Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Youth theater, smallish cast... HELP

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lwood
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Topic: Youth theater, smallish cast... HELP
Posted: 4/19/07 at 11:28pm

Hi. We are a youth theater (completely run by high school students, with performers in middle and high school). We perform in a small blackbox theater which seats about 60, so our sets need to stay simple. We're looking for a comedy with a smallish cast (12-17) which would be appropriate and managable for our age group. Our first show was Arsenic and Old Lace and it was a huge success.

Right now, we're looking at "Harvey" or "You can't take it with you"... any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

EDIT: finding guys for our shows isn't an issue, we'd prefer a fairly even guy/girl split between roles. thanks!

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lwood
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Posted: 4/21/07 at 12:21am

oh and your suggestions dont have to fit with all that criteria.. htats like the ideal idea, not what we actually expect to find... thanks!

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gracie
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Posted: 4/22/07 at 10:42am

With Samuel French you can search for a show by cast size.

www.samuelfrench.com

Most of the selections in the Categories box on the bottom left of the page will take you to a page where you can then search by cast size.

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biggertigger
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Posted: 4/22/07 at 3:00pm

There is a show called "Curtain Going Up" about High School students doing a play. I remember it being funny (I seen it over 15 years ago) and had minimal if not set at all. I found it on Samuel French. It lists for two different size casts. Hope this helps.

http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/product_info.php/products_id/2460?osCsid=acfc136e7bea9533860a16df95a472e7

The two greatest days in a theater persons life, the day you start a new show and the day the damn thing closes.

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lwood
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Posted: 5/04/07 at 2:37pm

thanks! i'll check them out

any more suggestions are definitely welcome

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Lazy Bee
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Posted: 5/09/07 at 7:01am

Try Lazy Bee Scripts. On the home page, click on the search link, and go to the play scripts search engine where you can search by a combination of number of characters and agegroup. (You can then read the scripts on line to see if they are really suitable.)

Stuart
Lazy Bee Scripts
http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk read complete play scripts on-line

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donzolidis
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Posted: 5/15/07 at 1:40am

You can't go wrong with a Midsummer Night's Dream.

Also check out www.playscripts.com you can search by cast size--they've really cornered the market on one-acts for high school performers. There are a number of full-length plays in there as well.

www.donzolidis.com

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Dough Boy
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Posted: 5/15/07 at 10:22am

Ditto on Midsummer Nights Dream. I just saw it performed by a high school cast last weekend (Daughter was in it) And while I was dreading Shakespeare by high schoolers, it was very entertaining. They had a disco/techno theme with punk fairies on skates. They managed to trim it down to a little over 2 hours with intermission and it didn't drag at all. They played it totally over the top and it was funny.

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Debflo
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Posted: 6/07/07 at 12:10pm

I know you posted this question a while ago, but I just saw it and thought I would contribute here. I recently directed "The Least Offensive Play in the Whole Darn World" with all teens and it was a huge success. It is a simple set (just one) and can be done with a small to large cast.

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lwood
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Posted: 6/07/07 at 2:58pm

thanks to everyone.. we'll probably decide around july, so ideas are still welcome =)

also, i was wondering who liscenses "the least offensive play...", if you know, that would be fabulous

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Topic: Youth theater, smallish cast... HELP( Topic Closed)
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Author	Message
lwood Player Joined: 2/10/07 Online Status: Offline Posts: 22	Topic: Youth theater, smallish cast... HELP Posted: 4/19/07 at 11:28pm
	Hi. We are a youth theater (completely run by high school students, with performers in middle and high school). We perform in a small blackbox theater which seats about 60, so our sets need to stay simple. We're looking for a comedy with a smallish cast (12-17) which would be appropriate and managable for our age group. Our first show was Arsenic and Old Lace and it was a huge success. Right now, we're looking at "Harvey" or "You can't take it with you"... any suggestions would be greatly appreciated EDIT: finding guys for our shows isn't an issue, we'd prefer a fairly even guy/girl split between roles. thanks!

	IP Logged

lwood Player Joined: 2/10/07 Online Status: Offline Posts: 22	Posted: 4/21/07 at 12:21am
	oh and your suggestions dont have to fit with all that criteria.. htats like the ideal idea, not what we actually expect to find... thanks!
	IP Logged

gracie Walk-On Joined: 4/04/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 4/22/07 at 10:42am
	With Samuel French you can search for a show by cast size. www.samuelfrench.com Most of the selections in the Categories box on the bottom left of the page will take you to a page where you can then search by cast size.
	IP Logged

biggertigger Celebrity Joined: 4/16/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 188	Posted: 4/22/07 at 3:00pm
	There is a show called "Curtain Going Up" about High School students doing a play. I remember it being funny (I seen it over 15 years ago) and had minimal if not set at all. I found it on Samuel French. It lists for two different size casts. Hope this helps. http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/product_info.php/products_id/2460?osCsid=acfc136e7bea9533860a16df95a472e7
	The two greatest days in a theater persons life, the day you start a new show and the day the damn thing closes.
	IP Logged

lwood Player Joined: 2/10/07 Online Status: Offline Posts: 22	Posted: 5/04/07 at 2:37pm
	thanks! i'll check them out any more suggestions are definitely welcome
	IP Logged

Lazy Bee Star Joined: 2/21/07 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 89	Posted: 5/09/07 at 7:01am
	Try Lazy Bee Scripts. On the home page, click on the search link, and go to the play scripts search engine where you can search by a combination of number of characters and agegroup. (You can then read the scripts on line to see if they are really suitable.)
	Stuart Lazy Bee Scripts http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk read complete play scripts on-line
	IP Logged

donzolidis Celebrity Joined: 5/15/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 156	Posted: 5/15/07 at 1:40am
	You can't go wrong with a Midsummer Night's Dream. Also check out www.playscripts.com you can search by cast size--they've really cornered the market on one-acts for high school performers. There are a number of full-length plays in there as well.
	www.donzolidis.com
	IP Logged

Dough Boy Walk-On Joined: 3/20/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 5/15/07 at 10:22am
	Ditto on Midsummer Nights Dream. I just saw it performed by a high school cast last weekend (Daughter was in it) And while I was dreading Shakespeare by high schoolers, it was very entertaining. They had a disco/techno theme with punk fairies on skates. They managed to trim it down to a little over 2 hours with intermission and it didn't drag at all. They played it totally over the top and it was funny.
	IP Logged

Debflo Star Joined: 6/06/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 60	Posted: 6/07/07 at 12:10pm
	I know you posted this question a while ago, but I just saw it and thought I would contribute here. I recently directed "The Least Offensive Play in the Whole Darn World" with all teens and it was a huge success. It is a simple set (just one) and can be done with a small to large cast.
	IP Logged

lwood Player Joined: 2/10/07 Online Status: Offline Posts: 22	Posted: 6/07/07 at 2:58pm
	thanks to everyone.. we'll probably decide around july, so ideas are still welcome =) also, i was wondering who liscenses "the least offensive play...", if you know, that would be fabulous
	IP Logged