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Play List Help!!!

  • 1.  Play List Help!!!

    Posted 09-09-2024 11:12

    Hi Friends,

    I am just so stuck with my Advanced group, that are all new this year and they are young!  But, I still want to challenge them this year.  I have 10 girls and 7 boys and am looking for possibly a one act or a full play.  Last year we did Elephant's Graveyard and Twelfth Night...this group is totally different, but looking for suggestions that could be for comedy and/or drama that would get students interested.  Other shows we have done in the past:

    Radium Girls, Midsummer Nights' Dream, Peter and the Starcatcher, Our Town, Comedy of Errors, The Crucible...you get the idea.

    Thanks for any and all suggestions!  



    ------------------------------
    Minda Nyquist
    Teacher/Director/Choreographer
    Traverse City West Senior High School
    MI
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  • 2.  RE: Play List Help!!!

    Posted 09-10-2024 09:02

    If you're just looking for a play that will fit your cast needs, "Almost, Maine," is a popular choice among schools.  It's a series of interconnected romantic vignettes.  Here's the link for it on Dramatists Play Service  https://www.dramatists.com/cgi-bin/db/single.asp?key=3759



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    Hans Offenfrish
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  • 3.  RE: Play List Help!!!

    Posted 09-11-2024 13:19

    I love Almost, Maine. I've directed it twice in my career, and I will likely direct it a third time before I'm done :)



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    Shana Hochstetler
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Play List Help!!!

    Posted 09-11-2024 13:56

    I would love to do Almost Maine!  However, this is a group that needs to build some ensemble together and I am looking for something where it is more ensemble focused.  Could be a one act or full length play.



    ------------------------------
    Minda Nyquist
    Teacher/Director/Choreographer
    Traverse City West Senior High School
    MI
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Play List Help!!!

    Posted 09-11-2024 15:45
    "The Lottery" "The Crucible" something a bit lighter "You Can't Take It With You" a little known play about facts, discoveries-"I Didn't Know That," goofy murder mystery in which the audience gets to question the characters then vote. "Mayhem in Mayville"

    Gai Laing Jones gaijones2013@gmail.com
    www.gaijones.com

    Past President EdTA Governing Board
    Past President CETA
    Past CA Chapter Director
    DTASC Past Advocacy Chair
    CSUEB Field Supervisor Pre-Service Theatre Educators 
    Ojai Art Center Board of Trustees
    Workshop Leader 
    Theatre Teacher Bootcamp Co-Founder
    Sent from my iPhone
    8056309017





    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Play List Help!!!

    Posted 09-11-2024 15:59
    Edited by Craig Pospisil 09-11-2024 15:59

    Let me suggest JOURNEY TO THE POLES OF INACCESSIBILITY by Craig Pospisil, which is a very flexible ensemble comedy.  Here's a synopsis and link to the play's page on our website:

    If magic was real, how far would you go to find it? Dylan is comfortable with his insular life, working at an insurance company and living with his wheelchair-bound aunt. Then he meets Chris, a young woman of boundless energy, on a quest to gather what magic may remain at the world's most remote places, the Poles of Inaccessibility. Dylan and Chris circle the globe on an epic journey of discovery, comedy, danger, and romance.

    The Setting:                           All over the world
    The Time:      Once upon a time … maybe even today.

    https://www.theatricalrights.com/show/journey-to-the-poles-of-inaccessibility/

    Casting

    The play can be considered entirely gender neutral.  Theater groups are encouraged to cast the play in every possible way.

    CHARACTERS (5-15 Actors)

    MOM - Dylan's mother
    DAD - Dylan's father
    DYLAN - Our hero
    AUNT PAT - Dylan's partially paralyzed aunt
    JO - Dylan's co-worker
    CHRIS - Our heroine
    JIMI - A  police officer
    SASHA - The captain of a Russian icebreaker
    MISHA - The first mate on the icebreaker
    WEI - A waiter in a soup shop in western China
    RENE - A hotel concierge in the Central African Republic
    AVERY - Owns a car rental agency in Australia
    ALEX - A young woman
    AN OLD SPANISH EXPLORER - An old Spanish explorer
    AN OLD RUSSIAN LEADER - An old Russian leader
    DOCK WORKER - A Spanish-speaking worker in South America



    TRW - Theatrical Rights Worldwide
    New York NY


    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Play List Help!!!

    Posted 09-12-2024 09:22
    Any of Mary Zimmerman's plays might serve you well. I've done three, and they've been wonderful for creating an ensemble. They require a lot of group creativity. 



    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Play List Help!!!

    Posted 09-12-2024 09:35
    Thanks so much, everyone!!
    Minda Nyquist
    Theatre & Stagecraft Teacher/Director
    Traverse City West Senior High School
    5376 N. Long Lake Road
    Traverse City, MI 49685
    Cell: 517-282-3103
    Work: 231-933-3770



    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Play List Help!!!

    Posted 09-12-2024 11:16

    I suspect this may be too short for your needs, but if a 20-minute ensemble play will suffice, you could try "Cake for the Queen."  Here's the link where you can read an excerpt of the script:  https://www.youthplays.com/play/cake-for-the-queen-by-robin-blasberg-513&ref=



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    Hans Offenfrish
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    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Play List Help!!!

    Posted 09-12-2024 08:38

    We really enjoyed working on Still Life with Iris, and Kate Hamill's Sense and Sensibility (I undoubled to get a cast of 22). I know some people on this forum have undoubled The 39 Steps, so I don't know if something like that would work for you? You could also teach a unit on commedia and then do one of Hilary DiPiano's commedia adaptations like The Green Bird or Love of Three Oranges



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    Cassy Maxton-Whitacre
    Theatre, Film, and Communications Instructor
    Shenandoah Valley Governor's School
    Fishersville, VA
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  • 11.  RE: Play List Help!!!

    Posted 09-13-2024 07:57

    We had a lot of fun with Hillary DePiano's "The Tale of Tales," which is very flexible casting-wise -- we did three of the tales, "Goosed," "The Myrtle," and "The Fourth Orange." We also did her "The Love of Three Oranges" (with many years in between). I also wrote a long-ish one-act called "Malarkey" which could work -- it's sort of fable-like with narration. Let me know if you'd like to look at the script -- I wouldn't ask for royalties and would be interested in working with you on any changes to the script you'd want to make to better fit your group.



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    Cora Turlish
    NJ
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    Original Message


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