In Georgia's One Act Play competition, shortened musicals usually come out on top. While I tried to keep up for years by pulling together affordable musicals in creative ways, just to try to hang, I've run out of steam. I tried something different this year and directed Playscript's version of "The 39 Steps: A Live Radio Play." Already less than an hour long, so no worries about having to cut, which was nice. We did well, 3rd out of the 8, mainly because, I feel, the show was different. My actors were newbies, our accents weren't perfect, and our set changes had some slips, but it gave the judges something different to see. And at the end of the day, we had FUN! The kids, and our community audiences, loved our show.
Our day of 8 shows started out serious and solemn.
Vanities, a show about a school lock down, and another about 9/11. All very well done, then here we came with a zany, fast paced farce, setting us apart. Then a show with the use of body mics, and then a musical rounded out the day.
After 8 years trying to master this competition (I did get lucky one year in the mix), I have learned that if you do a classic (or modern) drama, it better be flawless, if you do a comedy, it better be creative and energetic, and if you do a musical, it better be big, loud, and flashy. It seems like you have already considered this based on your selections, but stay away from shows that are primarily monologues (they just don't appear difficult enough to the judges, I guess) and I would not suggest shows where high school students act like high school students (again on the difficultly level, I guess) these have just not fared well at the advanced levels. And ultimately...pick a show that you and your kids will love, because in the end...it's the happy memories that matter, not the win.
Not sure what direction I will next take, so I too will enjoy the responses to your board!
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Analiese Hamm
ECHS Drama Director
Statenville GA
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-05-2018 09:18
From: Josh Kauffman
Subject: 60 Minute Competition Piece Suggestions
I'm in the very early stages of looking for a play to enter in SETC competition. It needs to be, or be cutttable to, less than 60 minutes. I attended the competition this year and was inspired to enter it next season.
The two plays that won were The Diviners and Of Mice and Men, and other entries included God of Carnage, Silent Sky, Driving Miss Daisy, and Love, Loss, and What I Wore.
There's a big book of requirements, but my main concern in the early stage is the time limit. The show cannot exceed an hour, and we have exactly ten minutes to set up and ten to tear down.
Based on what won, as compared to the other plays (some of which were extremely good), I think we're looking for semi-well-known, character driven plays with a mid-sized cast.
So far, I'm weighing The Rainmaker, Ordinary People, The Curious Savage, and The Odd Couple (though I hear it's hard to get permission to adapt Simon). Any other "obvious/perfect" choices I'm missing?
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Josh Kauffman
Teacher
Winfield AL
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