Open Forum

Hello!

I hope that you all are either enjoying your summer or are getting close to the end. June is almost here!  

I have enjoyed several years of having strong male interest in my program. Sadly I just lost 24 seniors and most of them were males. I would like to find a meaty dramatic competition one-act script (or a full-length that can be cut) that is female oriented but has some male parts. It would be great if it could tackle an important political or social issue. I would love to tackle an international conflict. (Please no teen angst or extremely edgy since I have a conservative principal.) I like to keep the number of actors for my competition show between 10 - 16 actors.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)




 


  
-------------------------------------------
Patricia Giles
Theatre Director
Columbus GA
-------------------------------------------

Hi, Patricia!
I know the feeling.  Please let me suggest the play WOMEN and WAR by Jack Hilton Cunningham.  Samuel French carries this play!  There is a full-length and one-act version of this play.  It is written to be reader's theatre, but the one-act version has the blocking that was used by my actors to produce a fully staged version.  

Originally written for 4 women and 1 man; my competition cast was 8 women and 4 men. 
It tells of the relationships of women in wars from WWI to the present conflict.  In letter & monologue form, there are so many ways to stage this show!  The one-act version, has less language and edgy material, as we are in a conservative community as well!

Can you tell how much I love this show?  I would be happy to share photos and any information you would like! 

My best!



Carolyn Greer
Kentucky Thespians
Owensboro HS #3161








Original Message:
Sent: 05-27-2014 11:20
From: Patricia Giles
Subject: Female Heavy Quality Dramatic Scripts


Hello!

I hope that you all are either enjoying your summer or are getting close to the end. June is almost here!  

I have enjoyed several years of having strong male interest in my program. Sadly I just lost 24 seniors and most of them were males. I would like to find a meaty dramatic competition one-act script (or a full-length that can be cut) that is female oriented but has some male parts. It would be great if it could tackle an important political or social issue. I would love to tackle an international conflict. (Please no teen angst or extremely edgy since I have a conservative principal.) I like to keep the number of actors for my competition show between 10 - 16 actors.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)




 


  
-------------------------------------------
Patricia Giles
Theatre Director
Columbus GA
-------------------------------------------

I Never Saw Another Butterfly has great roles and is super flexible in casting.  Several of the parts are "children" and are not gender specific.  There are two versions - one is shorter and calls for fewer actors, the other is longer and has more characters.

-------------------------------------------
Laura Steenson
Theatre Director
Reynolds High School
Troutdale OR
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 05-27-2014 11:28
From: Carolyn Greer
Subject: Female Heavy Quality Dramatic Scripts


Hi, Patricia!
I know the feeling.  Please let me suggest the play WOMEN and WAR by Jack Hilton Cunningham.  Samuel French carries this play!  There is a full-length and one-act version of this play.  It is written to be reader's theatre, but the one-act version has the blocking that was used by my actors to produce a fully staged version.  

Originally written for 4 women and 1 man; my competition cast was 8 women and 4 men. 
It tells of the relationships of women in wars from WWI to the present conflict.  In letter & monologue form, there are so many ways to stage this show!  The one-act version, has less language and edgy material, as we are in a conservative community as well!

Can you tell how much I love this show?  I would be happy to share photos and any information you would like! 

My best!



Carolyn Greer
Kentucky Thespians
Owensboro HS #3161








Original Message:
Sent: 05-27-2014 11:20
From: Patricia Giles
Subject: Female Heavy Quality Dramatic Scripts


Hello!

I hope that you all are either enjoying your summer or are getting close to the end. June is almost here!  

I have enjoyed several years of having strong male interest in my program. Sadly I just lost 24 seniors and most of them were males. I would like to find a meaty dramatic competition one-act script (or a full-length that can be cut) that is female oriented but has some male parts. It would be great if it could tackle an important political or social issue. I would love to tackle an international conflict. (Please no teen angst or extremely edgy since I have a conservative principal.) I like to keep the number of actors for my competition show between 10 - 16 actors.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)




 


  
-------------------------------------------
Patricia Giles
Theatre Director
Columbus GA
-------------------------------------------

Hi Carolyn,

May I recommend Piece of My Heart by Shirley Lauro (a play about women in the Vietnam War) and The Cover of Life by R.T. Robinson (about a family of sister-in-laws whose husbands are in WWII).  Both have significant messages, lots of meaty female roles, and a few opportunities for the boys you may still have.  Both are published by Samuel French.  I have not produced either of them, but they are on my list. Good luck!

-------------------------------------------
Michelle Ludwig
Director of Drama
Kinkaid School
Houston TX
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 05-27-2014 15:47
From: Laura Steenson
Subject: Female Heavy Quality Dramatic Scripts

I Never Saw Another Butterfly has great roles and is super flexible in casting.  Several of the parts are "children" and are not gender specific.  There are two versions - one is shorter and calls for fewer actors, the other is longer and has more characters.

