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  • 1.  6 women scene/ play suggestion

    Posted 12-22-2022 08:03

    Good morning wonderful educators! 

    Happy Holidays! 

    My second semester advanced course has 6 female students and I would like to work on putting on a play with them. Does anyone have any suggestions on material I could look into over the holiday break? I would like to do some challenging work with them. 


    Respectfully,


    Cristina Pla-Guzman, M.S.

    she/her/hers

    Teaching Artist

    Freelance Writer/Theatre Critic
    American Theatre Critics Association 
    TCG Rising Leader of Color Cohort 4 




  • 2.  RE: 6 women scene/ play suggestion

    Posted 12-23-2022 06:49
    Try Steel Magnolias or A piece of My Heart by Shirley Lauro. 



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  • 3.  RE: 6 women scene/ play suggestion

    Posted 12-24-2022 14:57
    During my long career as a drama educator (I'm now retired) I directed both of these plays - Steel Magnolias, and A Piece of My Heart.   And I must say they are two of the "best" for an all-female cast.  However, they both require for high schoolers a VERY MATURE cast for a successful production.  I could go on for "a month of Sundays" explaining why; but just a strong suggestion not to tackle either of them if you have any doubts about the talents or maturity level of your possible casting.  









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    Steve Halper
    Theatre Assistant
    Salpointe Catholic High School
    Tucson, AZ
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: 6 women scene/ play suggestion

    Posted 12-23-2022 09:54

    Dear Ms. Pla-Guzman,

    I have 3 suggestions for you:

    (1) I'm the author of a play titled "First Mothers: The Women Who Raised Presidents", which has 14 female characters that can be divided/doubled up as needed for your cast number. We usually do it with 4-6 actors.

    Through compelling first-person dramatizations, "First Mothers" presents crucial moments in the lives of 14 women who nurtured a Presidential son and in so doing shaped the destiny of the United States we know today - Mary Washington, Elizabeth Jackson, Nancy Lincoln, Sarah Lincoln, Sara Roosevelt, Martha Truman, Rose Kennedy, Rebekah Johnson, Hannah Nixon, Dorothy Ford, Lillian Carter, Nelle Reagan, Virginia Clinton, Anne Obama.

    (2) My play "Your Basic American Monday" has an all-female cast of 8 – an extended tableaux vivant in which the interwoven stories told by each character offer an intriguing slice of contemporary Americana … again, the number can be adjusted for your cast size.

    (3) And there's always Shakespeare … in our book "60 Shakespeare Scenes for Teens" edited by Lisa Bansavage, L.E. McCullough & Jill K. Swanson, we have 5 scenes with 6 characters that could be played by female actors - A Midsummer Night's Dream (Act 3, Scene; Act 1, Scene 2); Macbeth (Act 3, Scene 4); The  Merchant of Venice (Act 5, Scene 1); The Taming of the Shrew (Act 4, Scene 3)

    Give me a shout at lemccullough@mac.com if you'd like to review the scripts … or check www.educationalclassroomplays.com for additional ideas.

    Sincerely,

    L.E. McCullough / Pittsburgh PA



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    L.E. McCullough
    Pittsburgh PA
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: 6 women scene/ play suggestion

    Posted 12-23-2022 13:47
    You might look at Top Girls by Caryl Churchill.  All female cast, lots of double casting opportunities and great characters. 

    Top Girls is a 1982 play by Caryl Churchill. It centres around Marlene, a career-driven woman who is heavily invested in women's success in business. The play examines the roles available to women in old society, and what it means or takes for a woman to succeed. It also dwells heavily on the cost of ambition and the influence of Thatcherite politics on feminism.

    Top Girls has been included on a variety of "greatest plays" lists by critics and publications.  

    This is from Wikipedia which has an extensive entry about it.  We did it when I was in college? or when I was theatre secretary at Tulane, I don't remember which.



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    Rose Steele
    Theatre Consultant
    Rose Steele Theatre Consulting
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: 6 women scene/ play suggestion

    Posted 12-24-2022 00:28
    Men on Boats by Jaclyn Backhaus
    As It Is In Heaven by Arlene Hutton

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    Ellen Koivisto
    CA
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: 6 women scene/ play suggestion

    Posted 12-26-2022 18:38
    Ladies of the Tower. dramatic publishing. It has nine characters. I am not sure if doubling is possible but it has some good scenes for  girls 



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  • 8.  RE: 6 women scene/ play suggestion

    Posted 12-27-2022 00:01
    I recommend this play often and it's a bit older but soooo good and if memory serves has exactly 6 females featured throughout the play... Kindertransport by Diane Samuels. One male part originally as well, but I feel that is a non-binary role anyways...

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    Colleen Mylott
    Secondary Theatre Teacher
    Peak to Peak Charter School
    Lafayette, CO
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    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: 6 women scene/ play suggestion

    Posted 12-27-2022 11:23

    Depending on the age of the women, there is a short play by Cindy Dlugolecki called Royal Tea-the premise is that the fairy godmother is retiring and the various fairy tale princesses (Snow White, Cinderella, etc) are in a dither about what to do. There is optional fairly simple music. Great message for young women and empowerment.

     

     

     




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