Open Forum

I read a play with my advanced acting class every quarter.  We study themes, character, style, design, etc. In the past, we've read things like Oedipus, Doll's House, Macbeth, Tartuffe, Our Town, Long Day's Journey, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Everyman, A lot of the kids in this class are also AP students, so they are able to use these in their AP exams.  However, I'm starting to get tired of teaching classic dramas and want to start mixing in contemporary and comedy plays.  
All that to say, what are your best suggestions for plays either in the contemporary or comedic genre that are worthy of an in depth classroom study?

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Annie Rice
Spring Hill TN
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Anything by Neil Simon! I love Rumors, The Prisoner of 2nd Ave., and The Odd Couple - just to name a few. Have fun!

Sent from my iPhone


Original Message------

I read a play with my advanced acting class every quarter.  We study themes, character, style, design, etc. In the past, we've read things like Oedipus, Doll's House, Macbeth, Tartuffe, Our Town, Long Day's Journey, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Everyman, A lot of the kids in this class are also AP students, so they are able to use these in their AP exams.  However, I'm starting to get tired of teaching classic dramas and want to start mixing in contemporary and comedy plays.  
All that to say, what are your best suggestions for plays either in the contemporary or comedic genre that are worthy of an in depth classroom study?

------------------------------
Annie Rice
Spring Hill TN
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I agree with the Neil Simon suggestion. Also, how about the American classic comedy, You Can't Take It With You. So much fun! Let us know what you decide on.

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Garry Tiller
Theatre Arts Teaching Artist
Sidwell Friends
Washington, DC
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-12-2019 15:28
From: Annie Rice
Subject: Comedies for class

I read a play with my advanced acting class every quarter.  We study themes, character, style, design, etc. In the past, we've read things like Oedipus, Doll's House, Macbeth, Tartuffe, Our Town, Long Day's Journey, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Everyman, A lot of the kids in this class are also AP students, so they are able to use these in their AP exams.  However, I'm starting to get tired of teaching classic dramas and want to start mixing in contemporary and comedy plays.
All that to say, what are your best suggestions for plays either in the contemporary or comedic genre that are worthy of an in depth classroom study?

------------------------------
Annie Rice
Spring Hill TN
------------------------------

If you are looking for contemporary plays, I suggest integrating the works written in the last 10-15 years by women and playwrights of color. Let's shift the narrative a bit! Lauren Gunderson has some awesome pieces about women in science (Silent Sky, Ada and the Engine) as well as some other pieces (The Revolutionists, I and You).   I always find Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice to be a great piece to work on with high school students. The works of  Lynn Nottage would also work well for an in-depth classroom study. That is just off the top of my head, but a quick survey of some regional theatres' upcoming seasons would also be a great source.

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Elana Kepner
Theatre Instructor
The Oakwood School
Greenville NC
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-12-2019 15:28
From: Annie Rice
Subject: Comedies for class

I read a play with my advanced acting class every quarter.  We study themes, character, style, design, etc. In the past, we've read things like Oedipus, Doll's House, Macbeth, Tartuffe, Our Town, Long Day's Journey, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Everyman, A lot of the kids in this class are also AP students, so they are able to use these in their AP exams.  However, I'm starting to get tired of teaching classic dramas and want to start mixing in contemporary and comedy plays.
All that to say, what are your best suggestions for plays either in the contemporary or comedic genre that are worthy of an in depth classroom study?

------------------------------
Annie Rice
Spring Hill TN
------------------------------

This is a list of great comedies I compiled several years ago. I hope it helps.

Aristophanes:

• Lysistrata
  

Moliere:

• The Miser
• Tartuffe
  

Carlo Goldoni:

• Servant of Two Masters

Shakespeare

• A Midsummer Night's Dream
• As You Like It
• Twelfth Night
• Much Ado About Nothing
• The Tempest

Beaumarchais

• The Barber of Seville
• The Marriage of Figaro

Georges Feydeau

• A Flea in Her Ear

GB Shaw

• Arms and the Man

Noel Coward

• Private Lives
• Blithe Spirit

Oscar Wilde

• The Importance of Being Ernest
• Lady Windermere's Fan

Eugene O'Neill

• Ah! Wilderness

Anton Chekov (human comedy)

• The Seagull
• Three Sisters
• Uncle Vanya

Kaufman & Hart

• You Can't Take It with You (Pulitzer Prize)
• The Man who Came to Dinner

Mary Chase

• Harvey (Pulitzer Prize)

