Wiley and the Hairy Man is very minimalist, and though it is a 'children's story', the opportunity to stretch your performers is awesome (performers create the set with their bodies, the soundscapes of a swampy locale, etc). My intro students had a great time with it and grew immensely.
'Woman at a Threshold Beckoning' is set in New York, has a Muslim Egyptian woman in it, and the New York setting answers your diversity stuff; we did it with a cast of 25 and used 25 chairs only, which was nice.
Not sure what your gender makeup is, but the Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity plays around with racial casting within the world of entertainment wrestling, though again, it's male heavy and might not have a total of 10 parts...and might be considered difficult material...could be done with minimal set...
Antigone could be done with very little set, too, and you don't necessarily have to have a huge chorus: you could just have one or two, and there's your cast of 10. I would abridge the script a little, if you can get permission to do so (depending on whose translation you're using: personally I love Robert Fagles epic style)
To be honest, any play you choose to do can be done with a minimal set. 90% of our productions have been done with barely anything, just because we didn't have all that much cash to throw around and the temptation to create something that's spectacular and awe-inspiring and magical and all that, whilst awesome if you have the money to do it, can be a distraction to a new theatre program (or an established one, for that matter). Concentrate on the performances and skills of the performers first, and worry about elaborate fancy awesome sets later. 'Waiting for Godot' and all Shakespeare have very little in terms of what's on stage as a set, but when performers are well-trained/rehearsed, it doesn't matter how shiny or big the set is.
Just an opinion. I'd've loved a moving elevator on my stage, just saying.
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Phillip Goodchild
Theatre Arts Instructor
Etobicoke ON
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-30-2017 20:53
From: Taylour Matz
Subject: Minimalist Plays
Hi everyone!
I am going in to my second year of teaching in a high school where their theatre department was virtually non-existent for the past four years. In a nutshell, there is very little theatre culture that students have, and even less structure. Next school year, I really want to focus on building basic skills without all the glitz and glam of elaborate sets and costumes (we tried that last year and it was a disaster). Can anyone suggest to me some strong, minimalist plays with a relatively small cast? I'm thinking no more than 10 characters. On a side note, my students come from diverse backgrounds (Latino, Black, Filipino, Jewish, etc.) and so any plays that highlight the stories of minority groups would also be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the help!
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Taylour Matz
English 1-2 and Theatre Teacher