It's that season (isn't it always) when we're looking for the plays we want to bring to our state's theater contests. I'm historically very last-minute in making those selections, and I have a few leads, but I'm opening the door for y'all to completely confuse me and make my choice harder (or easier).
Our state festival has a contest for very simple (no set, no tech) plays 30 minutes or less, and another contest for more-realized plays of no more than 45 minutes.
What have you read and/or done, in competition or not, that you and your students have really enjoyed? What was great about them?
I'll mention that we are a pretty conservative community/district, but I myself am not, nor are most of my students - so we're looking for good stories that bend but do not break conservative social norms. (I once replaced the word "butt" with "rear end," and another time was nearly told we should not do a play because the 'student' characters spoke disrespectfully to the 'teacher' character. However, we've also done The Great Gatsby. It's a crap shoot!)
The short version of the question: What short, tech-lite plays have been successful in your programs?
------------------------------
Josh Kauffman
Teacher, Thespian Society/Drama Club sponsor
Winfield City Schools
Winfield, AL
------------------------------