Open Forum

we are in the process of a selecting our spring show and are planning to produce it in an outdoor pavilion. My students are really excited about this aspect and we'd love recommendations for shows that would work well in that sort of setting. Seeking a play (not a musical), ideally dramatic but were considering comedy as well. Thanks for suggestions!

------------------------------
Christina Kemmerer
Upper School Theatre Director
Brooklandville MD
------------------------------

Shakespeare, especially one of the pastoral comedies (Midsummer and As You Like It) are amazing outside.  The Tempest or tragedy like Macbeth would work equally well.   Any Shakespeare really!!
Also, take a look at some Greek plays like Antigone (I personally love Heaney's Burial at Thebes adaptation) or a comedy like Aristophanes' The Birds. Working outside is so much fun!!

------------------------------
Elana Kepner
Theatre Instructor
The Oakwood School
Greenville NC
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 10-28-2018 09:51
From: Christina Kemmerer
Subject: Play for an outdoor space

we are in the process of a selecting our spring show and are planning to produce it in an outdoor pavilion. My students are really excited about this aspect and we'd love recommendations for shows that would work well in that sort of setting. Seeking a play (not a musical), ideally dramatic but were considering comedy as well. Thanks for suggestions!

------------------------------
Christina Kemmerer
Upper School Theatre Director
Brooklandville MD
------------------------------

Picnic can totally work outside, too, because everything is set in the yard between the two houses. You might be able to pull off All My Sons with the same conceit.

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

Original Message:
Sent: 10-28-2018 10:46
From: Elana Kepner
Subject: Play for an outdoor space

Shakespeare, especially one of the pastoral comedies (Midsummer and As You Like It) are amazing outside.  The Tempest or tragedy like Macbeth would work equally well.   Any Shakespeare really!!
Also, take a look at some Greek plays like Antigone (I personally love Heaney's Burial at Thebes adaptation) or a comedy like Aristophanes' The Birds. Working outside is so much fun!!

------------------------------
Elana Kepner
Theatre Instructor
The Oakwood School
Greenville NC

Original Message:
Sent: 10-28-2018 09:51
From: Christina Kemmerer
Subject: Play for an outdoor space

we are in the process of a selecting our spring show and are planning to produce it in an outdoor pavilion. My students are really excited about this aspect and we'd love recommendations for shows that would work well in that sort of setting. Seeking a play (not a musical), ideally dramatic but were considering comedy as well. Thanks for suggestions!

------------------------------
Christina Kemmerer
Upper School Theatre Director
Brooklandville MD
------------------------------

Dark of the Moon | Samuel French

Samuelfrench		remove preview
Dark of the Moon | Samuel French This perennial favorite is based on the haunting folk ballad of "Barbara Allen." Employing a large cast and imaginative settings in the Smoky Mountains, it recounts the story of John, a strange "witch boy" who upon first beholding the beautiful Barbara Allen immediately falls in love. View this on Samuelfrench >

------------------------------
Dianne Rowe
Theatre Arts Teacher
Junior Thespian Troupe 88177
Berry Middle School
bit.ly/BerryDrama
Birmingham, AL
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 10-29-2018 07:32
From: Cassy Maxton-Whitacre
Subject: Play for an outdoor space

Picnic can totally work outside, too, because everything is set in the yard between the two houses. You might be able to pull off All My Sons with the same conceit.

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

Original Message:
Sent: 10-28-2018 10:46
From: Elana Kepner
Subject: Play for an outdoor space

Shakespeare, especially one of the pastoral comedies (Midsummer and As You Like It) are amazing outside.  The Tempest or tragedy like Macbeth would work equally well.   Any Shakespeare really!!
Also, take a look at some Greek plays like Antigone (I personally love Heaney's Burial at Thebes adaptation) or a comedy like Aristophanes' The Birds. Working outside is so much fun!!

------------------------------
Elana Kepner
Theatre Instructor
The Oakwood School
Greenville NC

Original Message:
Sent: 10-28-2018 09:51
From: Christina Kemmerer
Subject: Play for an outdoor space

we are in the process of a selecting our spring show and are planning to produce it in an outdoor pavilion. My students are really excited about this aspect and we'd love recommendations for shows that would work well in that sort of setting. Seeking a play (not a musical), ideally dramatic but were considering comedy as well. Thanks for suggestions!

------------------------------
Christina Kemmerer
Upper School Theatre Director
Brooklandville MD
------------------------------

What about "Our Town"? I don't know the configuration of your playing space but it might be interesting to do something that is so traditionally tied to "an empty theatre" in an outdoor setting.  I've had success with outdoor productions of The Tempest and Midsummer, as well as some Commedia-based plays like The Servant of Two Masters and Scapin. 

