need theater help please (ot)

[alsih2o]

i have been asked ot direct 4 plays this year for 7th-10th graders (12-15 years) and i am having trouble with my meager knowledge.

can anyone recommend some good pieces?

i want to entertain the kids, and not treat them like "kids" but i also need to keep a whole lot of parents happy.

i appreciate any input you folks can spare

 

[Pigeon]

Blimey, 4 plays. Good luck!

Well, for starters you could do a Shakespere play. Probably a comedy like Taming of the Shrew or Midsummer Nights dream. Shakespere should keep the parents happy, and depending on your kids they might get something out of it (a bit of a nightmare in the line learning though)

Perhaps a musical. Bugsy Malone or Little Shop of Horrors are pretty good for kids (bugsy malone in particular).

If you were in England I'd suggest a good old pantomime like Cinderella or Dick Whittington. If you could get hold of a script for an English panto I'm sure the kids would love it.

There are a few Terry Pratchett books that have been made into plays - I saw a production of Truckers last year that was quite good.

Perhaps you could find a play that deals with some social issues - aids/drugs ect. I don't know one off the top of my head.

If I think of anything else I'll post it.

 

[alsih2o]

Blimey, 4 plays. Good luck!

Well, for starters you could do a Shakespere play.

thanks for the advice pigeon, altho shakespeare is right out the window

back ground on the kids- school has 35% drop out rate, rural, low reading skills, only 2 of the 40some children involved have been in a theater before. while this sounds dismal it is a huge improvement from a few years ago and it is still getting better.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Wooo...difficult one. I also think that throwing Shakespear out the window is a good move, but that's just me...

Are we talking large numbers of kids, or just small groups? Some of the classic American plays might work, like Death of A Salesman for example.

More thoughts as they occour!

But I second the Pratchett idea, some of those are very good.

 

[alsih2o]

Are we talking large numbers of kids, or just small groups?

my understanding is that over 40 children will be involved, i assumed i would do a series of one-acts or some such as the theater director said "involve everyone, i don't care if you ahve to stack them 3 deep in the orchestra pit"

this was kinda funny because we don't have an orchestra pit

 

[SylverFlame]

I've been in a number of plays (or involved with them) and I can suggest a few.

First, there is a play called "Moonchildren" (it was originally called "Cancer"). THe play is about a group of fourth year university students in the 70's. Pretty good, and it's realistic. SImple setup with plenty of laughs so the kiddies should enjoy it. Not hard to put on either. A group of people I know put it on wiht a bunch of props they had lying around their house.

THe other play I'd suggest is "Baron Bollegrew" (I think I spelled that correctly). It's a play about a group of knights who are bored, so they send one of their number off to an island to take care of a despot. Funny, loads of laughs, and again, simple to put on. It even has a dragon. Think something along the lines of a "Nodwick" or "Knights of the Dinner Table" comic and you've got Baron Bollegrew. Oh yeah, throw in bad brit accents, why? because you can.

Good luck with this. Oh yeah, have fun to.

EDIT: Just noticed your cast size. Moonchildren only has about 16 parts. And those are mostly guys. So, you can't really use it unless you use other plays with larger casts.

 

[alsih2o]

one added note, the school is 97%black, african-american, whatever term you wish.

i am still unsure how i feel about this facts effect on choosing plays.

 

[Kai Lord]

I played Buzz Gunderson in my high school's production of "Rebel without a Cause" and it went pretty well. That's a good one for high school, since the characters are all in the 16-18 year old range.

If they're musically inclined you really can't go wrong with "Grease", another production centered around high school students. And I agree that "Little Shop of Horrors" can be a good alternative for your budding thespians.

Cool gig man, good luck.

EDIT: Just noticed the racial demographic. If you can dig up a play called "Fences" its a superb story focused on an African American family.

 

[Wormwood]

Some links of interest:

'Plays for Kids to Do', Jimmy Brunelle

Childrens Theatre Plays.com

Creative Drama for Youth (webring)

Duncan's Playscripts

WorldWideArts listings for children's theatre

Amazon.com quicksearch

Google: Children's Theatre

Hope this helps.

ps. Don't do Equus. The parents always complain

 

[Angcuru]

just don't do macbeth....dear lord don't do macbeth.

if you've ever read or seen the play, you'll know why I say this.