Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Looking for Play with 2 boys and 2 girls

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dramagoon
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Joined: 3/27/09
Location: United States
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Posts: 4

Topic: Looking for Play with 2 boys and 2 girls
Posted: 8/10/11 at 11:23am

Finding plays with just kid roles online is really hard!

I'm looking for a full length play or musical starring exactly four performers; two boys and two girls. Kids ages are 10 - 16. Ideally the boys are the oldest and youngest with the girls in the middle. I know... right!

I can add adult if needed but really don't want to.

I know that this is extremely specific and I appreciate any suggestions that you might have.

Thanks in advance!

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donzolidis
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Joined: 5/15/07
Location: United States
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Posts: 156

Posted: 8/11/11 at 4:45pm

All right - I'm wracking my brains for you.

Does it have to be full-length?

Do you want no doubling whatsoever?

Does it have to be appropriate for schools? (I say this because 4 character, full-length plays tend to be professional shows, and as such have a lot of um... adult material, even when they're ostensibly about teenagers.)

Are you absolutely opposed to any of the performers playing adult characters?

www.donzolidis.com

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AnnetteLogue
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Joined: 2/28/10
Location: United States
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Posts: 27

Posted: 8/11/11 at 6:11pm

I'm not sure what venue you need this play for, but freedrama.net has several plays which could possibly fit your needs. Our high school drama class has produced several shows from here. They seemed to be well recieved. They are free with permisson to use.

Do you want the children to have 'young' roles or do you want them to play adults? John Millington Synge has a show which may be in public domain (I am not sure) called The Tinker's Wedding which is a lot of fun.

Annette Logue
McIntosh Theatre Arts Company
Darien, Georgia

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Thudster
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Posted: 8/12/11 at 12:04am

Tinker's Wedding seems to be public domain (I found it over on Project Gutenberg and they REALLY check things out). I agree, it looks like great fun. I formatted it, if anyone's interested.

The original link is http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1328

Edited by Thudster - 8/12/11 at 12:06am

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dramagoon
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Posts: 4

Posted: 8/12/11 at 4:34pm

Don,

We have four kids; two sets of brothers and sisters; boys 9 and 15; girls 12 and 13. They've each done amazing things in community theatre separately and together. They make a great team and I would love to produce a show with all four of them together. I'm not wild about kids playing adults unless absolutely necessary. I am okay with adding an adult or two to round the cast if necessary. I don't mind some adult material but one of them is 9... so not too much.

All that being said, I am willing to flexible if I can find something close enough and good.

Kurt

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jonplaywright
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Joined: 7/20/07
Location: United States
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Posts: 53

Posted: 8/14/11 at 10:00pm

Hi Kurt,

As Don said, what you're looking for is very difficult to find. I don't know of anyone who's written a full-length play that's both small cast and only youth roles, and with a fairly substantial (at least at that age) age span.

Have you thought about doing a pair of one-acts instead? If so, there are a pair of plays at online publisher YouthPLAYS you might consider:

The Adventures of Rocky and Skye by Kelly DuMar
http://youthplays.com/plays/view/114
Four characters grow up before our eyes as they go from elementary to middle school.

Secret Life Under the Stairs by Kris Knutsen
http://youthplays.com/plays/view/72
A new kid shows up and disturbs the secret hideout of a group of misfits in this play about making friends, navigating change and exploring imaginative worlds lurking just beneath the stairs.

Both scripts, as well as anything on the site, can be read in its entirely as a non-printable perusal for free, or as a printable perusal for a nominal fee.

Cheers,
Jon

Co-Chair, Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights
Resident Playwright, Final Draft

YouthPLAYS, plays for young actors and audiences
www.youthplays.com

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dramagoon
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Joined: 3/27/09
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 4

Posted: 8/22/11 at 1:13pm

Thanks for the help everyone. We've decided to add two more roles and do "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown!"

