Play suggestion
Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Producing Theater
Forum Name: Play Suggestions
Forum Discription: Need help finding a show that's right for your theater? Ask here.
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4827
Printed Date: 11/04/25 at 8:24am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 8.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Play suggestion
Posted By: leoknite
Subject: Play suggestion
Date Posted: 10/04/10 at 4:04am
Hello, I decided to fund and run my own show for the experience of doing so but it's hard to find the right play.
Stage is very small about 7.5 by 15 feet with curtains that cut off part of the sight line. I have a minimal budget but I am very crafty at getting things I need, but I have no access to building. Something simple, or elaborate that I can work some magic on.
Play preference
Cast size: more than 4, less then 12
Cast Age range: Prefer 20s-30s but could use a few outside of that range
Genre: I would prefer a drama, my life is kind of a joke so I like meaty dramas, I am young so I also love edgy plays.
Restrictions: The theatre I'm producing this works stipulated that I cannot make fun of people with handicaps/ disabilities (I had no intention to), no pro choice, no nudity, potty humor, or over the top cussing.
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If I was a resonable person, I would have chosen the life of a politician or a chemist, but I not reasonable so I'm a theatre major.
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Replies:
Posted By: TZine
Date Posted: 10/04/10 at 12:42pm
First off - Good for you! Being a producer can be incredibly stressful, but very rewarding. My best advice: surround yourself with reliable, smart people who are willing to push back, and don't try to do every little thing yourself.
Regarding choosing a show: Are you looking for something contemporary, or not necessarily? Edgy is great, but so is name recognition. For your first project as producer (I assume?), it might be good to select a powerful drama that people will still recognize. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf comes to mind, as it's not a large cast (I'd stick with a small cast in a space that size), you only have to worry about one set, and the costume design is limited and could be pulled off with thrift store finds, if you're smart about it. You'd need two older actors, however.
Do you have an idea of what actors are available (i.e. training, types, etc.)? It might narrow down our suggestions a bit if we know what you've got to work with.
It sounds like your venue is keeping you on a pretty tight leash. That doesn't mean you can't do "edgy", but it will limit your choices.
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Posted By: jonplaywright
Date Posted: 10/05/10 at 4:11pm
This isn't a play suggestion, but if you're producing, a site you may want to check out is http://www.produceaplay.com - www.produceaplay.com . It's still very much under construction, but there's already a ton of useful information there.
Cheers,
Jon
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Co-Chair, Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights
Resident Playwright, Final Draft
YouthPLAYS, plays for young actors and audiences
http://www.youthplays.com - www.youthplays.com
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Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 10/05/10 at 7:04pm
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Something like Doubt could be done on that stage and would probably be acceptable to your sponsors.
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Posted By: Lazy Bee
Date Posted: 10/06/10 at 12:08pm
You say you must not make fun of people with disabilities. Are you permitted to make serious of them?
If so, take a look at George Douglas Lee's " http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk/cgi-bin/Search_Results.asp?iSc=828 - For the Good of the Family ". Caveat: in common with many family dramas, it requires a cast to play a broad age-range. (Since it easier to age people up than down, you're starting in the right place!)
The same caveat applies to Eileen Siedman's newly-published " http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk/cgi-bin/Search_Results.asp?iSc=1169 - High Stakes ".
Andrew Harrison's " http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk/cgi-bin/Search_Results.asp?iSc=975 - The Future " has a cast of six who age 12 years during the play.
" http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk/cgi-bin/Search_Results.asp?iSc=661 - The Loft ", by James Brosnahan can (with some doubling) be done by a cast of 7. Unusual in that the narrator is an apartment building.
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Stuart
Lazy Bee Scripts
http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk - http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk read complete play scripts on-line
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Posted By: jayzehr
Date Posted: 10/06/10 at 1:29pm
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If you've never worked in that space, I'd try a play with a very small cast first (1 to 3 maybe) to see how it works. 7x15 is really small.
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Posted By: leoknite
Date Posted: 10/07/10 at 4:18am
Thank you all for the suggestions, I'm looking at them now.
