Finding a Play

What to look for in a play.

Strong Ensemble Work (large cast, at least 15), gender flexible.
Multiple speaking parts, spread throughout the play (not just 5 leads, and a few other lines thrown in)
Light comedies (especially for theatre 1...theatre 2 can branch out some if it's a good script).
Safe subject matter
Make sure that the comedies aren’t inside jokes, and that an entire audience would find it funny. Remember, our main audience is parents and families.
REMINDERS:

Directing is about finding a script that will work well for young actors and give them a good first (or second) experience on stage. It's important to find a play that you connect with and that you can dive into, make sure you strike the balance between the two. Also, read MANY plays. The vast majority you read won't work well for us (trust me on this one)...keep reading.

Where to Look

The four at the top are the sites we usually use the most often. Start with them, they have the strongest plays for our classes.

Playscripts, Inc: Good site, easy to navigate. Large casts, fun, great for school age actors. Allows you to read most of the play.
Brooklyn Publishers: Good site for high school plays, ensemble, one acts, allows you to read a small sample of the play first. A lot of new publishers, playwrights.
Theatrefolk: Good site for high school plays, ensemble, one acts, allows you to read some of the play.
Dramatic Publishing: Good plays, a lot of the classics. Has some wonderful high school plays, but a little hard to navigate the site to find them.

These next websites contain main plays that aren’t really geared towards high school casts...but don't let that stop you! There are some wonderful plays in these as well!

Dramatists Play Service: Good site with broad range of plays (can be hard to navigate)
Eldridge Plays: Broad range of plays. Small to medium size casts mostly, some musicals, etc. Allows you to read small preview of play.
Concord Theatrical: Good site for classic theatre plays. Smaller casts, more full length.
Pioneer Drama: Great for children's theatre!

Effective Plays

The following is a list of plays that has been effective in the past for a theatre I or theatre II class. We can certainly use plays again that have been directed before. Even if you do not want to use these, they will give you an idea of the style to be looking for.

Playscripts, Inc (www.playscripts.com)

15 Reasons Not to be in a Play
18 More Reasons Not to be in a Play
A Most Curious Phenomenon
Homework Eats Dog, and other Woeful Tales
Wendy's Tale
Romeo to Go
How to Succeed in High School Without Really Trying
HSTV
The Siege of Eshteb
Andromeda’s Galaxy
A Nuther Thing
Stress, Pressure, Doom, and other Teenage Delights
The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet
The Trial of Santa
10 Ways to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse
10 Ways to Survive the End of the World

Brooklyn Publishers (www.brookpub.com)

Huh, Level 12, and the Geological Horses
The Education of Janet O’Malley
All the Bases

Dramatic Publishing (www.dramaticpublishing.com)

All I Really Needed to Know I Learned by Being in a Bad Play

Theatre Folk (www.theatrefolk.com)

100 Lies
Alice
Through the Looking Glass
Circus Olympus

Samuel French (www.samuelfrench.com)

The Chronicles of Jane: Book Seven
Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp

Plays to Stay Away From (These are plays that have been brought to my attention before, that would not work well with a theatre I or II class)

Check, Please
Law and Order, Fairy Tale Unit
Murder in the Knife Room
The Least Offensive Play in the Whole Darn World
Employees Must Wash Hands…Before Murder