Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Small cast straight play

Message

   So, my wife and I managed to perform "First Night," a cute 2-person romantic comedy at a church last winter, and they liked it so much, they had us come back and do something this summer.  We got a third and did "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [abridged]" to more good reception, and they're already talking about bringing us back in for another go-around, probably next year.  Here are the parameters:
* Needs to be a small cast.  At least 1m+1f, up to 5 or so, not much more than that.
* Comedy or drama is okay
* Should be reasonably church-appropriate.  Shakespeare [abridged] had some "PG-13" humour and language.  Not past that (it's a UCC, they're fairly liberal).
* Should be cheap to produce.  Not much set background needed, preferably easy on props and costumes (we were able to borrow for S(A) from a prior production).  We don't charge admission -- just have a donation plate in the lobby, and that's held up okay, we'd like to keep it that way.
* Doesn't require much if any crew (we tend to handle it all ourselves).
* Doesn't require a lot of stage space.

Author	Message
Rorgg Celebrity Joined: 2/10/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 151	Topic: Small cast straight play Posted: 9/11/12 at 3:04pm
	So, my wife and I managed to perform "First Night," a cute 2-person romantic comedy at a church last winter, and they liked it so much, they had us come back and do something this summer. We got a third and did "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare [abridged]" to more good reception, and they're already talking about bringing us back in for another go-around, probably next year. Here are the parameters: * Needs to be a small cast. At least 1m+1f, up to 5 or so, not much more than that. * Comedy or drama is okay * Should be reasonably church-appropriate. Shakespeare [abridged] had some "PG-13" humour and language. Not past that (it's a UCC, they're fairly liberal). * Should be cheap to produce. Not much set background needed, preferably easy on props and costumes (we were able to borrow for S(A) from a prior production). We don't charge admission -- just have a donation plate in the lobby, and that's held up okay, we'd like to keep it that way. * Doesn't require much if any crew (we tend to handle it all ourselves). * Doesn't require a lot of stage space.

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sarahchristine Walk-On Joined: 8/28/12 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 9/11/12 at 8:23pm
	I know that The Glass Menagerie has four characters, but I'm not sure how it is in terms of appropriateness or set.
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edh915 Celebrity Joined: 11/19/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 325	Posted: 9/12/12 at 5:30pm
	"Talley's Folly" by Lanford Wilson; Comedy-Drama - 1m, 1f "A Walk in the Woods" by Lee Blessing; Dramatic Comedy - 2m (I have seen the show produced with the younger man played by a woman, and it worked) "Visiting Mr. Green" by Jeff Baron; Heart-warming Comedy-Drama - 2m "Someone Who'll Watch Over Me" by Frank McGuinness; Drama -3m "Scotland Road" by Jeffrey Hatcher; Mystery-Fantasy-Drama - 1m, 3f "Love in the Title" by Hugh Leonard; Comedy-Drama - 3f "Mary, Mary" by Jean Kerr; Comedy - 2m, 2f, 1 either "Love Letters" by A.R. Gurney; Drama - 1m, 1f "Faith Healer" by Brian Friel; Drama with Comic moments - 2m, 1f "Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!) by Michael Carlton, Jim Fitzgerald and John K. Alvarez - 3 actors (Sort of a holiday version of 'Shakespeare, Abridged') "Art" by Yasmina Reza; Comedy - 3m (one or two "f-bombs", but they could be excised) All are excellent. Edited by edh915 - 9/12/12 at 5:32pm
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edh915 Celebrity Joined: 11/19/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 325	Posted: 9/12/12 at 6:07pm
	2 more: "A Picasso" by Jeffrey Hatcher; Drama - 1m, 1f "Shooting Star" by Steven Dietz; Comedy-Drama - 1m, 1f
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directorjm Player Joined: 10/09/11 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 10	Posted: 9/14/12 at 2:45pm
	I also found "Talley's Folly" to be excellent. When I saw it an excellent set added greatly to it. I'm not sure I would have been so in love with it with minimal sets. "Sea Marks" is a nice 1M-1F love story that I saw with very minimal sets and enjoyed. A nice show for a married couple to perform. I loved "Art" but found it to be more like an R rating and my recollection is that it was loaded with profanity. Plus, didn't Rorgg ask for at least one female?
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edh915 Celebrity Joined: 11/19/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 325	Posted: 9/14/12 at 4:57pm
	Yes, he did. I'm afraid I just got carried away with my list of favorite small cast shows and totally forgot about the "at least one female" requirement. Still, if she decides she'd like to sit one out, or just wear the director's hat, they could still be useful to know about. You're certainly right, "Talley's Folly" is enhanced by a realistically elaborate set; but such a set is far from necessary. (IMHO)
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Rorgg Celebrity Joined: 2/10/09 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 151	Posted: 9/18/12 at 1:03pm
	Great, nice list to start from, I'll get on the ball once things calm down a bit and start doing some reading. Thanks!
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jonplaywright Star Joined: 7/20/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 53	Posted: 10/01/12 at 1:46am
	YouthPLAYS has a great 4-actor *Great Expectations* here: http://www.youthplays.com/plays/view/83/Great_Expectations 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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Oberon Player Joined: 4/22/06 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 12	Posted: 10/19/12 at 10:26am
	You forgot GREATER TUNA. It says it is best with just the two men playing the twenty parts both male & female. but we might stage it in 2013 with the two men splitting the male roles and a woman or two taking the female characters.
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hobbyactor Lead Joined: 12/22/11 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 47	Posted: 10/19/12 at 12:23pm
	We had a lot of fun with 'Guilty Conscience' by Richard Levinson & William Link a few years ago. Cast is 2 men and 2 women. It kept the audiences in suspense right up until the end!
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