Open Forum

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

I just finished a production of Big Love by Charles Mee that was pretty terrific. His plays are all free on his website. Our students- performers and audience- loved it. It is a tough style- I'd say post modern- and deals with sex and gender in a very aggressive way. 

I also like Naomi Iizuka's plays.

------------------------------
William Addis
Chair of Visual and Performing Arts
Westtown School
West Chester PA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

Consider Decision Height. All female show about WASP trainees during WWII. Relatively new play out of Hollins University.

------------------------------
Cassy Maxton-Whitacre
Theatre Department Coordinator
Fishersville VA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

Original Message------

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

And Then They Came for Me

------------------------------
David Kramer
Mt Sinai NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

Dogs Sees God

It's the Charlie Brown crew, 10 years later.

------------------------------
David Kramer
Mt Sinai NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

I don't know if you would consider it cutting edge, but Five Kinds of Silence might fit the bill. It's about a woman and her two adult daughters struggling to move on from killing their abusive monster of a husband/father. It has three female leads, and you need a very strong male for the husband/father. There are other smaller roles where the gender doesn't really matter. We did it with 3 boys and 5 girls.

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

Theater kills ignorance
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

Radium Girls or Letters to Sala.
Both are relatively new plays, cast of a lot of girls.  Great dramaturgy opportunities.  Powerful messages in both instances.

------------------------------
Cindy Skelton
Drama Teacher
San Mateo Union High School District
Burlingame CA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-08-2017 09:48
From: Kenneth Buswell
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I don't know if you would consider it cutting edge, but Five Kinds of Silence might fit the bill. It's about a woman and her two adult daughters struggling to move on from killing their abusive monster of a husband/father. It has three female leads, and you need a very strong male for the husband/father. There are other smaller roles where the gender doesn't really matter. We did it with 3 boys and 5 girls.

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

Theater kills ignorance

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

Original Message------

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

One of very favorites of all time is "The Diviners." This play has everything you want to make an audience uncomfortable and THINK! it deals with Religious matters, a mentally challenged young man, a cruel foul mouthed father, and an awkward love story. The cast are hill people, and the acting is very challenging with amazing characters. I would do it at my school if I could, but ti's way too edgy for my folks! Hope you find what you are looking for!

------------------------------
Suzanne "Mama" Craig
MS/HS Theatre/Speech
Lipscomb Academy
Nashville, TN
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

Check out She Kills Monsters - http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/8807/she-kills-monsters

------------------------------
Lynda Gibson
Troupe 2829
Jr. Troupe 88305
Flushing Community Schools
Flushing, MI
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

I've done quite a few cutting edge shows with teens. Here are a few of my favorites.

The Wresting Season, by Laurie Brooks. 4 boys, 4 girls (1 adult non-speaking role) simple sets and costumes (literally wrestling mats and singlets. Some hoodies and jackets. The proper wrestling shoes can be a bit costly). This can be a tough show to stage movement wise and hard to cast. You need four boys who can be convincing high school wrestlers (not usually the body types you have in a drama program) but remember, these are high school wrestlers, so they don't need to look like John Cena. The plays covers a variety of issues  important to teens, from ethics to gossip, including LGBT hate crimes and date rape. I recommend getting an actual wrestling coach involved to teach the kids some convincing moves. Incredibly rewarding show for your actors and community however. 

I also highly recommend columbinus by Stephen Karam and P.J. Paparelli. A docu-drama about high school shootings specifically centered on the shootings in Littleton Colorado in the 90's, but also dealing with the alienation and disconnect that can lead to such violence. Couldn't be more timely. Couldn't be more real. A harrowing play but my students and I were transformed by the experience. 5 boys and 3 girls might be too boy heavy. Strong language. Both plays are available through Dramatic Publishing.

Side note: Steve Karam's Speech and Debate is also a gem of a show. 2 boys, 1 girl, i adult woman. Might be too small a cast for your needs but it's one of the best teen comedies in years.  Three high school misfits get involved in a mayoral sex scandal that strangely mirrors the plot of The Crucible and somehow involves a time traveling Abraham Lincoln.  Anyone who deals with theater kids will love love LOVE this show. 

