In addition to the 18 operettas and the On With The Show guide for directing plays and musicals in the Hoffman catalog of Fred Bock Music Companies, Val R. Cheatham has published 31 plays, 8 of which have been reprinted in instructional texts, 3 dramatic readings, and 4 books ranging from Cartooning for Kids Who Draw and Kids Who Don’t Draw to Finding Constellations. He also has published 62 informational and humorous articles for professional magazines and newspapers. This does not include a bi-weekly column called KIDTOONS which ran for 4 years in the Wichita Eagle newspaper.

Recognized as an expert in the field of play production, Val Cheatham lectures, serves as a consultant, and teaches workshops on Directing Plays at the university level as well as courses in Oral Communication, Creative Writing, Finding Constellations, Penmanship, Poetry, Cartooning, and Gifted Education. However, Val insists he feels most at home in the elementary setting where he has taught for 46 years, the last 40 with gifted children. Retirement, he says, is not an option.

Recipient of 24 grants for creative teaching, Val’s latest accomplishment was receiving the Distinguished Achievement Award for “Excellence in Educational Journalism.”

Val was married for 42 years, has two grown children and two grandchildren. His hobbies, other than writing, include listening to music, reading, working in his yard, biking, and observing the night sky. He also would enjoy hearing from you at valrteach@aol.com.