The Nightmare Farm Spooky Readers' Theatre Script

Included in the Nightmare Farm Readers’ Theatre Unit:
11 page script
3 characters
1-3 narrators
Student Success Criteria
Student Friendly Goals
Teacher’s Reader’s Theatre Checklist
Drawing Conclusions about Characters Activity

Nightmare Farm synopsis:
John Allen is riding his bicycle through a rural road in France when a thunderstorm roars above him. He trudges through the rain and mud looking for shelter, when he finds an old farm. He knocks and finds the door to be open. He enters and doesn’t find anyone there, so he makes himself at home. As John lights a fire, he hears doors opening and sees slime slithering towards him. Frightened by the encroaching slime, John abandons the warmth of the farmhouse and retreats into the rain on foot. He enters a tavern where the innkeeper pities him for entering the farmhouse due to its haunted reputation. The next day, the innkeeper informs John of the origins of the haunted farmhouse. John also consults paraphsychologist Morgan Fayette as he tries to take his bicycle back from the haunted farmhouse. Will John be able to regain his bicycle from the supernatural forces? Who was the mysterious man who lived in the farmhouse and what became of him? Find out in the Nightmare Farm readers’ theatre unit!

Do not fear the reader’s theater format. Students love these adapted stories because they are listening to the story and they are a part of the story by playing a character within the story.

Reader’s theatre inspires reluctant readers to join in the fun. The strongest and most advanced readers in your class will encourage other students to raise their hand and participate in the story. I also use reader’s theatre to add to my drama marks.

If the reader’s theatre format did not work for my students and I, then I would have stopped creating and adapting them years ago.

Reluctant readers sometimes feel anxious looking at pages of text, whereas a reader’s theater script is broken up into narration and different characters speaking, thus making the story more accessible to those students who have not discovered the incredibly fun activity of reading for entertainment.

I hope you, and your students enjoy reading Nightmare Farm Readers’ Theatre script.
Excelsior!
Mr. Marvel: The King of Reader’s Theatre