Michael Richardson has worked in youth theatre for over twenty years, has been involved in the training of other practitioners, and in the strategic development of the youth theatre sector in the UK.

Youth Theatre: Drama for Life defines the youth theatre process, by outlining its constituent parts and explaining how these activities work in order to support young people's development. As well as describing what is done in youth theatre, it also explores why it's done and how to ensure the best possible outcomes.

The book covers the nature and purpose of youth theatre, key processes - warming up, playing games, voice work, developing skills, devising, presentation - creating an appropriate environment and common applications of the youth theatre process. On top of this, two appendices give a list of over 60 games that are useful to use in youth theatre; and a list of recommended further reading that supports this book.

Introduction: Why Youth Theatre? Part 1: Youth Theatre: its nature and purpose 1. What is youth theatre? 2. The youth theatre process 3. The youth theatre practitioner Part 2: The youth theatre process: its constituent parts 4. Warming up 5. Games 6. Voice work 7. Skills work 8. Short sketch devising 9. Long piece devising 10. Presentation of devised material Part 3: Youth theatre in practice 11. Structuring a workshop 12. Planning and delivering a workshop 13. Evaluating your practice 14. Challenging challenging behaviour 15. Child protection 16. Health and safety 17. Youth leadership Part 4: Applied youth theatre 18. Youth theatre practice in education settings 19. Youth theatre productions and performance Appendix: Useful games for youth theatre Conclusion: Why youth theatre?