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Scene Work

  • 1.  Scene Work

    Posted 09-11-2014 00:44
    I have two sections of a beginning acting class. I am looking for scenes to assign. One class is all girls the other is mixed.  I am hoping to work from plays by playwrights who have had their work published professionally not the written for high schoolers variety. Suggestions would be great!

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    Jason Peck
    Brentwood School
    Encino CA
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  • 2.  RE: Scene Work

    Posted 09-12-2014 07:38
    Steel Magnolias
    Honky Tonk Angels
    Anne Frank
    Miracle Worker
    Brighton Beach Memoirs
    The Most Massive Woman Wins - short play
    Juvie - short play
    The Effects of Gamma Rays....
    Proof
    Doubt - for more mature students

    These all feature a mix of scenes with older/younger female characters. Some have monologues and longer scenes that I've found help my students understand the purpose of character development in a story.

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    Josh Ruben
    Fine Arts Head
    Chattanooga TN
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Scene Work

    Posted 09-12-2014 08:38

    If you are looking to do an all female production I would recommend Talking With by Jane Martin - great female monologues

    If it is just scene work in class you are looking for then I would suggest creating a collection of monologues and scenes that you can reference each year.  I prefer pieces from actual plays over monologue books with stand alone monologues in them.  There are some really good monologues/scenes for teens from some movies as well.  (Never Been Kissed, Mean Girls, Dead Poets Society).  There are also some really good monologue and scene books out there that are taken from plays.  You might look into the Neil Simon monologue book and the Neil Simon scene book.
    Best of Luck!
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    John Klak
    Drama Director
    Mt. Pleasant Public Schools
    Mt. Pleasant MI
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Scene Work

    Posted 09-13-2014 07:49
    "Fifty Professional Scenes for Student Actors" by Gary Michael Kluger is divided into half dramatic plays and half comedic.  Each one is 5 - 7 minutes long and they are great.  I bought a classroom set years ago and I still love them..  The plots have grown up situations, but even though I teach in a fairly conservative school, I have never had a problem with the content.  The Kluger plays are self contained so the actors can quickly establish the given circumstances, setting, relationships, etc. and focus on the scene itself.. The best part is that the characters in most of the scenes are named A or B.  They can be cast with one girl, one boy, or two girls, or two boys or whatever.  You never have to search for right mix.

    I love using the cuttings of the classics, too, but if you do a scene from "Glass Menagerie" (for example) you really have to teach a lot about that play for the kids to do it any justice. That is great, but for me at least, it takes several days and might not be the object of that particular assignment. 

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    Katherine Miller
    Theater Teacher
    Paul VI Catholic High School
    Herndon VA
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Scene Work

    Posted 09-13-2014 08:43
    I love when I log in and see answers to the very questions I was considering asking. Thanks for the list of titles with lots of juicy scenes and monologues for ladies. They are sometimes hard to find. ------------------------------------------- Scott Hasbrouck Wheat Ridge CO -------------------------------------------
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  • 6.  RE: Scene Work

    Posted 09-12-2014 09:24
    Hello,

    Maybe something from Little Women  or The Crucible  for the girls.

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    Kelly McCain
    Addison TX
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Scene Work

    Posted 09-12-2014 10:52
    Here's a text I've used with moderate success: http://www.amazon.com/ It's called 'Duo! The best scenes from 21st century theatre'. These are published/produced, not 'high school' material, so do deal with fairly mature themes (some language, several same gender relationship pieces, etc). I like the books layout as it arranges by cast makeup, i.e. 2 males, 1females and so on. Hope this helps! ------------------------------------------- Phillip Goodchild Valrico FL -------------------------------------------
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  • 8.  RE: Scene Work

    Posted 09-12-2014 13:50
    We got "Duo!" last year and it's one of the kids' favorite books to choose scenes and monologues from.  We also like the "102 scenes for 2 actors..." etc.

    I also keep a binder of scenes that I find elsewhere, just in case they aren't finding things in the books.  My students are only allowed to use things from published plays, not from movies or tv shows.

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    Laura Steenson
    Theatre Director
    Reynolds High School
    Troutdale OR
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    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Scene Work

    Posted 09-12-2014 12:02
    I usually have them perform scenes from The Glass Menagerie, All My Sons, or Crimes of the Heart. Each one of those has at least two scenes between females two pages in length. Hope this helps. ------------------------------------------- Tom Skobel Theatre Director Glenbard South High School Glen Ellyn, IL -------------------------------------------
    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Scene Work

    Posted 09-12-2014 16:45
    For the mixed class there are some fun scenes from It's Not You, It's Me, Check Please (1, 2, and 3), and Hard Candy. Playscripts is a good site to check out. You can read preveiws of the scripts before you buy and search based on specific criteria. Hope this helps!

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    Shira Schwartz
    Chandler Unified School District
    Chandler AZ
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    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: Scene Work

    Posted 09-13-2014 13:00
    There are 17 women parts in ALL THE KING'S WOMEN published by Samuel French.  It has 5 one acts, 4 monologues.  There is an ad in the recent Sept issue of Dramatics for the play on page 8.  You mentioned you are from Encino, CA.  I know there was a production at Oakwood Secondary in North Hollywood (that's about 22 min away from you) and at the Archer School in LA (that's about 18 min away from you).  The scenes are great for acting classes!  Also look into EXHIBIT THIS!  THE MUSEUM COMEDIES published by Samuel French.  It has 7 one acts, 6 monologues.  There are 26 women parts.  It's a series of scenes based on exhibits at the Metropolitan museum of art in NYC.  Break a leg, Jason.   
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    Luigi Jannuzzi
    Hillsborough NJ
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    Original Message


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