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  • 1.  Play reading/scene study

    Posted 10-14-2019 10:06
    Looking for a contemporary play for high school Acting class to read and do scenes from....already considering Glass Menagerie, The Crucible, A Dolls House.  But I have very diverse students and want to grab their interests!  Suggestions?

    Jolaine Orlin
    --
    Jolaine Orlin
    Speech 
    Glenbard North High School
    630-653-7000


  • 2.  RE: Play reading/scene study

    Posted 10-14-2019 18:07
    Have you ever heard of The Good Times Are Killing Me? 
    by Lynda Barry

    https://www.samuelfrench.com/p/1133/the-good-times-are-killing-me




    ------------------------------
    Rosalind Flynn
    Head of the M.A. in Theatre Education
    Director, The High School Drama Institute
    The Catholic University of America
    Washington, DC
    drama.cua.edu/graduate/MATE
    drama.cua.edu/summer
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Play reading/scene study

    Posted 10-15-2019 12:40
    I second The Good Times Are Killing Me.  

    I also love several scenes duet from Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson and the scene between Cory and Troy and one between Rose and Cory in Wilson's Fences. 

    There is a wonderful ensemble scene in Take a Giant Step by Louis Peterson that shows the family reacting to the son being suspended from school.  (This became the first straight play by an African American on Broadway when it transferred there from the Public in 1953.)

    My female students enjoyed the "My love is too..." scene from For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange, which is bracketed by monologues and allows for ensemble building and dance in the call and response portion.  

    Don't forget A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.  

    Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez is about a Chicano family and is sprinkled with Spanish, which gives the Spanish speakers a chance to help out their classmates.  My students loved the scene where the young people are leaving to go out for the evening.

    The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl has a character with a Portuguese accent and one with a Spanish accent.

    Anna in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz has several nice scenes.  The characters are Cuban immigrants.

    Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegría Hudes has a lovely scene between two cousins, Elliot and Yaz. 



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


  • 4.  RE: Play reading/scene study

    Posted 10-15-2019 12:43
    Oops.  I didn't realize you wanted the entire class to read the play.  Of the ones I listed, I would probably choose Joe Turner's Come and Gone.  

    Most, if not all, of the others have language that might prevent you from reading it in a whole-class scenario.

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


  • 5.  RE: Play reading/scene study

    Posted 10-15-2019 03:09
    Twilight Los Angeles 1992 by Anna Deavere Smith is great for a diverse class.  It's mostly monologues though.  

    Kathleen Conner




    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Play reading/scene study

    Posted 10-15-2019 03:12
    I have great success with BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS by Neil Simon.  My students love it and there are so many scenes to choose from.

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    Thom Babbes
    Director of Theatre Arts
    Village Christian School
    Sun Valley CA
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Play reading/scene study

    Posted 10-15-2019 11:14
    Do you have any limitations on subject matter? I can think of a few but they deal with things like death, victim shaming, etc.

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    Shira Schwartz
    Chandler Unified School District
    Chandler AZ
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Play reading/scene study

    Posted 10-15-2019 11:29
    Hi Jolaine,

    You've got some great choices there.  You might also take a look at "The Laramie Project,"  "How I Survive High School," for advanced "Waiting for Godot."  A good comedic script "Jake's Women<"  and a bit of the absurd  "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead."  Good Luck with the projects.

    Best,

    Mack

    --
    Mack Dugger
    Teacher
    Department of Teaching and Learning
    Pacific Avenue Education Center
    440 W. Lomita Ave., Glendale, CA 91204
    "Totus Mundus agit historionem"
    Bravo award winning Teacher
    Kennedy Center Creative Ticket Award
    Laissez les bons temps rouler!



    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Play reading/scene study

    Posted 10-15-2019 16:31
    Three of my favorites (and my students' favorites) are:
    The Christians by Lucas Hnath - don't let the title scare you away. Students of all faiths (and none) loved this play. Understated, but with so much at stake. Great for stripping away actor's tricks and forcing them to focus on text and listening.
    The Pillowman - very dark with lots of R rated language - you might want to do some edits - but it has lots of twists and turns and the students will want to follow it through to the end. I love the dialogue and it's great for working on pacing and intentions.
    Circle, Mirror, Transformation - deceptively simple but so, so real. 

    All three are easy to use for scene work - Christians is always 2 person scenes, Pillowman is 2-3 person scenes and CMT is primarily 5 person scenes, with some with fewer characters.

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    Ken Buswell
    Drama Teacher
    Peachtree City, GA
    http://mcintoshtheater.org/

    Theater kills ignorance
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    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Play reading/scene study

    Posted 10-18-2019 10:45
    Here is a website that features work by contemporary playwrights of color that might be useful to explore.

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    Joe Salvatore
    New York NY
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    Original Message


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