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  • 1.  David Ives All in The Timing

    Posted 05-16-2018 14:37
    We are considering doing All in the Timing by David Ives as a main stage Fall Play. Anyone have experience with this at the high school level? Pro's? Con's? Advice? I'd love to hear about your experiences (good or bad) with this piece.


    Keith Burns
    Director of Theatre Arts
    12th Grade Coordinator
    SEED Leader

    Description: We:LOGO in various formats:2006 PCDS logo Blue 1 and half inch.jpg
    Phoenix Country Day School
    3901 E. Stanford Dr.
    Paradise Valley, AZ  85253
    602.955.8200 x 2312
    www.pcds.org


  • 2.  RE: David Ives All in The Timing

    Posted 05-16-2018 14:44
    We've done it twice to great success. The two most difficult ones are "Universal Language" and "Philip Glass Buys A Loaf of Bread." Allow time for memorization on both of those. There's language in "The Philadelphia" so be aware of that. "Death of Trotsky" needs a hammer for his head. My students made one out of styrofoam that was very light and was attached with a large hair clip. Trotsky also had bushy, curly hair so it hid nicely.
    Both times we performed it was in a 3/4 thrust space and it worked well. Sold great, too. And you can take one to competition!

    ------------------------------
    John Perry
    Drama Instructor
    Atherton High School
    Louisville KY
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: David Ives All in The Timing

    Posted 05-17-2018 14:31
    How long is the show?



    "There's only us, there's only this: 
    Forget regret, or life is yours to miss. 
    No other path, no other way. No day 
    but today."
    -Jonathan Larson
    "Rent"

    Disario, Jodi
    Drama Teacher and Director
    Willow Glen High School
    jdisario@sjusd.org






  • 4.  RE: David Ives All in The Timing

    Posted 05-18-2018 07:44
    It's about 90 minutes. We did it this year as student directed one-acts.

    My kids had no trouble at all with PHILIP GLASS -- although the director was very smart in casting the best musicians she had available in the casting pool.

    --
    Mark A. Zimmerman
    Theatre Director,

    Akron School for the Arts
    Firestone High School
    470 Castle Blvd
    Akron, Ohio 44313

    330-761-3275

    FirestoneTheatre.com






  • 5.  RE: David Ives All in The Timing

    Posted 05-18-2018 10:08
    It depends on how many of the plays you do. If you do the full collection, it's a full evening - 90 min to 2 hours.

    ------------------------------
    Billy Houck
    Theatre Teacher
    Fremont High School
    Sunnyvale, CA
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: David Ives All in The Timing

    Posted 05-17-2018 15:36
    We had great success with several of the pieces, even making it to the semi-finals of the state drama guild championships. Universal Language is tricky -- I had a student musician who desperately wanted to direct, and a student dancer, who desperately wanted to choreograph, and it was phenomenal. We applied to cut some of the language for Sure Thing, and were granted permission, no problem. I see no difficulty laying it out for the publisher. They were very reasonable about understanding the limits of high school and what is acceptable for kids to say and what is not acceptable for them to say. Go for it. The kids loved it!





  • 7.  RE: David Ives All in The Timing

    Posted 05-17-2018 13:56
    Take a look at Time Flies as well. The plays in both collections can be licensed separately.
    I have done these a couple of times - very popular with students and audiences.
    The ice axe for Trotsky works best when you build it as part of a wig. That way you only have to secure the wig, not the axe (a plastic hatchet or hammer works..most of it is buried in his skull. Keep it lightweight.)

    My favorites in the collections are:
    Sure Thing
    Words, Words, Words
    Variations on the Death of Trotsky
    Degas, C'est Moi
    Time Flies
    I love Phillip Glass buys a Loaf of Bread, but it seemed impossible to mount with students until I saw an amazing production at the Northern California Thespian Play Festival a few years ago. I talked with the cast afterward...they spent a lot of time studying the music of Phillip Glass.

    Billy Houck
    Theatre Teacher
    Fremont High School
    Sunnyvale, CA







  • 8.  RE: David Ives All in The Timing

    Posted 05-17-2018 15:42
    GREAT SHOW!!!  I've done both the entire play as well as cuttings (with permission) for our One Act competition.  Our One Act ran 50 mins and the judges used their prerogative to award all three actors in "Words, Words, Words" a shared the Best Actor honor at competition, along with the couple featured in "Universal Language."  We set a record for the most "Best Actor" awards due to this show.

    The brilliance is it's a series of scenes that can be rehearsed individually.  Also, you can use a large group of actors (each playing a single role), or you can have a smaller "platoon" of actors, each playing several characters.

    HAVE FUN!

    ------------------------------
    Josh Ruben, M. Ed.
    Fine Arts Head
    Northwest Whitfield HS (dba, The Northwest Theatre Co.)
    Tunnel Hill, GA
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: David Ives All in The Timing

    Posted 05-18-2018 13:37
    We just closed it two weeks ago. I performed in it when I was in high school and it was GREAT. This time, our audience just... didn't get it? In my opinion, it was played very well and the timing (no pun intended) was very well rehearsed. But a lot of the jokes and humor didn't read to the audience. The biggest laugh we got was Ramon in Variations on the Death of Trotsky because my actor hammed it up. So, I guess take that into mind? The rehearsal process was great, though! I met with 3 scenes on Mon/Wed and 3 on Tues/Thurs. My SM was with me and my ASMs were each with a scene running lines.

    ------------------------------
    Heather Cribbs
    Theatre Director
    New Smyrna Beach High School
    New Smyrna Beach, FL
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: David Ives All in The Timing

    Posted 05-19-2018 08:14
    Love this collection. Have mounted it three times.

    ---------------------------------
    Crit Fisher
    Lighting/Sound Designer
    New Albany High School
    ---------------------------------