If you like She Kills Monsters, a show that I'm looking at for next year is Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa's Rough Magic. The play is a fantasy adventure riff on Shakespeare's The Tempest, about a college dramaturg with the magical power to pull literary characters out of dramatic fiction and into the real world. Her powers come in handy when the "real" Prospero, on whom Shakespeare's play is based, decided to unleash his magical fury on Manhattan.  Large cast, strong female lead. If you are unfamiliar with Aguirre-Sacasa, he's is a former head writer for Spiderman Comics, Archie Comics and the TV series GLEE. He's also the creator and show-runner for Riverdale on the CW and wrote the book for Broadways' Spiderman, Turn off the Dark. His aesthetic speaks to all of these influences, and other than Qui Ngyun and The Vampire Cowboys, I think he's one of the best writers out there right now for teen audiences. Also check out his horror plays The Weird, The Miracle Plays and Dark Matters. 

Hope this helps!

------------------------------
John Monteverde
Drama Teacher
Pittsfield High School
Pittsfield, MA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

Just chiming in to say that this is an awesome thread. So, so many incredible ideas here-- I am planning to check out each and every one!! Congratulations to you on on your retirement, Andy Perry, and thank you for creating yet another phenomenal topic of discussion!!

------------------------------
Tasha Partee
Upper School Theatre Director
Lawrence Woodmere Academy
New York NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-10-2017 13:47
From: John Monteverde
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I've done quite a few cutting edge shows with teens. Here are a few of my favorites.

The Wresting Season, by Laurie Brooks. 4 boys, 4 girls (1 adult non-speaking role) simple sets and costumes (literally wrestling mats and singlets. Some hoodies and jackets. The proper wrestling shoes can be a bit costly). This can be a tough show to stage movement wise and hard to cast. You need four boys who can be convincing high school wrestlers (not usually the body types you have in a drama program) but remember, these are high school wrestlers, so they don't need to look like John Cena. The plays covers a variety of issues  important to teens, from ethics to gossip, including LGBT hate crimes and date rape. I recommend getting an actual wrestling coach involved to teach the kids some convincing moves. Incredibly rewarding show for your actors and community however. 

I also highly recommend columbinus by Stephen Karam and P.J. Paparelli. A docu-drama about high school shootings specifically centered on the shootings in Littleton Colorado in the 90's, but also dealing with the alienation and disconnect that can lead to such violence. Couldn't be more timely. Couldn't be more real. A harrowing play but my students and I were transformed by the experience. 5 boys and 3 girls might be too boy heavy. Strong language. Both plays are available through Dramatic Publishing.

Side note: Steve Karam's Speech and Debate is also a gem of a show. 2 boys, 1 girl, i adult woman. Might be too small a cast for your needs but it's one of the best teen comedies in years.  Three high school misfits get involved in a mayoral sex scandal that strangely mirrors the plot of The Crucible and somehow involves a time traveling Abraham Lincoln.  Anyone who deals with theater kids will love love LOVE this show. 

If you like She Kills Monsters, a show that I'm looking at for next year is Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa's Rough Magic. The play is a fantasy adventure riff on Shakespeare's The Tempest, about a college dramaturg with the magical power to pull literary characters out of dramatic fiction and into the real world. Her powers come in handy when the "real" Prospero, on whom Shakespeare's play is based, decided to unleash his magical fury on Manhattan.  Large cast, strong female lead. If you are unfamiliar with Aguirre-Sacasa, he's is a former head writer for Spiderman Comics, Archie Comics and the TV series GLEE. He's also the creator and show-runner for Riverdale on the CW and wrote the book for Broadways' Spiderman, Turn off the Dark. His aesthetic speaks to all of these influences, and other than Qui Ngyun and The Vampire Cowboys, I think he's one of the best writers out there right now for teen audiences. Also check out his horror plays The Weird, The Miracle Plays and Dark Matters. 

Hope this helps!