Thornton Wilder

• Our Town (Pulitzer Prize)
• The Skin of Our Teeth (Pulitzer Prize)
• The Matchmaker

Neil Simon

• Barefoot in the Park
• The Odd Couple
• Lost in Yonkers (Pulitzer Prize)

Larry Shue

• The Nerd
• The Foreigner

Ken Ludwig

• Lend Me a Tenor
• Moon Over Buffalo
   

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James Van Leishout
Olympia WA
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-12-2019 15:28
From: Annie Rice
Subject: Comedies for class

I read a play with my advanced acting class every quarter.  We study themes, character, style, design, etc. In the past, we've read things like Oedipus, Doll's House, Macbeth, Tartuffe, Our Town, Long Day's Journey, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Everyman, A lot of the kids in this class are also AP students, so they are able to use these in their AP exams.  However, I'm starting to get tired of teaching classic dramas and want to start mixing in contemporary and comedy plays.
All that to say, what are your best suggestions for plays either in the contemporary or comedic genre that are worthy of an in depth classroom study?

------------------------------
Annie Rice
Spring Hill TN
------------------------------

We study a contemporary work each year.  My criteria is that it has to have been nominated for a major award in the last 3 years - Tony, Pulitzer, and Olivier are the ones I generally look at.  In the past few years we've read Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris, Peter and Alice by John Logan, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Simon Stephens, Sweat by Lynn Nottage and Farinelli and the King by Claire van Kampen.   For next year, I am looking at Fairview by Jackie Sibblies Drury, Cost of Living by Martyna Majok, Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney, What The Constitution Means to Me by Heidi Schreck and Latin History for Morons by John Leguizamo.  I will probably rule out the last 2 because I'm not sure they'd be great for class study since they are one person plays.

For other options, think about bringing some August Wilson into the mix, or Lorraine Hansberry.  I would love to teach A Raisin in the Sun and Clybourne Park back to back.

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

Original Message:
Sent: 06-13-2019 10:21
From: James Van Leishout
Subject: Comedies for class

This is a list of great comedies I compiled several years ago. I hope it helps.

Aristophanes:

• Lysistrata
  

Moliere:

• The Miser
• Tartuffe
  

Carlo Goldoni:

• Servant of Two Masters

Shakespeare

• A Midsummer Night's Dream
• As You Like It
• Twelfth Night
• Much Ado About Nothing
• The Tempest

Beaumarchais

• The Barber of Seville
• The Marriage of Figaro

Georges Feydeau

• A Flea in Her Ear

GB Shaw

• Arms and the Man

Noel Coward

• Private Lives
• Blithe Spirit

Oscar Wilde

• The Importance of Being Ernest
• Lady Windermere's Fan

Eugene O'Neill

• Ah! Wilderness

Anton Chekov (human comedy)

• The Seagull
• Three Sisters
• Uncle Vanya

Kaufman & Hart

• You Can't Take It with You (Pulitzer Prize)
• The Man who Came to Dinner

Mary Chase

• Harvey (Pulitzer Prize)

Thornton Wilder

• Our Town (Pulitzer Prize)
• The Skin of Our Teeth (Pulitzer Prize)
• The Matchmaker

Neil Simon

• Barefoot in the Park
• The Odd Couple
• Lost in Yonkers (Pulitzer Prize)

Larry Shue

• The Nerd
• The Foreigner

Ken Ludwig

• Lend Me a Tenor
• Moon Over Buffalo
   

------------------------------
James Van Leishout
Olympia WA

Original Message:
Sent: 06-12-2019 15:28
From: Annie Rice
Subject: Comedies for class

I read a play with my advanced acting class every quarter.  We study themes, character, style, design, etc. In the past, we've read things like Oedipus, Doll's House, Macbeth, Tartuffe, Our Town, Long Day's Journey, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Everyman, A lot of the kids in this class are also AP students, so they are able to use these in their AP exams.  However, I'm starting to get tired of teaching classic dramas and want to start mixing in contemporary and comedy plays.
All that to say, what are your best suggestions for plays either in the contemporary or comedic genre that are worthy of an in depth classroom study?

------------------------------
Annie Rice
Spring Hill TN
------------------------------

Original Message------

I read a play with my advanced acting class every quarter.  We study themes, character, style, design, etc. In the past, we've read things like Oedipus, Doll's House, Macbeth, Tartuffe, Our Town, Long Day's Journey, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Everyman, A lot of the kids in this class are also AP students, so they are able to use these in their AP exams.  However, I'm starting to get tired of teaching classic dramas and want to start mixing in contemporary and comedy plays.  
All that to say, what are your best suggestions for plays either in the contemporary or comedic genre that are worthy of an in depth classroom study?

