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  • 1.  One Act Barefoot in the Park

    Posted 12-06-2019 18:08
    Does anyone have an approved one-act cutting of Barefoot in the Park? Does anyone know if Neil Simon is agreeable to having shows cut down for competition use? Has anyone every managed that before? 
    I have some great kids working on scenes from the play, but I'm not sure I have the energy to mount the entire production this winter.

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    John Monteverde
    Drama Teacher
    Pittsfield High School
    Pittsfield, MA
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  • 2.  RE: One Act Barefoot in the Park

    Posted 12-07-2019 11:12
    Neil Simon is notorious for pretty much always refusing to permit cuttings, including doing a single act of Plaza Suite or California Suite, which are really one-act collections.
    We were stunned and delighted at the NCA Cappies the year before last when he permitted a Best Play nominee to present a 3-minute cutting of Biloxi Blues to be performed at the Kennedy Center awards gala.
    Sorry. Worth a try, but you'd better have Plan B.

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    Douglas "Chip" Rome
    Theatre Consultant
    Educational Stages
    Burke VA
    http://bit.ly/EdStages
    http://bit.ly/RWTEOview
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: One Act Barefoot in the Park

    Posted 12-07-2019 13:01
    Years ago, I was at a EdTa conference where Samuel French presented a workshop on cuttings, licenses, etc. I remember specifically them mentioning that Neil Simon was very agreeable to using cuttings for educational, competition purposes. 
    Good Luck!

    Roger



    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: One Act Barefoot in the Park

    Posted 12-10-2019 16:03
    Neil Simon approved cutting some specific language and the prayer scene from Fools for me decades ago.  But since he has died, he is not making those decisions anymore.

    I think your best bet is to actually call Samuel French and ask a real, live person for advice on asking for permission. 

    And I think a lot of us would be interested in whether you can get permission to do a cutting.  Barefoot in the Park seems particularly ripe for cutting, as the telephone man scene at the top of the show is completely alien to students now.  "Once upon a time, we had to call AT&T to hook up a phone, and they sent a man who brought a phone with him and hooked it up to a cord in the wall, and then he had to go outside and do something mysterious that would make the phone ring, and when you picked up, there would be a dial tone, and you could use the phone right there or as far as the cord reached.  See how funny that is?"  Geez.


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    C. J. Breland
    Retired Theatre Arts Educator
    Asheville NC
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    Original Message


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