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Where to look for scripts?

  • 1.  Where to look for scripts?

    Posted 11-28-2023 10:07

    I was just wondering how folks usually go about finding a good one-act or full-length play?  Is it mostly word-of-mouth or do you go to a particular website to read lots of excerpts of scripts?  I am looking for a non-musical play for students to perform.  What types of scripts are most popular with students and audiences alike?



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    Hans Offenfrish
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  • 2.  RE: Where to look for scripts?

    Posted 11-29-2023 06:57
    When I started, i used to love devouring the Concord Theatricals and Dramatists Play Service Catalogues, circling likely candidates, then ordering some when I had the budget. The online catalogues are a little less friendly when doing this, but you can still peruse a bunch there. Stage Agent lets you read scripts for free. I also scour libraries and book sales. I start with a number in the cast and go from there.
    Sent from my iPad


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  • 3.  RE: Where to look for scripts?

    Posted 11-29-2023 08:39
    Edited by Analiese Hamm 11-29-2023 09:57

    Looking for scripts takes up the majority of my life! But then again, I really take every show I select under my creative wing for half a year, so I have to LOVE it or I will end up being miserable.

    First thing I do is pray. No kidding, this show is where my mind will float for at least six months, so I think that deserves divine enlightenment. 

    Next thing is I focus on my students.  Who are my strongest characters? Who deserve to be highlighted on the stage? Any particular talents that would be fun on the stage (no kidding, I have a kid that can juggle, I sure picked a show in which they juggled their heart out in our opening!) I did musicals for a while, since I had a few singers, but now my focus has been on fast-paced plays (usually with music or I will add my own compositions).

    Then I peruse my favorite online catalogs:

    Dramatic Publishing has been my favorite for my high school shows, musicals and plays.  A lot of these require cutting to meet our one act competition requirements.  The musicals are not well known, but I've learned to love that. I am a creative mind, and big show expectations, I have learned, just stress me out! 

    Pioneer Drama is my favorite for middle school, typically, but this year I found a fantastic gem on there (Arlecchino and the City of Love, a Commedia dell'Arte inspired piece)  for my high school students.

    I guess these two are my favorite because there are a lot of adaptations of classical pieces that are true to the time period. Fun, challenging costumes are a must for me too. 

    Here are some others I scan, but I haven't had too much luck in the past:

    Dramatist Play Service

    Eldridge Plays and Musicals

    Maverick Musicals

    Plays for New Audiences

    Playscripts 

    And when all that fails, I just write one!



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    Analiese Hamm
    ECS Performing Arts Director
    Echols County High School
    Statenville GA
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  • 4.  RE: Where to look for scripts?

    Posted 11-29-2023 10:56

    There are some great play publishers listed here: https://school-theatre.com/f/great-play-publishers-for-schools



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    Brendan Conheady
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  • 5.  RE: Where to look for scripts?

    Posted 11-29-2023 17:09

    @Brendan Conheady -- Your curated list starts with "Stage Partners".  Is that different than the "Stage Agent" that Elisabeth Ledwell mentions above?  Also, your list includes "YouthPLAYS" which someone else pointed me to.  Does anyone have any first-hand experience with them?



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    Hans Offenfrish
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  • 6.  RE: Where to look for scripts?

    Posted 11-30-2023 12:44

    Hans, Stage Partners is not the same as Stage Agent. 

    Stage Partners (www.yourstagepartners.com), as some have mentioned, is a publishing and licensing house for new plays. I'm not sure what Stage Agent is.



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    Brendan Conheady
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  • 7.  RE: Where to look for scripts?

    Posted 11-29-2023 14:04

    Thank you all so much for your suggestions.  A lot of the resources that you've pointed me to I hadn't heard of before.  I asked around and YouthPLAYS and Drama Notebook are two others that were also mentioned.  I have started looking online at all of the various websites mentioned.  I have to say, it feels overwhelming.  They're all beginning to look the same.  Are there any online reviews for any of these play publishers?  I appreciate the tip that Pioneer Drama may be a good place to look for middle school scripts.  Any other insights from first-hand experience would be greatly appreciated.    Thanks again!



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    Hans Offenfrish
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  • 8.  RE: Where to look for scripts?

    Posted 11-29-2023 14:35
    It is awfully overwhelming. My school doesn't do a lot of musicals, but I've been here over thirty years and we have done 3-4 plays per year. In the early years, it was mostly girls and mostly plays from 9-14 characters. In the last ten years, I've done a lot of ensemble pieces that let us expand the cast to up to 24! Feel free to peruse my list. It gives some sense of the kinds of plays we've done. 