------------------------------
Annie Rice
Spring Hill TN
------------------------------

I teach a College Scene Study class (it is a class for 11th and 12th grade theater students for which they receive college credit) . Although these are not comedies, the following plays are contemporary and have been met with great success in my class: The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry for the sole purpose of then immediately teaching Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris (stories overlap), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Simon Stephens, Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams.

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Angela McLaughlin
Theater Arts teacher
Garden City HS
Garden City, NY
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-12-2019 15:28
From: Annie Rice
Subject: Comedies for class

I read a play with my advanced acting class every quarter.  We study themes, character, style, design, etc. In the past, we've read things like Oedipus, Doll's House, Macbeth, Tartuffe, Our Town, Long Day's Journey, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Everyman, A lot of the kids in this class are also AP students, so they are able to use these in their AP exams.  However, I'm starting to get tired of teaching classic dramas and want to start mixing in contemporary and comedy plays.
All that to say, what are your best suggestions for plays either in the contemporary or comedic genre that are worthy of an in depth classroom study?

------------------------------
Annie Rice
Spring Hill TN
------------------------------

I left some off my list.

 George Etherege 

• The Man of Mode or, Sir Fopling Flutter 

Aphra Behn: The first English women to earn her living as playwright, poet, and author.

• The Rover or The Banish'd Cavaliers (two parts)

William Wycherley 

• The Country Wife 
• The Plain Dealer 

William Congreve 

• The Way of the World 

Oliver Goldsmith 

• She Stoops to Conquer

Richard Brinsley Sheridan 

• The Rivals 
• The School for Scandal

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James Van Leishout
Olympia WA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 06-12-2019 15:28
From: Annie Rice
Subject: Comedies for class

I read a play with my advanced acting class every quarter.  We study themes, character, style, design, etc. In the past, we've read things like Oedipus, Doll's House, Macbeth, Tartuffe, Our Town, Long Day's Journey, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Everyman, A lot of the kids in this class are also AP students, so they are able to use these in their AP exams.  However, I'm starting to get tired of teaching classic dramas and want to start mixing in contemporary and comedy plays.
All that to say, what are your best suggestions for plays either in the contemporary or comedic genre that are worthy of an in depth classroom study?

------------------------------
Annie Rice
Spring Hill TN
------------------------------

There are lots of fantastic ideas here, and I've had great success with a bunch already mentioned.

A few more to consider if mature language and themes are okay and you're looking to include more works from women and people of color:
-Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea by Nathan Alan Davis 
-Cost of Living by Martyna Majok
-Eclipsed by Danai Gurira (some of the kids will know the playwright as an actor from The Walking Dead or Black Panther)
-Fires in the Mirror or Twilight: Los Angeles by Anna Deveare Smith (these are not from the last 10-15 years, but give the kids a lot to discuss)
-Woza, Albert! by Percy Mtwa and Nbogemi Ngema (Again, not as contemporary, but written for the Market Theatre in South Africa, and has a lot of interesting elements in terms of production, style, purpose of performance, etc.)

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Meg O'Connor
oconnormainstage.com
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-14-2019 17:54
From: James Van Leishout
Subject: Comedies for class

I left some off my list.

 George Etherege

• The Man of Mode or, Sir Fopling Flutter 

Aphra Behn: The first English women to earn her living as playwright, poet, and author.

• The Rover or The Banish'd Cavaliers (two parts)

William Wycherley

• The Country Wife 
• The Plain Dealer 

William Congreve

• The Way of the World 

Oliver Goldsmith

• She Stoops to Conquer

Richard Brinsley Sheridan

• The Rivals 
• The School for Scandal

------------------------------
James Van Leishout
Olympia WA

Original Message:
Sent: 06-12-2019 15:28
From: Annie Rice
Subject: Comedies for class

I read a play with my advanced acting class every quarter.  We study themes, character, style, design, etc. In the past, we've read things like Oedipus, Doll's House, Macbeth, Tartuffe, Our Town, Long Day's Journey, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and Everyman, A lot of the kids in this class are also AP students, so they are able to use these in their AP exams.  However, I'm starting to get tired of teaching classic dramas and want to start mixing in contemporary and comedy plays.
All that to say, what are your best suggestions for plays either in the contemporary or comedic genre that are worthy of an in depth classroom study?

------------------------------
Annie Rice
Spring Hill TN
------------------------------