Open Forum

The 11 students in my Acting Class will be participating in my school's Spring Arts Festival later this year and have expressed a desire to do a play rather than individual scenes and monologues.  So, we are looking for a one-act or short play (30-ish minutes) that has at 3 male roles and 8 female roles or a combination of roles that can be male or female.  I've not done a lot of work with one acts, so I'm not familiar with a lot of titles, and I'm hoping others on this forum  can point me in the right direction. I've done some searching on the usual publisher websites, but have not had much luck.  Genre or theme is not important.  Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

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Susan Speidel
Chairman of the Performing Arts Department
Morristown-Beard School
NJ
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I'm going to shout-out Kellie Smith's The Monstrum again. I saw this show done by three different high schools/youth theatres this past year, and I was still interested in the narrative the third time around. (There was also such a difference in how each of the schools approached the material. It really opens up opportunities for students and teachers to be creative.) It probably runs about 45 minutes in length and has extremely flexible casting. Highly recommended.

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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:
Sent: 11-21-2017 20:46
From: Susan Speidel
Subject: Looking for One Act or Short Play

The 11 students in my Acting Class will be participating in my school's Spring Arts Festival later this year and have expressed a desire to do a play rather than individual scenes and monologues.  So, we are looking for a one-act or short play (30-ish minutes) that has at 3 male roles and 8 female roles or a combination of roles that can be male or female.  I've not done a lot of work with one acts, so I'm not familiar with a lot of titles, and I'm hoping others on this forum  can point me in the right direction. I've done some searching on the usual publisher websites, but have not had much luck.  Genre or theme is not important.  Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

------------------------------
Susan Speidel
Chairman of the Performing Arts Department
Morristown-Beard School
NJ
------------------------------

Hi Susie!

We're producing The Rules of Comedy by Peter Bledel, published by Playscripts. It has a flexible cast of 12 actors and up. It could easily be done by a group smaller than 12. Gender casting is flexible, too.

It's about a 40 min piece with LOTS of props for physical and visual gags. It is unlike anything the group has done before (this is my first year at the school) and we're having fun!

Break a leg with whatever you choose!

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Jim DeVivo, Ph.D.
Theatre Teacher/Director
Lacey Township High School
Lanoka Harbor NJ
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-21-2017 20:46
From: Susan Speidel
Subject: Looking for One Act or Short Play

The 11 students in my Acting Class will be participating in my school's Spring Arts Festival later this year and have expressed a desire to do a play rather than individual scenes and monologues.  So, we are looking for a one-act or short play (30-ish minutes) that has at 3 male roles and 8 female roles or a combination of roles that can be male or female.  I've not done a lot of work with one acts, so I'm not familiar with a lot of titles, and I'm hoping others on this forum  can point me in the right direction. I've done some searching on the usual publisher websites, but have not had much luck.  Genre or theme is not important.  Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

------------------------------
Susan Speidel
Chairman of the Performing Arts Department
Morristown-Beard School
NJ
------------------------------

Hi,
If you google UIL one act play short plays you should get a whole list that shows the m/f breakdown.

Sent from my iPad


Original Message------

The 11 students in my Acting Class will be participating in my school's Spring Arts Festival later this year and have expressed a desire to do a play rather than individual scenes and monologues.  So, we are looking for a one-act or short play (30-ish minutes) that has at 3 male roles and 8 female roles or a combination of roles that can be male or female.  I've not done a lot of work with one acts, so I'm not familiar with a lot of titles, and I'm hoping others on this forum  can point me in the right direction. I've done some searching on the usual publisher websites, but have not had much luck.  Genre or theme is not important.  Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

------------------------------
Susan Speidel
Chairman of the Performing Arts Department
Morristown-Beard School
NJ
------------------------------

The Least Offensive Play in the Whole Darn World is a fun piece. 

I'd also spend some time on the Playscripts website. Create an account (if you don't already have one) and put in your criteria. Then, after you peruse the options, if there are any that interest you, you can read a large chunk of the play to see if it's something you want.

