach maximum capacity that we can contain within that facility.”

In addition to School’s Out, Theater’s In, students can enroll in 8-week-long youth company programs where the children rehearse and then perform a piece at the end of each session at the theater, 1501 N.H.

Adventures in Imagination — The Lied Center of Kansas: Working with the Lawrence Public Schools, the Lied Center of Kansas invites children in to watch professional theater productions through its Adventures in Imagination program. Says Anthea Scouffas, director of education at the Lied Center of Kansas, at least 7,000 children are exposed to theater at the Lied Center each year through the program. While not a hands-on program, Scouffas says watching theater can be just as powerful for children as participating in it.

“Theater, especially, is such a great stage, if you will, to explore issues that children are dealing with in their lives,” Scouffas says. “Many times, we’ll bring in pieces that explore children that are going through difficulties”

KU Theater for Young People and Children and Drama (THR404) — KU Department of Theatre: Kansas University’s involvement with children’s theater began in 1954. Today, the university has both passive and hands-on forms of education for children up through high school.

Besides attending children’s theater productions at the university on field trips, students grades first through sixth can sign up for free after-school drama classes through KU. The classes are a type of dual education: for the children, but also for the college students enrolled in Theatre 404, “Children and Drama,” a senior-level class taught by associate professor Jeanne Klein.

“What we do is we invite parents in the community to register their children in grades first through third and in grades fourth through sixth, each semester, and then the children come to the classes and participate directly with the college students in drama,” says Klein, who has been teaching children this way for more than 20 years. “And, so it’s an opportunity for me to model for the college students how to lead story dramas from children’s literature, picture books, and also how to lead improvisational dramas in role, on a wide variety of topics.”

Preschool-12th grade programming — Lawrence Arts Center: With programs ranging from pre-kindergarten through the high school years, the arts center provides classes in drama, playwriting, improv and professional audition workshopping. Some classes are open to all while others are performance-based — a mix that director Ric Averill believes gives kids a glimpse into professional theater without stifling creativity or downplaying the competitive nature of performance art.

“A kid that has not had much experience who auditions four times and gets cut every time, it’s easy to get discouraged and decide, ‘Well, this is not for me,’ so there needs to be some times when you can go (on stage). … It needs to be that way because that’s where you’re building education, by letting everybody in,” Averill says. “(But) you have to also have opportunities for them to realize that the kid can throw 50 yards is going to be the quarterback. So, it’s nice for them to see once in a while that a really talented kid will jump up and get a bunch of lead roles in a row.”

Third Grade Theater Arts Day: Started in 2008, this special day allows children to be exposed to all matters of the performing arts at all four of the major theater venues in town — The Lawrence Community Theater, The Lawrence Arts Center, the Lied Center of Kansas and the KU Department of Theatre. The Lawrence Public School students are treated not only to theater games, but facets of performance including puppetry, choreography, costuming, dance, make-up and a hands-on introduction to theater tech like lighting and sound.