------------------------------
Michael Bergman
Teacher/Director
The Potomac School
McLean, VA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 10-28-2018 09:51
From: Christina Kemmerer
Subject: Play for an outdoor space

we are in the process of a selecting our spring show and are planning to produce it in an outdoor pavilion. My students are really excited about this aspect and we'd love recommendations for shows that would work well in that sort of setting. Seeking a play (not a musical), ideally dramatic but were considering comedy as well. Thanks for suggestions!

------------------------------
Christina Kemmerer
Upper School Theatre Director
Brooklandville MD
------------------------------

I've seen The Visit (Durrenmatt) and Blood Wedding (Lorca) done outside very effectively, both challenging dramas (with the potential for ensembles).

------------------------------
Kristin Hall
Drama Director
Lincoln Public Schools
Arlington MA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 10-29-2018 08:49
From: Michael Bergman
Subject: Play for an outdoor space

What about "Our Town"? I don't know the configuration of your playing space but it might be interesting to do something that is so traditionally tied to "an empty theatre" in an outdoor setting.  I've had success with outdoor productions of The Tempest and Midsummer, as well as some Commedia-based plays like The Servant of Two Masters and Scapin. 

------------------------------
Michael Bergman
Teacher/Director
The Potomac School
McLean, VA

Original Message:
Sent: 10-28-2018 09:51
From: Christina Kemmerer
Subject: Play for an outdoor space

we are in the process of a selecting our spring show and are planning to produce it in an outdoor pavilion. My students are really excited about this aspect and we'd love recommendations for shows that would work well in that sort of setting. Seeking a play (not a musical), ideally dramatic but were considering comedy as well. Thanks for suggestions!

------------------------------
Christina Kemmerer
Upper School Theatre Director
Brooklandville MD
------------------------------

We had a great time doing Shakespeare's, Twelfth Night, last spring.

------------------------------
Melissa Carroll-Jackson
Director of Theatre
Phoenix AZ
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 10-28-2018 09:51
From: Christina Kemmerer
Subject: Play for an outdoor space

we are in the process of a selecting our spring show and are planning to produce it in an outdoor pavilion. My students are really excited about this aspect and we'd love recommendations for shows that would work well in that sort of setting. Seeking a play (not a musical), ideally dramatic but were considering comedy as well. Thanks for suggestions!

------------------------------
Christina Kemmerer
Upper School Theatre Director
Brooklandville MD
------------------------------

I have a version of Euripides' Children of Hercules adapted by Phil Wilmott. I first saw it at The Scoop on the banks of the Thames next to the Mayor's Building on the South Bank. Great adaptation that leaves the fate of the prisoners in the hands of the audience. Very contemporary while still retaining the Greek theatre aspects.

------------------------------
John Perry
Retired Theatre Teacher
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 10-30-2018 12:19
From: Melissa Carroll-Jackson
Subject: Play for an outdoor space

We had a great time doing Shakespeare's, Twelfth Night, last spring.

------------------------------
Melissa Carroll-Jackson
Director of Theatre
Phoenix AZ

Original Message:
Sent: 10-28-2018 09:51
From: Christina Kemmerer
Subject: Play for an outdoor space

we are in the process of a selecting our spring show and are planning to produce it in an outdoor pavilion. My students are really excited about this aspect and we'd love recommendations for shows that would work well in that sort of setting. Seeking a play (not a musical), ideally dramatic but were considering comedy as well. Thanks for suggestions!

------------------------------
Christina Kemmerer
Upper School Theatre Director
Brooklandville MD
------------------------------

Medea by Euripides or Antigone by Sophocles.  Greek theatre is perfect for outdoor venues.  (And your English teachers will love you forever.


------------------------------
C. J. Breland
Asheville High School
Asheville NC
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 10-30-2018 13:08
From: John Perry
Subject: Play for an outdoor space

I have a version of Euripides' Children of Hercules adapted by Phil Wilmott. I first saw it at The Scoop on the banks of the Thames next to the Mayor's Building on the South Bank. Great adaptation that leaves the fate of the prisoners in the hands of the audience. Very contemporary while still retaining the Greek theatre aspects.

------------------------------
John Perry
Retired Theatre Teacher

Original Message:
Sent: 10-30-2018 12:19
From: Melissa Carroll-Jackson
Subject: Play for an outdoor space

We had a great time doing Shakespeare's, Twelfth Night, last spring.

------------------------------
Melissa Carroll-Jackson
Director of Theatre
Phoenix AZ

Original Message:
Sent: 10-28-2018 09:51
From: Christina Kemmerer
Subject: Play for an outdoor space

we are in the process of a selecting our spring show and are planning to produce it in an outdoor pavilion. My students are really excited about this aspect and we'd love recommendations for shows that would work well in that sort of setting. Seeking a play (not a musical), ideally dramatic but were considering comedy as well. Thanks for suggestions!

------------------------------
Christina Kemmerer
Upper School Theatre Director
Brooklandville MD
------------------------------