Dixon, Michael Bigelow and Valerie Smith. Striking Out! A Children's Play in Six Innings. Anchorage Press, Inc., 1983. ISBN 0876022468. $35.00 for the first night, $30.00 for the second, $25.00 for each additional night. 38 pp. Reviewer: Elizabeth Moss Reading Level: Primary Rating: Shortcomings Genre: Contemporary Plays; Plays; Sports plays; Subject: Drama--Reviews; Baseball--Juvenile drama; Theme: Winning isn't everything Production Requirements: Simple sets, costumes, and props Acts: 6 scenes Run Time: 20 min. Characters: 9 Males, 6 Females Cast: 2 Male adults, the rest children Time Period: Contemporary This play takes us through the six innings of a Little League game. It’s the championship game between the Angels and the Daredevils and what takes place during that game. The play takes place in the dugout of the Angels, who lose dreadfully. There are six scenes in the play, where each scene is one inning, and are short, quick segments. Despite the rapid movement and change from one scene to the next, the plot advances slowly. Several of the scenes are imitations of the scene before and the scene after. Several good points are raised, the need for practice, gender equality, a sense of team spirit, etc. Yet, they are not effectively discussed nor memorably played out. The set-up of the play is unbelievable. In what is supposed to be a championship-type game, the Angels are beaten horribly. They do not hit the ball at all until the fifth inning and they do not make any points. All of the action of the baseball game itself happens offstage. So, for several lines in each scene, the characters onstage are listening to offstage voices. This slows down the progress of the plot. The characters are not well developed; it is difficult to distinguish one character from another, with a couple of exceptions. The characters are not exciting or intriguing and there is not much action in this play.