-------------------------------------------
Laura Steenson
Theatre Director
Reynolds High School
Troutdale OR
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 05-27-2014 11:28
From: Carolyn Greer
Subject: Female Heavy Quality Dramatic Scripts


Hi, Patricia!
I know the feeling.  Please let me suggest the play WOMEN and WAR by Jack Hilton Cunningham.  Samuel French carries this play!  There is a full-length and one-act version of this play.  It is written to be reader's theatre, but the one-act version has the blocking that was used by my actors to produce a fully staged version.  

Originally written for 4 women and 1 man; my competition cast was 8 women and 4 men. 
It tells of the relationships of women in wars from WWI to the present conflict.  In letter & monologue form, there are so many ways to stage this show!  The one-act version, has less language and edgy material, as we are in a conservative community as well!

Can you tell how much I love this show?  I would be happy to share photos and any information you would like! 

My best!



Carolyn Greer
Kentucky Thespians
Owensboro HS #3161








Original Message:
Sent: 05-27-2014 11:20
From: Patricia Giles
Subject: Female Heavy Quality Dramatic Scripts


Hello!

I hope that you all are either enjoying your summer or are getting close to the end. June is almost here!  

I have enjoyed several years of having strong male interest in my program. Sadly I just lost 24 seniors and most of them were males. I would like to find a meaty dramatic competition one-act script (or a full-length that can be cut) that is female oriented but has some male parts. It would be great if it could tackle an important political or social issue. I would love to tackle an international conflict. (Please no teen angst or extremely edgy since I have a conservative principal.) I like to keep the number of actors for my competition show between 10 - 16 actors.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)




 


  
-------------------------------------------
Patricia Giles
Theatre Director
Columbus GA
-------------------------------------------

Anne Frank & Me only has 3 male roles, all others are female including the lead.

It's historical fiction that modernizes the Anne Frank story by juxtaposing Act I with the lead character in modern times as a part of a Holocaust denying family and she's been assigned The Diary of Anne Frank as schoolwork.

Then an accident transports the main character to France 1942 in a Jewish family - kind of Wizard of Oz style double casting.

There is comedy in Act I and a little dancing but it's a dramatic piece that was exceedingly well received this year at school and in rep in Orlando.

-------------------------------------------
Erik Morris
Artistic & Technical Director
Lake Wales FL
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 05-28-2014 14:06
From: Michelle Ludwig
Subject: Female Heavy Quality Dramatic Scripts

Hi Carolyn,

May I recommend Piece of My Heart by Shirley Lauro (a play about women in the Vietnam War) and The Cover of Life by R.T. Robinson (about a family of sister-in-laws whose husbands are in WWII).  Both have significant messages, lots of meaty female roles, and a few opportunities for the boys you may still have.  Both are published by Samuel French.  I have not produced either of them, but they are on my list. Good luck!

-------------------------------------------
Michelle Ludwig
Director of Drama
Kinkaid School
Houston TX
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 05-27-2014 15:47
From: Laura Steenson
Subject: Female Heavy Quality Dramatic Scripts

I Never Saw Another Butterfly has great roles and is super flexible in casting.  Several of the parts are "children" and are not gender specific.  There are two versions - one is shorter and calls for fewer actors, the other is longer and has more characters.

-------------------------------------------
Laura Steenson
Theatre Director
Reynolds High School
Troutdale OR
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 05-27-2014 11:28
From: Carolyn Greer
Subject: Female Heavy Quality Dramatic Scripts


Hi, Patricia!
I know the feeling.  Please let me suggest the play WOMEN and WAR by Jack Hilton Cunningham.  Samuel French carries this play!  There is a full-length and one-act version of this play.  It is written to be reader's theatre, but the one-act version has the blocking that was used by my actors to produce a fully staged version.  

Originally written for 4 women and 1 man; my competition cast was 8 women and 4 men. 
It tells of the relationships of women in wars from WWI to the present conflict.  In letter & monologue form, there are so many ways to stage this show!  The one-act version, has less language and edgy material, as we are in a conservative community as well!

Can you tell how much I love this show?  I would be happy to share photos and any information you would like! 

My best!



Carolyn Greer
Kentucky Thespians
Owensboro HS #3161








Original Message:
Sent: 05-27-2014 11:20
From: Patricia Giles
Subject: Female Heavy Quality Dramatic Scripts


Hello!

I hope that you all are either enjoying your summer or are getting close to the end. June is almost here!  

I have enjoyed several years of having strong male interest in my program. Sadly I just lost 24 seniors and most of them were males. I would like to find a meaty dramatic competition one-act script (or a full-length that can be cut) that is female oriented but has some male parts. It would be great if it could tackle an important political or social issue. I would love to tackle an international conflict. (Please no teen angst or extremely edgy since I have a conservative principal.) I like to keep the number of actors for my competition show between 10 - 16 actors.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)




 


  
-------------------------------------------
Patricia Giles
Theatre Director
Columbus GA
-------------------------------------------

Three plays with good roles for women:

LETTERS TO SALA, recently published by Dramatists Play Service, is a true Holocaust story that has over two dozen speaking roles, mostly women. Some of the roles can be doubled or eliminated if you are cutting for competition. The four men characters never appear on stage together and can be doubled. The women can be doubled or expanded, as needed. There is a shorter version in the works.