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Shira Schwartz
Chandler Unified School District
Chandler AZ
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-21-2017 20:46
From: Susan Speidel
Subject: Looking for One Act or Short Play

The 11 students in my Acting Class will be participating in my school's Spring Arts Festival later this year and have expressed a desire to do a play rather than individual scenes and monologues.  So, we are looking for a one-act or short play (30-ish minutes) that has at 3 male roles and 8 female roles or a combination of roles that can be male or female.  I've not done a lot of work with one acts, so I'm not familiar with a lot of titles, and I'm hoping others on this forum  can point me in the right direction. I've done some searching on the usual publisher websites, but have not had much luck.  Genre or theme is not important.  Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

------------------------------
Susan Speidel
Chairman of the Performing Arts Department
Morristown-Beard School
NJ
------------------------------

I've been impressed with a little play called Selfie over the years.  It's available through playscripts.  There are a lot out there, but I think that one is a good start-- has a pretty nice spread of acting and tech challenges.

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Michael Johnson
Trinity NC
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-21-2017 20:46
From: Susan Speidel
Subject: Looking for One Act or Short Play

The 11 students in my Acting Class will be participating in my school's Spring Arts Festival later this year and have expressed a desire to do a play rather than individual scenes and monologues.  So, we are looking for a one-act or short play (30-ish minutes) that has at 3 male roles and 8 female roles or a combination of roles that can be male or female.  I've not done a lot of work with one acts, so I'm not familiar with a lot of titles, and I'm hoping others on this forum  can point me in the right direction. I've done some searching on the usual publisher websites, but have not had much luck.  Genre or theme is not important.  Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

------------------------------
Susan Speidel
Chairman of the Performing Arts Department
Morristown-Beard School
NJ
------------------------------

My colleague and I created story theatre versions of Oedipus, Antigone, and The Odyssey. Each play can be performed on its own or as a collection. It's called THE ODYSSEY, OEDIPUS, AND OTHERS or GREEK STORY THEATRE. It might work for your needs--and at the same time, give your students a strong understanding of the basic plots of these ancient Greek classics:
https://www.playscripts.com/play/1612

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Rosalind Flynn
Head of the M.A. in Theatre Education
The Catholic University of America
Washington, DC
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-21-2017 20:46
From: Susan Speidel
Subject: Looking for One Act or Short Play

The 11 students in my Acting Class will be participating in my school's Spring Arts Festival later this year and have expressed a desire to do a play rather than individual scenes and monologues.  So, we are looking for a one-act or short play (30-ish minutes) that has at 3 male roles and 8 female roles or a combination of roles that can be male or female.  I've not done a lot of work with one acts, so I'm not familiar with a lot of titles, and I'm hoping others on this forum  can point me in the right direction. I've done some searching on the usual publisher websites, but have not had much luck.  Genre or theme is not important.  Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

------------------------------
Susan Speidel
Chairman of the Performing Arts Department
Morristown-Beard School
NJ
------------------------------

Original Message------

The 11 students in my Acting Class will be participating in my school's Spring Arts Festival later this year and have expressed a desire to do a play rather than individual scenes and monologues.  So, we are looking for a one-act or short play (30-ish minutes) that has at 3 male roles and 8 female roles or a combination of roles that can be male or female.  I've not done a lot of work with one acts, so I'm not familiar with a lot of titles, and I'm hoping others on this forum  can point me in the right direction. I've done some searching on the usual publisher websites, but have not had much luck.  Genre or theme is not important.  Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

------------------------------
Susan Speidel
Chairman of the Performing Arts Department
Morristown-Beard School
NJ
------------------------------

Speaking to everyone else's recommendations, Playscripts, YouthPlays, Theatrefolk, and a few other venues specialize in one-acts directed towards high school students.  Subject matter varies, but by-and-large, they are often teenage protagonists with high-school age conflicts.  That said, there are plenty of interesting pieces that cover a range of topics and genres.  Like most play vendors, you can browse by cast size, topic, etc.

And, if you'll forgive the shameless plug, Theatrefolk has a play that I wrote, so you'd be welcome to take a look at it -- it happens to have about half the casting requirements you mentioned, which is part  of why I bring it up.

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Russell Paulette
Rappahannock County Public Schools
Washington VA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-21-2017 20:46
From: Susan Speidel
Subject: Looking for One Act or Short Play

The 11 students in my Acting Class will be participating in my school's Spring Arts Festival later this year and have expressed a desire to do a play rather than individual scenes and monologues.  So, we are looking for a one-act or short play (30-ish minutes) that has at 3 male roles and 8 female roles or a combination of roles that can be male or female.  I've not done a lot of work with one acts, so I'm not familiar with a lot of titles, and I'm hoping others on this forum  can point me in the right direction. I've done some searching on the usual publisher websites, but have not had much luck.  Genre or theme is not important.  Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

------------------------------
Susan Speidel
Chairman of the Performing Arts Department
Morristown-Beard School
NJ
------------------------------