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  • 1.  Advice for Future Educators

    Posted 11-21-2017 16:45
    Hello,

    I am a future theatre educator, and I was wondering which play licensing companies are best to explore when looking for new plays to produce. Additionally, I would appreciate any advice for new theatre educators. Thank you.

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    Abigail Fer
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  • 2.  RE: Advice for Future Educators

    Posted 11-22-2017 03:07
    Welcome to Team Theatre Ed, Abigail! When I was first starting out, I leaned heavily on Dramatists and Samuel French. There are probably better options for specifically student-friendly scripts (like Playscripts who've carved out a niche as THE publisher of one-act plays by high school staples like Dan Zolidis and Jonathan Rand).

    Nowadays, I rely on the following methods for gathering new material:

    - Competitions. We hold an open call for BFA/MFA playwrights to submit their in-development scripts. We're usually able to find at least one show that we're interested in producing from the submissions. Through fundraising, we're able to provide the playwright with a stipend, as well as travel and accommodations for at least two weeks, so that she/he can work alongside our students in the rehearsal studio. This gives my students an opportunity to work on brand-new material, while the playwright gets to see her/his work up on its feet. It also helps us form lasting connections with emerging playwrights, which leads me to . . .

    - Networking. I get a lot of my new work through the network of playwrights that I've built up over the years. For instance, if I looked at my season schedule and decided that I really needed a musical for next year, I'd go to all of my friends who've written musicals and ask: "Hey, do you have something that you're working on that you want to see up on its feet?" Or: "Do you have anything that was just released that might work with high school students?" Or: "Are you in the market for a commission right now?" Usually that combo-platter opens up some possibilities for us.

    - Looking abroad. If you're looking for a show that no one's performing, look overseas. I always read the National Theatre Connections scripts. I always check out whatever Oberon Books is releasing. (Definitely start ordering from Oberon Books if you want to stay on the cutting-edge of what's out there.) Youth Theatre Ireland has the Playshare program, which lists all of the youth theatre plays that have been performed over the past few years. (You have to do a little bit of research regarding who to contact to get the full script/rights; however, YTI is an extremely helpful and supportive organization that loves to see these shows getting a second-life.)

    Hopefully some of those are helpful. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

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


  • 3.  RE: Advice for Future Educators

    Posted 11-22-2017 17:31
    Thank you so much for your advice! I will absolutely involve it in my future classroom. I find that students working with the playwright to be a very helpful experience. I had the opportunity to perform a piece with the playwright heavily involved in the rehearsal process when  I was in high school. I was wondering how you believe original works/working alongside a playwright helps young artists. What are the challenges and benefits?

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    Abigail Fer
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Advice for Future Educators

    Posted 11-29-2017 09:51
    I think that students benefit most from playing an active role in the creative process. They can have a huge influence over how the play is developed -- both through their performances in rehearsal and the feedback that they provide to the playwright. It helps raise the stakes in the rehearsal room, in addition to empowering students and emphasizing that they have a creative "voice" that matters.

    There are definitely challenges though. Students frequently have to deal with last-minute re-writes (sometimes substantial ones that can definitely throw untrained actors for a loop). They also might struggle with disappointment when favorite scenes, musical numbers, or even characters are cut. On a previous production, we spent weeks choreographing, rehearsing, and designing a high-concept "rabbit ballet" (a musical number in which a homicidal swamp bunny attacks two men onboard a raft through classical ballet), only to have it cut the day before opening. However, while they might be disappointed, this is a good opportunity to explain to them that "them's the breaks" in theatre. Cuts usually don't have anything to do with the performers, and instead are about how the play's running too long, or the scene no longer works with the new material that the playwright added or takes the audience out of "the action" or doesn't move the plot forwards in a meaningful way. It's best to warn them about this possibility at the beginning of the rehearsal process though so that it doesn't sting too much when it (inevitably) happens.

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


  • 5.  RE: Advice for Future Educators

    Posted 11-29-2017 12:25
    Above anything else, I think it helps the students to understand and value the playwright's contribution. I think too many actors look at a script the way a carpenter looks at wood, as a raw material to do whatever you want with. Involving the writer with the students gets them hip to the fact that the script deserves respect and integrity, that it took just as much time and effort to make (if not more so) as the production did. Might cut down on students wanting to change, cut, or distort a script "because it will make the play better."

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    Josh Kauffman
    Teacher
    Winfield AL
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Advice for Future Educators

    Posted 11-29-2017 16:20
    For full-length plays, I have always favored Dramatic Publishing. For one-acts, I usually use Play Scripts. Both publishers handle all types of plays, but that's what I usually use them for. Like others, I also will seek out plays that I've seen before, or heard of on this board.

    As far as advice goes, I will give you this: even if you are a one-person show at your school (as most of us are, I think), you cannot do it all alone. You will get burned out and end up hating yourself. We get by with a little help from our friends. Get parents and volunteers involved as much as possible. Give tasks big and small to students, you'd be surprised by what they can accomplish sometimes. Will they fail sometimes? Absolutely--we all do. Those failures always turn into valuable learning experiences, though. You have to be willing to give up some control.

    Break a leg!

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    Christopher Hamilton
    Drama Teacher
    Kennewick WA
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Advice for Future Educators

    Posted 11-30-2017 16:03
    There's nothing wrong with traditional scripts either.  Early on I wanted to avoid the big name scripts, and then I realized the students need exposure to those as much as newer material.  Post high school they will be studying with people familiar with Romeo and Juliet, The Crucible, Arsenic, and so forth.  Scripts that are old to us are new to them.

    Check out youthplays.com for scripts as well.  A wide variety of quality material, and they're very friendly to work with.

    I wanted to echo the last post about not doing it all alone.  Unless you have a principal demanding perfection, I think it's good to turn it over to the students as much as possible.  Let them do the work, even if it's not perfect, and they'll learn from it.  I've also made it clear to my students and boosters that I'm fine working after hours in the theater, but I won't do it alone.

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    Richard Fairchild
    Phoenix AZ
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Advice for Future Educators

    Posted 12-01-2017 19:58

    Echoing back the posts about going it alone. More and more schools are building performing arts centers (PACs) on their campus these days, but many Drama teachers are still having to go it alone and are wearing many hats. If you're not lucky enough to be hired at a high school theatre that has acting classes, CTE tech theatre classes, a Theatre Manager and a staff of theatre technicians, then be prepared to not only wear all those hats, but be prepared to advocate that your theatre be staffed properly moving forward. Whether or not your theatre has outside events that use the facility, it's likely that many school events will use the theatre (concerts, meetings, talent shows and so on), and if that's the case it's more than likely that managing the space will fall on your shoulders (in deeds, if not in title).

    The most important program to have in place is… SAFETY. This is to protect your students, but also to cover your own anatomy too. Without a safety program (trainings, documentation, signage, etc) nothing should happen in the theatre. 

    All the best – it's so great you are thinking about all of this ahead of time!

    And always remember – no llamas on stage!



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    Beth Rand, EBMS
    High School Theatre Operations Coach

    Next HS Theatre Management Training for Drama Teachers online course: Winter Session starts Jan. 15 (limited to 8 students).

    Author of "High School Theatre Operations" and "The High School Theatre Rep Plot" and several more books on Amazon and also at http://www.presett.org/helpful-books-for-you.html.

    www.PRESETT.org
    Westminster, CO
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    Original Message


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