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Play Suggestions
Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board :Producing Theater :Play Suggestions

Author	Message
dramagoon Walk-On Joined: 3/27/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Topic: Looking for Play with 2 boys and 2 girls Posted: 8/10/11 at 11:23am
	Finding plays with just kid roles online is really hard! I'm looking for a full length play or musical starring exactly four performers; two boys and two girls. Kids ages are 10 - 16. Ideally the boys are the oldest and youngest with the girls in the middle. I know... right! I can add adult if needed but really don't want to. I know that this is extremely specific and I appreciate any suggestions that you might have. Thanks in advance!

	IP Logged

donzolidis Celebrity Joined: 5/15/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 156	Posted: 8/11/11 at 4:45pm
	All right - I'm wracking my brains for you. Does it have to be full-length? Do you want no doubling whatsoever? Does it have to be appropriate for schools? (I say this because 4 character, full-length plays tend to be professional shows, and as such have a lot of um... adult material, even when they're ostensibly about teenagers.) Are you absolutely opposed to any of the performers playing adult characters?
	www.donzolidis.com
	IP Logged

AnnetteLogue Player Joined: 2/28/10 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 27	Posted: 8/11/11 at 6:11pm
	I'm not sure what venue you need this play for, but freedrama.net has several plays which could possibly fit your needs. Our high school drama class has produced several shows from here. They seemed to be well recieved. They are free with permisson to use. Do you want the children to have 'young' roles or do you want them to play adults? John Millington Synge has a show which may be in public domain (I am not sure) called The Tinker's Wedding which is a lot of fun.
	Annette Logue McIntosh Theatre Arts Company Darien, Georgia
	IP Logged

Thudster Star Joined: 10/16/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 68	Posted: 8/12/11 at 12:04am
	Tinker's Wedding seems to be public domain (I found it over on Project Gutenberg and they REALLY check things out). I agree, it looks like great fun. I formatted it, if anyone's interested. The original link is http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1328 Edited by Thudster - 8/12/11 at 12:06am
	IP Logged

dramagoon Walk-On Joined: 3/27/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Posted: 8/12/11 at 4:34pm
	Don, We have four kids; two sets of brothers and sisters; boys 9 and 15; girls 12 and 13. They've each done amazing things in community theatre separately and together. They make a great team and I would love to produce a show with all four of them together. I'm not wild about kids playing adults unless absolutely necessary. I am okay with adding an adult or two to round the cast if necessary. I don't mind some adult material but one of them is 9... so not too much. All that being said, I am willing to flexible if I can find something close enough and good. Kurt
	IP Logged

jonplaywright Star Joined: 7/20/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 53	Posted: 8/14/11 at 10:00pm
	Hi Kurt, As Don said, what you're looking for is very difficult to find. I don't know of anyone who's written a full-length play that's both small cast and only youth roles, and with a fairly substantial (at least at that age) age span. Have you thought about doing a pair of one-acts instead? If so, there are a pair of plays at online publisher YouthPLAYS you might consider: *The Adventures of Rocky and Skye* by Kelly DuMar http://youthplays.com/plays/view/114 Four characters grow up before our eyes as they go from elementary to middle school. *Secret Life Under the Stairs* by Kris Knutsen http://youthplays.com/plays/view/72 A new kid shows up and disturbs the secret hideout of a group of misfits in this play about making friends, navigating change and exploring imaginative worlds lurking just beneath the stairs. Both scripts, as well as anything on the site, can be read in its entirely as a non-printable perusal for free, or as a printable perusal for a nominal fee. Cheers, Jon
	Co-Chair, Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights Resident Playwright, Final Draft YouthPLAYS, plays for young actors and audiences www.youthplays.com
	IP Logged

dramagoon Walk-On Joined: 3/27/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Posted: 8/22/11 at 1:13pm
	Thanks for the help everyone. We've decided to add two more roles and do "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown!"
	IP Logged