Shortlist of Plays

I teach three levels of drama, and produce most of my shows by class. My beginning drama kids learn basic skills, intermediate does one children's show and advanced does between 3 and 4 shows a year. i haven't picked shows yet, because I don't know who i have in my classes yet and want to choose based on who I have. I've been reading some really fun scripts this summer and have some ideas to choose from.

Shuddersome: Tales of Poe adapted by Lindsay Price and published by Theatrefolk. I love this script. It has really flexible casting and awesome ensemble potential. It is very movement based, which would be new for my students. They struggle with any kind of formal language and memorizing and so this one with its repetition and movement focus could be a good fit. I love giving them new opportunities (last year we did Commedia del Arte) and this would be a stretch for them.

Stage Door by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman and published by Dramatists. This one has a million girl parts, which is great for my girl heavy classes. It deals with theatre, so many of students could relate to it. It is a solid straight play, and would give them good experience in traditional scripts and acting.

Up the Down Staircase by Christopher Sergel and published by Dramatists. This one has a soft spot in my heart because I relate to the teacher in it on some levels. But it has a lot of parts, many high school aged characters and language that my students already use. And it is slightly untraditional with monologues and montages.

Check Please by Jonathon Rand and published by Playscripts, Inc. This is a one act made up of short scenes. It would be a fun introduction show with each student being in one or two short scenes. Playscripts has a bunch of scripts like this, like The Audition and How to Screw Up Your College Interview.

A Family Reunion to Die For by Mike Steele and Matt Steele and published by Pioneer Drama Service. Murder mysteries are fun and go over well in our community. This one has lots of quirky characters that would be good to stretch my kids' character creation abilities.

That's the short list. I'll be discussing what route we want the class to take in the first week of school, and will decide from there what to produce.