------------------------------
John Monteverde
Drama Teacher
Pittsfield High School
Pittsfield, MA

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

If you want to get real strange (and your students can handle really abstract dialogue with confusing dialects), try Dennis Kelly's DNA. It's the crown jewel of the National Theatre Connections series. The National Youth Theatre in the UK just brought it back last year. It's about a group of teenagers who accidentally murder a boy out in the woods. And it's WEIRD.

Also, Connections had an extremely popular show this season called The Monstrum. About a village that performs lobotomies on their children to stop them from getting "unruly." It was definitely chilling.

------------------------------
Victoria Chatfield
Executive Director
National Theatre for Student Artists
www.nationalstudenttheatre.org
vchatfield@nationalstudenttheatre.org
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

We did "A Spare Me" by A. Rey Pamatmat last spring. The roles are very gender non-conforming, and it deals with a LOT of issues surrounding identity. My kids absolutely adores it.

------------------------------
Autumn Gonzales
Certified Teacher
Estacada School District
Portland OR
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

Naomi Iizuka's Anonymous is wonderful. A story of modern immigration based on The Odyssey. Addresses issues of identity, home, immigration, sweatshops, the many reasons people leave their home countries to America and the dangers and friendships that can happen from this journey.  Flex cast.

------------------------------
Kim Guzowski
New York NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

Sam Holcroft's The Wardrobe is quite interesting, a show I'd really enjoy staging. It is built around British history, so you'd really need to do the accents. The set is a large wardrobe with an elaborate front and a sort of framework indicating all of the other edges (so open on sides, back, and top). Each scene propels forward in the life of this wardrobe that is hundreds of years old, with just 2-3 characters inside the wardrobe. Some very chilling scenes in the mix and I love the idea of challenging students to work in this very compressed space. 

Another show that I am waiting for the right year to do is Jessica Dickey's The Amish Project. The script for the ensemble edition is beautiful and so powerful. I love the idea of doing this as an alternative to other school shooting plays. The Amish characters would be an interesting learning process to play well and create a sort of cultural distance that allow the audience to see the story and themes in a different way. Most important, I love the theme of forgiveness and its limits – if there should be any. After the real incident, Amish families – some, parents of the girls who were killed – reached out to the widow of the shooter. A very complex and devastating show.

------------------------------
Steven Slaughter
English/Theatre
Rosslyn Academy
Nairobi, Kenya

"Be joyful, though you have considered all the facts." - W Berry
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

​Good morning,

Great suggestions here. Have you looked at The Gut Girls? I saw in at the American College Theatre Festival and we did a staged reading. Very interesting and incisive drama. It is licensed through Sam French.

"Set in the "gutting" sheds at cattle market in late Victorian England, this incisive drama shows working women at the bottom of the heap. When socially conscious "do-gooders' seek to make their unseemly work illegal, the "gut girls" are forced to other seek options."

------------------------------
Crit Fisher
Lighting/Sound Designer
New Albany High School
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

I 2nd DOG SEES GOD.  I have not had success convincing my admin, though they were supportive and saw the potential in the play for awareness. But felt that many of our stakeholders (school board, parents, etc...) would not "hear" the value  due to the language and teenage situations.  I do read it in my senior class every year in conjunction with ...GODOT and our exploration of existentialism.
sk

------------------------------
Scott Keys
Sarasota FL
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------

I second Radium Girls.  I really like Columbinus about the Columbine shootings.  It qualifies as <g class="gr_ gr_159 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="159" data-gr-id="159">easy</g> tech, and it does not in any way glorify school shootings.

------------------------------
Janette Clark
Drama Teacher
Minneapolis KS
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-07-2017 07:32
From: John Perry
Subject: Need a Play That Is "Cutting Edge"

I'm looking for a play for the Spring. I was planning on Peter and the Starcatcher but I'm just not up to it since this is my last year. In the past we have done Laramie Project, She Kills Monsters, The Frogs, The Birds, Almost, Maine, All In The Timing, Frankenstein. We can do almost anything and I'd like to do a small cast show with lots of good female roles and a play that is a bit "progressive" and 'cutting edge". Easy tech would help, too. Any suggestions?

------------------------------
John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
------------------------------