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 withHonors and awards
1967: Charlotte B. Chorpenning Playwright Award, American Alliance for Theatre and Education 1976: First Recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship in Children's Theatre 1985: Charlotte B. Chorpenning Playwright Award, American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE) 1985: Inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre, presented at the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. 1991: Recipient of the Distinguished Play Award, American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE), for ''Monkey Magic: Chinese Story Theatre'', by Aurand Harris, published by Anchorage Press 1991: Honorary Doctorate of Letters, Indiana University, Indianapolis, May 12, 1991 1993: Medallion, Children's Theatre Foundation of America (now called the Orlin Corey Medallion) 1993: Recipient of the Distinguished Play Award, American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE), for ''The Pinballs'', Adapted by Aurand Harris from the award-winning novel by Betsy Byar, published by Anchorage Press 1996: Recipient of the Distinguished Play Award, American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE), for ''The Prince and the Pauper'', Adapted for the Stage by Aurand Harris, published by Anchorage PressPlays/Works
''Once Upon a Clothesline'', Row-Peterson & Company, now Samuel French, Inc. (1945). The premiere performance of ''Once Upon a Clothesline'' was presented by the College Players, of William Woods College, Fulton, Missouri, December 1943 and directed by Aurand Harris. ''Ladies of the Mop'', Baker's Plays, Samuel French, Inc. (1945). ''The Moon Makes Three'', Samuel French, Inc. (1947). ''Madam Ada'', Samuel French, Inc. (1948). ''Seven League Boots'', Baker's Plays (1948). ''The Doughnut Hole'', Samuel French, Inc. (1948). ''Missouri Mural'', Unpublished, (1948). ''Circus Day: A Play in Four Scenes'', Samuel French, Inc. (1949) ''Lo and Behold'', Unpublished, (1949). ''Junket (No Dogs Allowed)'', Children's Theatre Press (now Anchorage Press) (1949). A play adapted by Aurand Harris from the novel by Anne H. White. ''Pinocchio and the Indians'', Samuel French, Inc. (1950). A dramatization suggested by Pinocchio in Africa by Cherubini. ''And Never Been Kissed'', Samuel French, Inc. (1950). A musical play based on a 1949 novel by Sylvia Dee (pen name for songwriter Josephine Moore Proffitt), which was adapted by Aurand Harris into a comic television drama for the Philco Television Playhouse and stage play the following year. ''Young Alec,'' Unpublished, (1950). ''Simple Simon (or Simon Big-Ears)'', Children's Theatre Press (now Anchorage Press) (1953) Adapted by Aurand Harris. Premiered in Washington, D.C., in 1952. ''We Were Young That Year (A Play)'', Samuel French, Inc. (1954). ''Buffalo Bill'', Anchorage Press (1954). Adapted by Aurand Harris. Premiered in Seattle, Washington, 1953. ''Hide and Seek'', Unpublished (1955). ''The Plain Princess'', Anchorage Press, (1955). Adapted by Aurand Harris from the book by Phyllis McGinley. ''The Flying Prince'', Anchorage Press (1958). Based on stories told by Vikramaditya of Ujjain, a Hero of India. ''Circus in the Wind'' (revised edition of ''Circus Days''), Samuel Franch, Inc. (1960) 'Pocahontas'', Anchorage Press (1961). Playscript developed from history by Aurand Harris. ''The Brave Little Tailor'', Anchorage Press (1961). A Dramatization by Aurand Harris based on the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale. ''Androcles and the Lion'', Anchorage Press (1964) ''Rags to Riches'', Anchorage Press (1966). Playscript developed by Aurand Harris from stories by Horatio Alger. Musical score by Glenn Mack. ''Pinocchio and the Fire-Eater'', McGraw-Hill (1967). This play premiered on the stage Gary, Indiana Public School, Indiana 1940. Directed by Aurand Harris. ''A Doctor In Spite of Himself'', Anchorage Press (1968). Adapted by Aurand Harris from Moliere. ''Punch and Judy: The Musical'', Anchorage Press (1970) ''Just So Stories'', Anchorage Press, (1971). Adapted by Aurand Harris from three of Rudyard Kipling's ''Just So Stories.'' ''Ming Lee and the Magic Tree'', Samuel French, Inc (1973) ''Peck's Bad Boys'', Anchorage Press (1974). Adapted by Aurand Harris based on stories by George Wilbur Peck. The premiere performance of ''Peck's Bad Boy'' was presented by the Harwich Junior Theater, West Harwich, Massachusetts, 24 July 1973 and directed by Aurand Harris. ''Star-Spangled Salute: A Patriotic Musical with Traditional American Songs'', Anchorage Press (1974). First premiered at the Harwich Junior Theater, West Harwich, Massachusetts, Summer, 1974. ''Robin Goodfellow'', Anchorage Press (1976). Adapted from English Folk tales and Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." First produced at the Harwich Junior Theater, West