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  • 9.  RE: Where to look for scripts?

    Posted 11-29-2023 17:05

    Thank you.  I see your list has a lot of old stand-bys (e.g. Arsenic & Old Lace, Shakespeare, etc.).  I like seeing plays that I'm not familiar with which I see a number of as well.  I especially appreciate the personal comments that you've included in your list.  That's quite a chronology!  



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    Hans Offenfrish
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  • 10.  RE: Where to look for scripts?

    Posted 11-30-2023 08:13

    Wow! I loved looking through your list as well!  We absolutely loved The 39 Steps, we did Playscripts' Radio Play adaptation, which fit into my competition time restraints a little easier. But this show is forever one of my favorites and a great "break-up with musicals" show. Baskerville and Ralph Roister Doister, and Selkie have also been on my To-do list a while! They seem to be my type of shows too. I am a  full time media specialist by day and a director by afternoon so our list is not quite as extensive, I get in about two shows a year, but here's where we've traveled since I started our program in 2010: https://sites.google.com/site/echolsdrama/productions 

    And Hans, I agree it is a bit overwhelming, but try to focus on the anticipation and excitement too! AND I forgot to say, this discussion board, full of amazing, brilliant theatre folks has been an outstanding resource for me! So you are definitely in the right place.



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    Analiese Hamm
    ECS Performing Arts Director
    Echols County High School
    Statenville GA
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  • 11.  RE: Where to look for scripts?

    Posted 12-04-2023 07:42

    I really enjoyed Ledwell's List!  Reminded of some titles I had forgotten about and may want to revisit. Fun to see a career's worth of work listed in one document. I'm at 28 years.... I should do the same!



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    Rosemary M. Milsap
    Cedar Shoals HS
    Director, Cedar Theatre
    milsapr@clarke.k12.ga.us
    706-546-5375 ext.21321
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  • 12.  RE: Where to look for scripts?

    Posted 12-04-2023 10:20
    I found this list to be so important in negotiating about use in the theatre space and in educating new heads of school about our history. Often, the sports programs have trophies to display - and this is what I have! I think all theatre teachers should keep a running document to help show their worth to the school! I'd love to see other people's lists - great inspiration for the future. I still have a few years left in me!




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  • 13.  RE: Where to look for scripts?

    Posted 11-30-2023 08:41
      |   view attached

    Over the years, I've started looking for more electronic perusals, particularly e-perusals. Someone has already mentioned this resource, but Stage Partners - New Plays for Theatres & Schools. Always Free to Read (yourstagepartners.com) lets you read everything for free, and Playscripts lets you read about 75% if the play for free. Dramatic Publishing usually has at least a short excerpt. There's also a pretty exciting catalogue of newer material from TRW plays. I'm attaching the school excerpts document that they shared with me. When I'm looking for something really off the beaten path, I look at Nick Hern Books, a British publisher. I do have to order their scripts either directly from them or from Amazon, but they have some interesting titles.

    Over time, I've created a long list of plays I'm interested in directing, based on my own research, titles that have come up on this forum, and recommendations from theatre colleagues that have similar taste to mine. Then I always start with that list and see if something I like already will work for my current group of students. Some titles that we've really enjoyed in the past are Kate Hamill's Sense and Sensibility, Dominic Cooke's Arabian Nights, and Steven Dietz's Still Life With Iris. Scripts on my shortlist for next year include Mermaid (Polly Teale), The Search for Delicious, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, and The Book Women. A couple other shows that are insanely popular but have already been done in my area are Puffs, She Kills Monsters, and Almost, Maine. Happy searching!



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    Cassy Maxton-Whitacre
    Theatre, Film, and Communications Instructor
    Shenandoah Valley Governor's School
    Fishersville, VA
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    Attachment(s)

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    TRW_Plays_Excerpts-Schools.pdf   754 KB 1 version
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  • 14.  RE: Where to look for scripts?

    Posted 11-30-2023 08:49

    I'll add a couple resources I have found great scripts at:

    Stage Partners

    Playscripts

    Students respond to your energy, no matter what the script is. If you sell it, they'll engage and have fun. That said, it never hurts to ask the students what they're interested in doing and investigate their suggestions. Some of our best shows have come from student recommendations.

    Our best houses have been 1) in large cast shows (more actors = more word of mouth and more friends and family) and 2) recognizable titles. Even if the play itself is not well known, if it is based on a well known movie or book, it tends to sell more tickets.



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    Josh Kauffman
    Teacher, Thespian Society/Drama Club sponsor
    Winfield City Schools
    Winfield, AL
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