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  • 1.  Play for Advanced Theatre Class

    Posted 12-13-2021 23:36
    Hi there,

    Wondering if you have any recommendations of plays that I can read with my advanced theatre class (11 juniors and seniors). I am looking for something mature and rich with detail for them to dive into and hopefully work on scenes from the play.

    Thank you!

    Jordan Fox
    --

    Jordan Fox (she/her/hers) | Area Advisor: Theatre, Performing Arts Teacher (Theatre)

    Windward School | 11350 Palms Blvd | Los Angeles, CA 90066

    Direct Line (424) 289-1131

    For Appointments: jfox-2.youcanbook.me

    jfox@windwardschool.org


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  • 2.  RE: Play for Advanced Theatre Class

    Posted 12-14-2021 08:52
    Hi,

    I have read and performed scenes from Doubt and Proof with my drama 2 classes.

    Good luck,
    Sheila Newton





  • 3.  RE: Play for Advanced Theatre Class

    Posted 12-14-2021 09:39
    Here are three that I regularly use with my Advanced Drama class.

    The Christians by Lucas Hnath. A serious of quiet, two-person conversations.  I think it forces students to concentrate on what the characters want in each scene. Yes, it deals with Christianity, but I don't think it proselytizes or choose sides. One student said, "I'm an atheist and this is my favorite play we've read."

    Five Kinds of Silence by Shelagh Stephenson. About a mother and two adult daughters trying to move on from their monstrously abusive husband/father. It goes to some difficult places, including sexual abuse. It does not offer any easy answers or closure. I think you really get to know the four main characters and what drives them.

    Bellwether by Steve Yockey. A young girl mysteriously disappears in a seemingly perfect suburb and the neighbors soon begin to suspect her parents. It gets a bit supernatural. When my Advanced Drama class did scenes from it, it was hands-down the best acting I have seen from a class. For some reason, the students really connected with the scenes and the characters - in part because I think the writing is so clear. Mainly two or three person scenes.

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    Ken Buswell
    Drama Teacher
    Peachtree City, GA
    http://mcintoshtheater.org/

    Theater kills ignorance
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  • 4.  RE: Play for Advanced Theatre Class

    Posted 12-15-2021 07:13
    Such great recommendations!

    Here are a some more (some may possibly need some kind of trigger warning, FYI): 

    The Language Archive, by Julia Cho

    Equivocation, by Bill Cain

    The Guys, by Anne Nelson

    Ada and the Engine, by Lauren Gunderson

    Natural Shocks (monologue), by Lauren Gunderson 

    A Number, by Caryl Churchill 

    Sweat, by Lynn Nottage 

    Vietgone, by Qui Nguyen 

    W;t, by Margaret Edson

    All the Way & The Great Society, by Robert Schenkkan 







  • 5.  RE: Play for Advanced Theatre Class

    Posted 12-14-2021 11:55
    Hey Jordan,

    Here are a few of my current favorites:

    Kodachrome, by Adam Szymkowicz
    Silent Sky, by Lauren Gunderson
    Joy Luck Club, by Susan Kim (from the novel)
    Stop Kiss, by Diana Son
    Torch Song, by Harvey Fierstein

    Enjoy - hope you have happy holidays ahead!
    -Rob





  • 6.  RE: Play for Advanced Theatre Class

    Posted 12-15-2021 07:29
    I second Proof and Silent Sky. We have used Picnic, All My Sons, and most recently, She Kills Monsters for class reading and scene study. Other plays that I like and have considered including are Anna in the TropicsThese Shining Lives, I and You (though just two people), Good People, and Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. Definitely some potential language/trigger warnings in some of these.

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    Cassy Maxton-Whitacre
    Theatre Department Coordinator
    Shenandoah Valley Governor's School
    VA
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