Open Forum

I am looking for a play (no musicals) for high school students.

• About 80-120 minutes in length
• Mostly female cast with no more than 4 male roles. I could easily have up to 15-20 female or flexible roles.
• Nothing fairy tale or with narrators as we just did Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon (which was a lot of fun, by the way) and I would like to do something different.
• Something that is a light comedy or drama with a bit of humor would be best but I will consider a full comedy or drama.
• Has to be appropriate for a public high school (no foul language, sex, etc).
• Has to fit on a smaller stage with simple sets.

I have looked at so many options and nothing has really felt right yet. Some I have considered are Our Town, You Can't Take it With You, Almost Maine, Radium Girls, Little Women, any Jane Austen books, and many options on licensing sites.

Any suggestions of something you have done that fits the above?

Thanks in advance!

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Amy Williams
District Librarian/Theater Teacher
Thespian Troupe #8881
Auburn High School
Auburn, IL
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Look at Woody Allen's "Don't Drink the Water."
it may be too advanced for younger audiences but highschoolers usually get it. It also has some male roles that can easily be switched and played by a female. For example father Drobney becomes sister Drobney.

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Shawn Sears
Miami FL
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Did this a few years back in our black box.  It went over exceptionally well, and the students had a blast with the broad comedy.

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Scott Mellema
MI
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-11-2019 05:36
From: Shawn Sears
Subject: High School Plays

Look at Woody Allen's "Don't Drink the Water."
it may be too advanced for younger audiences but highschoolers usually get it. It also has some male roles that can easily be switched and played by a female. For example father Drobney becomes sister Drobney.

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Shawn Sears
Miami FL
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• These Shining Lives
• Clue
• Epic Proportions
• The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) - you'd need to edit this for content but it's so much fun
• Shipwrecked
• The Book of Everything
• Silent Sky
• Life is Short (a series of short plays by Craig Pospisil that are really funny)
• A Piece of My Heart
• Dividing the Estate

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Karen Ruth
Head Theatre Director
Coppell High School
Coppell, TX
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Looking for something similar. :\

In the past, we did Much Ado About Nothing by switching some of the roles to women (Leonata instead of Leonato, for example). We also did The Heiress which is more dramatic than comedic (but there are moments of lightness with one of the characters). We are considering Radium Girls and Hamill's Sense and Sensibility, but it's really risky to need a minimum of 4 boys when you have exactly 4 boys and might have to sacrifice with the level of acting there. :\ If you're open to children's theatre, The Secret Garden might work. Good luck! Definitely following this thread for my own dilemma!

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Maralie Medlin
Director of Fine Arts
Gaston Christian School
Gastonia, NC
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I just directed Sally Cotter and the Censored Stone (also from playscripts.com) for our fall play.  It was a lot of fun and very popular with students and audiences.

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Karen Crispin
West Terre Haute IN
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Had a wonderful production of Stage Door last year.  Always feel like it would be better on a more intimate stage.

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Tiersa Ferraro
Drama Director
Delafield WI
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Regarding Stage Door... we had a lovely, successful production of it here back in another century. HOWEVER, it is a play of some length with both very comic and very dramatic moments, and for gosh sakes, keep the two intermissions. In my production, I moved to just one intermission (between the scenes of Act 2, rather than between each of the three acts) and it was a terrible error, because of what the audience had seen just before the break. 

But it's a terrific show! So many wonderful roles for women, and a few good ones for the guys as well.

And the scenery isn't too tough, either.

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Nathan Rosen
Baltimore MD
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-12-2019 12:28
From: Tiersa Ferraro
Subject: High School Plays

Had a wonderful production of Stage Door last year.  Always feel like it would be better on a more intimate stage.

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Tiersa Ferraro
Drama Director
Delafield WI
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The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
These Shining Lives
Decision Height
Steel Magnolias

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Gabrielle McMullen
Drama Director
Thomasville GA
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We just did "Perfect Score" by Katie Henry.  We did make adjustments for language.  It was a small cast, one act, small set and the student's LOVED it!

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Shannon Campos
Drama Sponsor/Registrar
Aurora CO
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Silent Sky, A Piece of My Heart, 12 Angry Jurors, The Gut Girls

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Crit Fisher
Lighting/Sound Designer
New Albany High School
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I have recommended this play so many times that I feel I should get a commission, but Stardust by Walter Kerr is hilarious fun.  It is a send-up of Stanislavsky's work misinterpreted by Americans and takes place in a small college in the later half of the 1940s.  It calls for 7 men, 11 women, but you could do it with 4 guys, and the ensemble of students can be expanded with more girls.  So much fun!

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C. J. Breland
Retired Theatre Arts Educator
Asheville NC
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-16-2019 09:19
From: Crit Fisher
Subject: High School Plays

Silent Sky, A Piece of My Heart, 12 Angry Jurors, The Gut Girls

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Crit Fisher
Lighting/Sound Designer
New Albany High School
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