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  • 1.  Ten-minute plays with gay or transgender characters?

    Posted 04-05-2016 10:43

    I teach an Introduction to Theatre class in which the students must perform in a ten-minute play for their classmates.  Because many of the students are beginners, they seem to struggle with playing a character who is very different from themselves.  I would like to have some options that include gay, lesbian, and transgender characters.  Can anyone make a suggestion?

    Thanks!

    Dara

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    Dara Slater
    English/Theatre Teacher
    Conestoga Valley School District
    Lancaster PA
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  • 2.  RE: Ten-minute plays with gay or transgender characters?

    Posted 04-05-2016 17:11

    First let me preface by saying that I haven't read this script. I did have a kid do a monologue from a Jason D. Martin script called Group Therapy and the Undead. The character was a gay vampire. Another option (you'd have to choose a section because it's a full length and not 100% school appropriate script) is called I Am My Own Wife

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    Shira Schwartz
    Chandler Unified School District
    Chandler AZ

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Ten-minute plays with gay or transgender characters?

    Posted 04-06-2016 13:07

    Apologies for tooting my own horn here, but my play Knockers is a ten-minute, four-character comedy with two gay male characters.  As for the other two characters, they're older women, so they'd still force your students to play something very different from what they are.  It's available from Playscripts, Inc. in their anthology Great Short Comedies, Volume 4 - and since it's a Playscripts title, that means you can read most of it for free at their website.

    Two of my other one-acts (At the Punch Bowl and Ray and Milo) have gay characters, but they're more substantial one-acts running about 25 minutes apiece, so they're probably too long for your needs.

    If memory serves, Terrence McNally's André's Mother runs about ten or fifteen minutes, and would probably challenge your students, even though only one of its four characters is gay.  It's published by Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

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    Jeff Grove
    Theatre Teacher, Aesthetics Department Chair
    Stanton College Preparatory School
    Jacksonville FL

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Ten-minute plays with gay or transgender characters?

    Posted 04-06-2016 13:33

    No Such Thing by Douglas Hill 

    No Such Thing - a 10-minute play by Douglas Hill

    10-minute-plays remove preview
    No Such Thing - a 10-minute play by Douglas Hill
    STEVEN: Yeah? ALAN: I thought it was probably one of the best things you've ever written. I'm so proud of you. Thank you for sending it to me. STEVEN: [letting his grin overtake him] That's-That's great. I'm glad you liked it. ALAN: Confidentially: you may have just saved my job for me.
    View this on 10-minute-plays >

    Normally, i'm wary of these kind of scripts that you find online...but I am fond of this one, and it definitely packs a bit of a punch. (literally). 

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    Sara Phillips
    Educational Outreach Coordinator
    Reno Little Theater
    sara@renolittletheater.org

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Ten-minute plays with gay or transgender characters?

    Posted 04-06-2016 18:34

    The scene "They Fell" from Almost, Maine is lovely, and probably close to 10 minutes. It's two guys who after spending the beginning of the scene comiserating about their most recent awful dates, realize that they are in love which each other. Worth a look.

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    Rebecca Walker
    Metea Valley High School
    Aurora, IL

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Ten-minute plays with gay or transgender characters?

    Posted 04-06-2016 21:34

    I would suggest you look at F2M by Patricia Wettig.

    It is not a ten minute play, but worth a look. Owned by Samuel French.

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    Krista Carson Elhai
    Theatre Director
    Claremont HS
    An International Baccalaureate World School
    Claremont CA

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Ten-minute plays with gay or transgender characters?

    Posted 04-07-2016 09:20

    Hi there,

    Not a play, but it's a great resource to explore being a young gay teenager at school.

    http://hinterlandsthemusical.com/about/

    Hope it's useful - and best of luck! 

    Adrienne :o) 

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    Adrienne Ferguson
    Creative Director
    TreePress
    London. United Kingdom
    adrienne@treepress.org

    www.treepress.org
    Making theatre easily accessible for everyone, everywhere.

    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Ten-minute plays with gay or transgender characters?

    Posted 04-13-2016 17:13

    Hello, Dara!  I completely agree that LGBT students benefit from performing roles they can relate to.  Not only does it help them to grow as actors, but it also validates their own unique voices and experiences.

    My play, subText, was written for high school students.  It is a romantic comedy about the perils of dating in the digital age.  It is written in a vignette style, with multiple 10-minute plays (not unlike Almost, Maine).

    Several of the characters are LGBT (including the lead).  However, it's not an "issue" play.  It might be good for students who want to play gay or lesbian characters without always doing heavy, dramatic pieces.  Additionally, it was written specifically for high school actors.

    You can order subText (or read a free sample) HERE. It was just published by Playscripts last month, so it's brand new!

    If you have any questions about the play, feel free to send me a message!

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    Tyler Dwiggins

    Original Message


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