Most of the people I'm working with are college people and community people. I have used the space before, the person who runs it runs an acting company for people with disabilities. So she finds plays that poke fun of people with disabilities is inappropriate, also she is very pro life. Overall they are an older couple not uptight but they would prefer not to have plays in their space that are overly dirty and of course no nudity.
Problem with aging is there is not distance between cast and audience, the person in front can literally lean in and touch a person on the front of the stage. We really can't do much building, so a play like virginia woolf may be difficult since it takes place in a two story home.
Plays like Exonerated, Laramie, Vagina Monologue may be good because of the limited need for set change. I like doing plays like Shape of Things, Oleanna, the Dining room, or even Beyond Therapy.
I guess that is a bit more info, thank you all for suggestions.
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If I was a resonable person, I would have chosen the life of a politician or a chemist, but I not reasonable so I'm a theatre major.
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Posted By: bnk01
Date Posted: 10/14/10 at 7:10pm
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"Past Curfew" takes place entirely in the kitchen of a trailer home. Small and cramped works well! (Language & subject may be too strong for your venue, though.)
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Posted By: WrenCharlie
Date Posted: 11/16/10 at 11:32pm
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Some food for thought: "Lying in State" by David Hyer. It is a political comedy but is set in a funeral home parlor. Three female roles (and some hysterical ones at that) and four male roles. Minimal props (other than a casket) and easy costumes. It is filled with non-stop laughs. Some language, but no major four-letter words. It was a major hit for us and did well for our bank account.
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Posted By: Rorgg
Date Posted: 11/17/10 at 11:56am
I suggested it in another thread, I'll run it through here, because it fits:
The Dining Room by A.R. Gurney. The whole thing basically takes place at a dining room table -- it's a series of vigniettes, some funny, some touching, a lot a little of both -- tracing the social decline of the upper-middle class WASP set. It's got a zillion parts, it's well-constructed to be played by 6 (3m/3f) but you can certainly parcel out the parts to more if desired.
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Posted By: tristanrobin
Date Posted: 11/17/10 at 2:40pm
I agree - the Dining Room is an excellent choice. However, I would be careful about using more than the intended six actors - you can lose a lot of the theatricality of the piece.
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http://tristanrobin.blogspot.com
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Posted By: stockhamlj
Date Posted: 11/17/10 at 5:04pm
DAMNATION by Linda Stockham.
Logline: A dying private eye makes a pact with the devil
in order to learn the truth about a cold case murder.
Set: One simple set.
Cast: 6 (3m,3f - 1m is a non-spoken role)
This play was written for college theatre department students and had its premiere at California State University San Bernardino to sell out performances and excellent reviews. It is available at no cost to amateur groups. If interested and would like to receive a copy of the play, go to: lindastockham@netzero.net
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Linda Stockham
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Posted By: jonplaywright
Date Posted: 11/17/10 at 7:14pm
Linda,
I hate to be the Grinch, but offering a play for no royalties does a terrible disservice both to you and to playwrights everywhere.
Writing a play takes effort, and when a producer at any level pays royalties, it's an acknowledgment that the play is a thing of value. Royalties are typically charged regardless of whether admission is charged, whether the actors or other personnel are being paid, or whether a play is being presented by an educational or non-profit institution. (The only exceptions are usually for one-time benefit performances in which everyone is donating their services, and for performances in closed classrooms as part of the curriculum.) The Dramatists Guild and other playwrights' organizations have fought hard--and continue to fight--for playwrights to receive this recognition that their work is valuable. If someone can be paid to flip burgers, why shouldn't the playwright be paid? And quite frankly, the amateur market is the largest royalty paying market out there. When you give your work away, not only are you failing to respect your own time and effort in creating your play, but you undermine every other playwright out there. Don't do it.
Regards,
Jonathan Dorf
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Co-Chair, Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights
Resident Playwright, Final Draft
YouthPLAYS, plays for young actors and audiences
http://www.youthplays.com - www.youthplays.com
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