Play Suggestions: Small school

Small school - First Play

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Topic: Small school - First Play

Posted By: wcormode
Subject: Small school - First Play
Date Posted: 7/26/12 at 3:18pm

I am a teacher at a very small rural High school/Middle school. The last two years the school play has fallen through because the kids all dropped out after the sponsors tried to do short skits rather than actual plays. Also, neither sponsor had ever done drama before. I was a drama major before I switched to math but it has been 12 years since I have directed a play.

I have been tasked with doing the play this year and I need some play suggestions. My principal would like to see a show in the fall and one in the spring. We only have about 60 kids in the building, 6-12th grade. I would like it to be mainly high school kids but it would be nice to include the middle school students. Other than some seniors there is zero acting experience unless they did something in elementary.

I would like something that isnt too expensive to produce as we have no budget and I may not even be allowed to charge for tickets. It should be a comedy and the kids will rebel if it is one acts. I do expect for some kids to commit and drop out so I want a limited number of major roles.

I would like something easy to do that the kids will have a blast doing so that we can build involvement for the spring.

I have downloaded preview copies of Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon, Football Romeo, Harry Hotter at Twilight, and Tiny Miracle With a Fiber Unicorn as suggested in other threads but I am not sure if those are a good jumping off point or not.

Any ideas? Suggestions?

Replies:

Posted By: donzolidis
Date Posted: 7/26/12 at 3:27pm

I think simple is the way to go here. You need something that's flexible and can accomodate a kid dropping out or moving without the entire play imploding.

I'd suggest something along the lines of Check, Please (which is a one-act about terrible blind dates) or my version of the same type of play, It's not you, It's me (which is about people being dumped) - basically, anything simple that can be done with limited budget.

I think you probably want to begin with comedy in order to increase the visibility of your program. Drama is great, but when you're just starting out, comedy is the way to go.

Here are the links to those two plays - Check please has two sequels as well - you can make an entire night of it if you like.

Check, Please

http://www.playscripts.com/play.php3?playid=202 - http://www.playscripts.com/play.php3?playid=202

It's not you, It's me

http://www.playscripts.com/play.php3?playid=2063 - http://www.playscripts.com/play.php3?playid=2063

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www.donzolidis.com

Posted By: jonplaywright
Date Posted: 8/03/12 at 2:33am

If you're going for full-length pieces, I certainly can't complain about Harry's Hotter at Twilight (since I wrote it), and Don's Brothers Grimm piece is lots of fun.

I also have a trippy comic Dickensian mash-up called Run Like the Dickens (or Tiny Tim Runs the Marathon) that runs about 90 minutes, with a cast of 9-40+. In a few lines:
When Tiny Tim throws away his crutches and declares his intention to run the marathon, he could inspire millions--but with big business behind Oliver Twist as their inspirational figure of choice, Tiny Tim may never make it to the starting line...

http://www.playscripts.com/play.php3?playid=2055 - - - Happy hunting!

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

Posted By: edh915
Date Posted: 8/03/12 at 12:04pm

You absolutely cannot go wrong with anything by Don Zolidis (and, no, I don't own any Zolidis stock).

If you want to stay low-low budget, check out www.freedrama.net - Some really fun non-royalty plays. We've done three or four over the years and they've been very well received.

Break a leg!

Posted By: StaceySue
Date Posted: 8/09/12 at 11:41pm

Originally posted by edh915

You absolutely cannot go wrong with anything by Don Zolidis (and, no, I don't own any Zolidis stock).

Break a leg!

I completely agree! I have done the Brothers Grimm (One Act), some of his Christmas shows, and The Election as a Readers. Great stuff, although I know you said no one acts or skits, so the Christmas ones would probably not work.

I am also a teacher in a small, rural district, so I understand where you are coming from. I, too, revived a non-existent program.

We've done A Bad Year for Tomatoes. It went well. The set is a single interior that can be as elaborate or not as you want. The cast is small. I like to keep the cast under 10 members with a crew of four or so.

Last year, we did Almost, Maine, which the kids loved, but it is several scenes in the same small town so it may not work for your group at this time.

I've done Faith County a few years ago. That was a lot of fun, and the set is simple. I even had a local company lend me a port-a-potty in exchange for advertising in the program.

We've done the melodrama Dirty Work at the Crossroads. It was fun, but it is rather long. There are probably more suitable melodramas.

I still haven't picked a show for this fall. I just haven't had "the one" feeling about anything yet.