Harwich, Massachusetts, Summer 1975 and directed by Aurand Harris. ''Simple Simon'', Anchorage Press (1976) ''Yankee Doodle Dandies'', Anchorage Press (1976). Three Scenes from ''Yankee Doodle Dandy''. ''A Toby Show'', Anchorage Press (1978) ''Ralph Roister Doister'' (One-Act Play), Baker's Plays, Samuel French, Inc. (1979). Adapted by Aurand Harris based on the 16th Century Play by Nicholas Udall. ''Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac''(One-Act Play), Baker's Plays, Samuel French, Inc. (1979). Adapted and abridged as a one-act play by Aurand Harris based on the novel written by Edmund Rostand. ''The Romancers'' (One-Act Play), Baker's Plays, Samuel French, Inc. (1979) Adapted and abridged as a one-act play by Aurand Harris based on the work written by Edmund Rostand. ''Fashion (A Play in One-Act)'', Baker's Plays, Samuel French, Inc. (1979) Adapted and abridged as a one-act play by Aurand Harris based on the novel written by Anna Cora Mowatt. ''George Bernard Shaw's Classic Candida: a Pleasant Play'' (One-Act Play), Baker's Plays, Samuel French, Inc. (1979). Adapted and abridged as a one-act by Aurand Harris based on the play by George Bernard Shaw. ''Arkansaw Bear'', Anchorage Press (1980). The first premiere of the play was March 20–29, 1980, at the University of Texas, Austin. ''Treasure Island'', Anchorage Press (1983), Adapted from the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. ''The Magician's Nephew: A Musical for the Young'', Dramatic Publishing (1984). Adapted from the book by C.S. Lewis. ''Ride a Blue Horse'', Anchorage Press (1986). From the life and works of James Whitcomb Riley. ''Huck Finn's Story'', Anchorage Press (1987). Adapted by Aurand Harris based on selected scenes from Mark Twain's classic, ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.'' ''Monkey Magic: Chinese Story Theater'', Anchorage Press (1990). Winner of the 1991 AATE Distinguished Play Award.aate.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77:award-winners&catid=20:site-content&Itemid=163 ''The Importance of Being Earnest'', Anchorage Press (1991). Adapted by Aurand Harris from the play by Oscar Wilde. ''The Tricks of Scipan'', Anchorage Press (1991). Adapted by Aurand Harris from the play by Molière. ''She Stoops to Conquer'', Anchorage Press, (1991). Adapted by Aurand Harris from the play by Oliver Goldsmith. ''The Pinballs'', Anchorage Press (1992). Adapted by Aurand Harris from the award-winning novel by Betsy Cromer Byars. Premiere Production: Premiered at Northwestern University Department of Drama. Winner of the 1993 AATE Distinguished Play Award. ''Steal Away Home'', Anchorage Press (1992). Adapted by Aurand Harris from the novel by Jane Kristof, music by Carolyn Geer. ''The Second Shepherd's Play'', Anchorage Press (1993). Adapted by Aurand Harris based on the medieval play Secunda Pastorum. ''Peter Rabbit and Me'', Anchorage Press (1994). A dramatization of Beatrix Potter's beloved ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit.'' ''The Prince and the Pauper'', Anchorage Press (1995). Playscript adapted by Aurand Harris based on the stories from Mark Twain. Music by Steve Wheaton. Winner of the 1996 AATE Distinguished Play Award. ''The Orphan Train,'' Anchorage Press (1998). Premiered at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', Dramatic Publishing Company. Adapted by Aurand Harris from the play by William Shakespeare.Legacy
Aurand Harris' legacy lives on forever through the joy, excitement and magical words created through his children's plays. In addition, he is remembered through the award of grants and fellowships and the Aurand Harris Memorial Playwriting Award. - Aurand Harris Children's Theatre Grants and Fellowships, Sponsored by the Children's Theatre Foundation of America Mr. Harris generously left all his play royalty revenues to the Children's Theatre Foundation of America. The Aurand Harris Grants and Fellowships "seek to inspire and challenge theatre for young audiences and individual artists, "To develop quality ideas and new opportunities in theatre for young audiences, as well as promote live theatre experience of high integrity for young people throughout the nation by supporting both individual theatre artists seeking to deepen and expand artistic capacities and opportunities through fellowship funding and by supporting theatre for young audience companies seeking to bring engaging live theatre to their respective communities." - Aurand Harris Memorial Playwrighting Award, New England Theatre Conference This playwrighting award was created in 1997 by the New England Theatre Conference to honor the late Aurand Harris (1915-1996) for his lifetime dedication to all aspects of professional theatre for young audiences.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Aurand 1915 births 1996 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers