List of Contributions

RE: Plays with singing that aren't musicals

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 02-20-2024 08:23
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One of my favorites is BECOMING MEMORIES by Arthur Gurion (?) with a relatively small cast taking several different families of diverse backgrounds through 3 generations. It is a beautiful play with music. Sent from my iPhone

RE: Trying to find the origin of the Wrong Diagram for Antigone (Have you been taught this?)

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 02-11-2024 22:42
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I was taught this diagram in high school and again in freshman English in college to use when analyzing short stories. I have never heard of it being applied to Antigone or any other play. ------------------------------ Marilynn Zeljeznjak Retired Past CA State Thespian Director Blacksburg VA ---- ...

RE: Memorization

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 02-07-2024 17:08
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When I had a bunch of very talented young men who preferred to improv their way through a script. I put my foot down. I canceled the spring productions and did an evening of scenes instead; they couldn't audition for a spot unless everyone in their group had ALL the lines memorized. When some preferred ...

RE: Quirky Fun Male Lead?

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 10-19-2023 13:19
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You might also look into Jim Dale's Scapino, which could probably be cut to a one act. (FYI: As far as I know, Neil Simon does NOT allow cuttings to be performed even for competitions) I love A Company of Wayward Saints by George Herman. My favorite vignette is "Odysseus Return from the War." (Unfortunately, ...

RE: The Laramie Project

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 09-29-2023 16:11
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Yes, they do! As I recall (it's been awhile) we did two different length cuttings that we used in the early 2000's. I sent them a list of the pages I wanted to use, and they sent me permission. (There is a slight chance that I still have it in my files, if you need it. Break a leg! Marilynn S. Zeljeznjak ...

RE: Finding that unicorn...

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 09-21-2023 20:05
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I have cuttings of I never Saw Another Butterfly, A Piece of my Heart, and Laramie Project (with permission) for competition. They all have flexible casts. Check out the plays by Jerome McDonough at Dramatists Play Service. I think we did several of his scripts, but Asylum stands out the most in my memory. ...

RE: Advice for starting a performing arts program at a small private school

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 05-05-2023 17:20
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Good for you for being willing to establish a program at your school! Start small by creating a drama club with students who are interested. Once you have that going, plan one performance. In southern CA, many departments had "Coffee Shops" to give students a chance to showcase their talent. Students ...

RE: Scenes for High School Students

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 02-01-2023 16:17
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These are much older plays but with good scenes for 2 women: Anastasia by Marcelle Maurette & Gut Bolton (the "recognition scene" was sold separately) Our Town by Thorton Wilder - Act 1 The Women by Clare Booth Luce Street Car Named Desire by Tennessee Williams Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams ...

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom from an EdTA Emeritus Member

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 12-13-2022 15:51
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The end of the year...a time for us to pause and reflect, a time to prepare for the coming year. Hopefully a pause in the hurried lives we live. For some of you, the semester has ended. For others, you will wrap everything up in January. No matter where you are in the school year I urge you to take ...

RE: Wednesday's Wisdom from Sage EdTA Emeritus Members

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 12-07-2022 09:21
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Great advice regarding becoming involved with the community! I also suggest, where appropriate, pair your production with a local charity or organization. My students decided what group we would pair with for a show and did all the leg work to make it happen. Where possible, we included their logo in ...

RE: Wednesday's Wisdom from EdTA Emeritus

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 12-01-2022 10:00
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Having done The Warrior's Husband twice (once in 70's and again in the 90's) I second Billy Houck's recommendation! The show is great fun and while it can be done with a smaller cast, we expanded ours to include an honor guard for the Queen ( our band's Color Guard) which accompanied all her entrances, ...

RE: Neil Simon stuff not accepted?

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 11-04-2022 16:02
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Sometime in the 80's Neil Simon's lawyers sent a letter to all speech and drama teachers stating that his material was NOT to be used in any way for any competition. Around the same time, I was doing an evening of one acts, and even though I was willing to pay $50 for one act of Plaza Suite, I received ...

RE: One Acts or plays under 90 min

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 08-26-2022 16:29
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If I remember correctly, there are two versions of I Never Saw Another Butterfly. One is 90+ minutes and I think the other 9s 30 minutes. you can do cuttings, with permission, I have done cuttings of Piece of My Heart and Laramie Project. All three have more women than men. ------------------------------ ...

RE: small cast plays with fight scenes

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 07-06-2022 14:38
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Eons ago, I received permission to stage the The Brick and the Rose. It is written as reader's theatre for cast of 8-10. (It's been a long time.) I had 2 female narrators, 1 F and 6+ M; Tommy and the girl played only 1 part. There are also 45-minute cuttings of Shakespeare with reduced casts if you ...

WEDNESDAY'S WISDOM FROM EdTA EMERITUS

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 05-04-2022 15:08
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Let's talk programs - no, not YOUR program, the classes you teach or the plays you produce, but the programs you hand out to your patrons. Eons ago, at an ITS workshop in Muncie (I DID say "eons ago!"), the presenter stated that the programs are historical documents. I had never thought about it like ...

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 03-22-2022 23:59
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Stress and trust. Interesting words to choose for today’s words of wisdom. There are tons of ways to get stressed in a theatre classroom. High on that list is how to get the job done, how to get the show cast, rehearsed, lit, staged, costumed….(I know, lots of individual stressors or just one big one?) ...

RE: Sage Advice--Joining Your State Board-The value of volunteerism!

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 03-03-2022 12:45
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Thank you, Linda for your sage advice! Not only did I benefit from my association with the state board, but so did my students. I must also admit that, periodically, my fellow board members helped me get through tough times. Working together builds bonds; my students made life long friends, and so did ...

Wednesday's Wisdom

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 02-01-2022 15:00
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I am asked rather frequently about how I felt about teaching, what did I love, what kept me going. Those who ask are most frequently young teachers who have been in the classroom for a couple of years, for whom the excitement has worn thin in the face of pay issues, work load, unsupportive admin....the ...

RE: Help with a question, please

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 12-08-2021 16:39
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As a one woman department, I feel your pain! I was fortunate enough to have a strong Thespian troupe and build up student technical expertise. Some of this was in part due to my technical theatre background, the CA State Thespian Technical Workshops and a wonderful resource book which I left with the ...

RE: Most financially successful non-musical play you've ever done!

Posted By Marilynn Zeljeznjak 04-22-2021 20:21
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Probably the most successful show I had was the original script of Peter Pan. It is now royalty free, but a donation to the hospital is appreciated. It played to packed houses every night in my small theatre.

Marilynn Zeljeznjak

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