Open Forum

I'm looking to find the "just right" play for my middle schoolers next year.  Something with a flexible sized cast (we don't make cuts, and can have anything between 12 and 30, though most likely around 20).  To balance our season (musical is going to be Rock of Ages), I'm looking for a more serious show.  "Dramedy" okay if there is more drama than comedy.  Not a mystery, as we've done one recently and I want the students to experience different types of shows.  We had great experiences with Still Life with Iris and Trap in recent years.  

Gathering Blue and The Giver both look intriguing to me.  I'm curious to know about anyone's experience with either of those, including why you chose one over the other.  And also welcome any other suggestions!

Thanks for any insights on offer!

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Kristin Hall
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Drama Director
Lincoln MA
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"A Wrinkle in Time" is another great option. Stage Partners has several adaptations of varying lengths and with flexible casting. 

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Brendan Conheady
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Love Wrinkle in Time, but did it just 3 years ago!  I should've mentioned that ...

Wizard of Oz is a great thought, but I think we'll save it for a "children/family appeal show" year.  Looking for something a bit more mature for next year (though not too mature - the perpetual middle school challenge).

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Kristin Hall
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Drama Director
Lincoln MA
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-24-2024 09:12
From: Brendan Conheady
Subject: Gathering Blue - The Giver - or ...?

"A Wrinkle in Time" is another great option. Stage Partners has several adaptations of varying lengths and with flexible casting. 

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Brendan Conheady
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Have you looked at plays by Susan Zeder or Mary hall surface?  Really good scripts but the casts may be too small for what you need. Walk Two Moons is good...you can add students to the school scene.  The Orphan TrAin is also good.

Cathy

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Cathy Archer
EdTA Member or Troupe Director
Rutland High School
VT
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-24-2024 09:12
From: Brendan Conheady
Subject: Gathering Blue - The Giver - or ...?

"A Wrinkle in Time" is another great option. Stage Partners has several adaptations of varying lengths and with flexible casting. 

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Brendan Conheady
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I did Gathering Blue two years ago and loved it! Went over well with families too. I opted for Gathering Blue over The Giver because 1 - female lead and it was a new program so I didn't know what talent I'd be walking into, and 2 - wasn't at a point to handle the tech of black and white. 

My two biggest challenges with the show: scenes are SHORT and change often, I think the longest scene was 3 pages so have a plan for either different areas of the stage being different parts of the community, or have minimal sets and a well trained run crew. 

Kira is on stage for the whole show and she uses a crutch - it's pretty physically demanding for a younger kid. 

I think photos from our show are on the licensing page if you want to look and feel free to reach out with other questions!

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Becky Gil
Performing Arts Teacher
Willows Preparatory School
Redmond, WA
www.willowsprep.com
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Hello, I directed The Giver at my middle school a few years ago and it was a big hit. The Giver is already part of the English curriculum at my middle school. It allowed for perspective conversations seeing it visually. Our students had fun working on a serious piece of work. We had great conversations about the ideas and themes. I will add that the students who will play Jonas and The Giver should be your strongest actors as there is a lot of lines to memorize and Jonas experiences much emotions. However, The Giver allowed for multiple role opportunities; ie the elders. We used our spotlights and stage light for the color red and painted everything grey/silver. My team and I were able to add various aspects of student talent as a dance section for "Rosemary" and we did an interpret dance of "war". It was one of my favorite productions that I am proud of putting onstage. 

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Allan Meads
Drama Director
Springfield Township Middle School
PA
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Thanks for all the info and suggestions!

Unfortunately the Zeder and Hall Surface plays are a bit on the small side for us - they do have great middle-school-friendly options. Wiley is on my list for the future!

It's really helpful to hear about good experiences with The Giver and Gathering Blue.  I'm going to spend my weekend reading!  

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Kristin Hall
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Drama Director
Lincoln MA
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-26-2024 11:06
From: Allan Meads
Subject: Gathering Blue - The Giver - or ...?

Hello, I directed The Giver at my middle school a few years ago and it was a big hit. The Giver is already part of the English curriculum at my middle school. It allowed for perspective conversations seeing it visually. Our students had fun working on a serious piece of work. We had great conversations about the ideas and themes. I will add that the students who will play Jonas and The Giver should be your strongest actors as there is a lot of lines to memorize and Jonas experiences much emotions. However, The Giver allowed for multiple role opportunities; ie the elders. We used our spotlights and stage light for the color red and painted everything grey/silver. My team and I were able to add various aspects of student talent as a dance section for "Rosemary" and we did an interpret dance of "war". It was one of my favorite productions that I am proud of putting onstage. 

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Allan Meads
Drama Director
Springfield Township Middle School
PA
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