AS IT IS IN HEAVEN, also published by Dramatists Play Service, features an ensemble of nine women and that number can be increased. It's about a Shaker community in the 1830s and includes Shaker hymns sung acapella (only two characters need to have good voices; the rest sing in unison). 

And I suggest you take a look at one of my favorite plays, WOMEN OF LOCKERBIE by Deborah Brevoort. She actually prefers that the chorus of women be increased and is willing to discuss that with directors.

All three of the above plays can be performed on nearly bare stages or with more elaborate scenic elements. There should be no issues with language or content, and all three have been produced by colleges and high schools around the country.

Thanks for looking for plays featuring women!

-------------------------------------------
Arlene Hutton
playwright
New York NY
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 05-27-2014 11:20
From: Patricia Giles
Subject: Female Heavy Quality Dramatic Scripts


Hello!

I hope that you all are either enjoying your summer or are getting close to the end. June is almost here!  

I have enjoyed several years of having strong male interest in my program. Sadly I just lost 24 seniors and most of them were males. I would like to find a meaty dramatic competition one-act script (or a full-length that can be cut) that is female oriented but has some male parts. It would be great if it could tackle an important political or social issue. I would love to tackle an international conflict. (Please no teen angst or extremely edgy since I have a conservative principal.) I like to keep the number of actors for my competition show between 10 - 16 actors.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)




 


  
-------------------------------------------
Patricia Giles
Theatre Director
Columbus GA
-------------------------------------------

I highly recommend Irena's Vow by Dan Gordon. Below is the description via Playscripts.com. 


"Through the eyes of a strong-willed woman comes the remarkable true story of Irena Gut Opdyke and the triumphs of the human spirit over devastating tragedy. 19-year-old Irena Gut is promoted to housekeeper in the home of a highly respected Nazi officer when she finds out that the Jewish ghetto is about to be liquidated. Determined to help twelve Jewish workers, she decides to shelter them in the safest place she can think of: the basement of the German commandant's house. Over the next two years, Irena uses her wit, humor, and courage to hide her friends until the end of the German occupation, concealing them in the midst of countless Nazi parties, a blackmail scheme, and even the birth of a child. Her story is one of the most inspiring of our time." - Playscripts, Inc. 


-------------------------------------------
Chelsey Cavender
Membership Service Specialist
Educational Theatre Association
Hamilton OH
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 05-27-2014 11:20
From: Patricia Giles
Subject: Female Heavy Quality Dramatic Scripts


Hello!

I hope that you all are either enjoying your summer or are getting close to the end. June is almost here!  

I have enjoyed several years of having strong male interest in my program. Sadly I just lost 24 seniors and most of them were males. I would like to find a meaty dramatic competition one-act script (or a full-length that can be cut) that is female oriented but has some male parts. It would be great if it could tackle an important political or social issue. I would love to tackle an international conflict. (Please no teen angst or extremely edgy since I have a conservative principal.) I like to keep the number of actors for my competition show between 10 - 16 actors.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)




 


  
-------------------------------------------
Patricia Giles
Theatre Director
Columbus GA
-------------------------------------------

"Wit" by Margaret Edson is a wonderful script for a lead female and is also a small cast. 

"I Never Saw Another Butterfly" is another beautiful piece featuring a female lead. 

-------------------------------------------
Matthew Ward
Music and Musical Theatre
Horry County Schools
Myrtle Beach SC
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 05-27-2014 11:20
From: Patricia Giles
Subject: Female Heavy Quality Dramatic Scripts


Hello!

I hope that you all are either enjoying your summer or are getting close to the end. June is almost here!  

I have enjoyed several years of having strong male interest in my program. Sadly I just lost 24 seniors and most of them were males. I would like to find a meaty dramatic competition one-act script (or a full-length that can be cut) that is female oriented but has some male parts. It would be great if it could tackle an important political or social issue. I would love to tackle an international conflict. (Please no teen angst or extremely edgy since I have a conservative principal.) I like to keep the number of actors for my competition show between 10 - 16 actors.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)




 


  
-------------------------------------------
Patricia Giles
Theatre Director
Columbus GA
-------------------------------------------

Nora Ephron wrote a play called " Love, Loss and What I wore"  which has multiple parts.  It runs toward to mature subject matter side with some of the monologues, though.  Good for social issues, though.

-------------------------------------------
Karen Pritchard
Director of Theatre/retired teacher
Garden City MI
-------------------------------------------






Original Message:
Sent: 05-27-2014 11:20
From: Patricia Giles
Subject: Female Heavy Quality Dramatic Scripts


Hello!

I hope that you all are either enjoying your summer or are getting close to the end. June is almost here!  

I have enjoyed several years of having strong male interest in my program. Sadly I just lost 24 seniors and most of them were males. I would like to find a meaty dramatic competition one-act script (or a full-length that can be cut) that is female oriented but has some male parts. It would be great if it could tackle an important political or social issue. I would love to tackle an international conflict. (Please no teen angst or extremely edgy since I have a conservative principal.) I like to keep the number of actors for my competition show between 10 - 16 actors.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)




 


  
-------------------------------------------
Patricia Giles
Theatre Director
Columbus GA
-------------------------------------------