# Play Selection... some restrictions...



## DuckJordan (Dec 17, 2010)

I was talking with my old high school director about being a guest LD for his summer show... During the talk it came up that he hadn't picked anything out yet... Lets just say he has issues with planning... Either way he asked me what plays I think we should do in the space.

Now heres the restrictions section. 
1) our biggest money bringer in the summer is daycares who bring their kids in to see the show... think 300-400 kids 3-4$ per kid (barely gets a break even mark)
2) Our Venue is a proscenium auditorium with an opening of 40' wide by 20' tall. It has an apron that extends about 20 feet from the plaster line.

We have 4 electrics spaced fairly evenly from the plaster line to the back wall which is 30' from the plasterline.

The FOH lighting positions consist of a balcony Rail (prefered not be used since it is open space and i wouldn't like any marks on the brushed steel railing.) A catwalk that is about 40* from the stage and a 19* S4 makes a pool of about 8' wide on stage (we only have colortran units such as 10*-50* units. as well as a few other misc fixtures). and finaly two side pockets extending down from the catwalk on either side of the audience. about 30' up.

So does anyone have any recommendations on shows?

P.S. Our budget is non-existent. I have to borrow anything extra we may need to use and i have a very limited amount of fixtures. This is not my first LD job but I generally don't get to design the shows.


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## sk8rsdad (Dec 18, 2010)

You don't mention the size of your acting company, their talents or what they like performing so it's very difficult to narrow down the selection to something you could perform. I will assume they are all high school students.

Bruce Colville's The Dragonslayers is a great little musical that might appeal. When we did it some years ago the royalties were quite reasonable but our status may not be yours. Staging can be quite minimal and still work. There are lots of opportunities for creative lighting.

The MTI catalog is always worth a look, especially the Jr. and TYA versions.


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## DuckJordan (Dec 18, 2010)

sk8rsdad said:


> You don't mention the size of your acting company, their talents or what they like performing so it's very difficult to narrow down the selection to something you could perform. I will assume they are all high school students.
> 
> Bruce Colville's The Dragonslayers is a great little musical that might appeal. When we did it some years ago the royalties were quite reasonable but our status may not be yours. Staging can be quite minimal and still work. There are lots of opportunities for creative lighting.
> 
> The MTI catalog is always worth a look, especially the Jr. and TYA versions.


 
Sorry yeah forgot to mention casts are generally about 5-7 decent actors with about 10-12 extras that can handle a few lines. yes they are all high school students. Sorry for not mentioning that before.

They have also done everything from wizard of oz to recently the Crucible.


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## Footer (Dec 18, 2010)

Kids shows... thats always our issue when finding shows.... I hate kids shows... 

However, here are some recent ones...

Frog and Toad
The Little Princess
Ramona Quimby
Scarlets Web
Hansel and Gretel 
Jack and the Beanstalk

Or anything on this list.... 
Plays for Young Audiences :: Script Catalog

Also, picking a show based on lighting requirements, especially general positioning, is completely backwards from the way play selection should work. You must first find the proper show for your audience, company, and budget. Finally venue constraints come last since they are the easiest to work around.


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## chausman (Dec 18, 2010)

I've heard people say that Joseph and the Amazing... is fun and popular. I don't know anything about getting permissions or anything but it is popular enough.


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## DuckJordan (Dec 18, 2010)

Footer said:


> Kids shows... thats always our issue when finding shows.... I hate kids shows...
> 
> However, here are some recent ones...
> 
> ...


 

I agree with you completely, although the director asked me which show i would find the most interesting to light with those requirements. This is just suggestions my final decision is nothing, right now i'm just looking for something to read and possibly suggest. Since i'm not sure where the director wants to take this thats the requirements that I'm putting on this. 

It also helps to note that he has other members of the production team looking for shows as well on what they feel would be good for them. I'm thinking he is planning on seeing if there is a unanimous show that focuses on all parties involved.


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## cdcarter (Dec 19, 2010)

If you have people who can fill the necessary roles, Bud, not Buddy and Esperanza Rising are both great TYA shows!


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## ruinexplorer (Dec 22, 2010)

Kind of a small cast, but what about Schoolhouse Rock if they have singing talent (cast needed 2-10 according to the site), You're a Good Man Charlie Brown (cast of 6), or Charlotte's Web (they may have seen the movie). It's tougher with that age of audience since they need more spectacle than plot, think Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer shows that Feld Entertainment/VEE produce.


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## derekleffew (Dec 22, 2010)

This is the thread I was looking for when I posted http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/...d-plays-musicals-high-schools.html#post200504 . Perhaps something from that list?


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## DuckJordan (Dec 22, 2010)

derekleffew said:


> This is the thread I was looking for when I posted http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/...d-plays-musicals-high-schools.html#post200504 . Perhaps something from that list?


 
So many plays to read... Well since budget is an issue and cast can be a little bit of an issue musicals are out of the question all though the plays that were listed are under the watchful eye of both me and the sound designer at this point to see if we could get it done as well for scenic design and everything else.

Both took his class in HS to learn Tech 1 and figured out his style with sets and other such things.


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## ruinexplorer (Dec 23, 2010)

Now here's another if you had enough cast and budget. Am I out of touch, I hadn't even heard of this.


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## MarshallPope (Dec 23, 2010)

Goldilocks on Trial is a fun childrens' show.


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## coldnorth57 (Dec 24, 2010)

There is a whole bunch of "Jr" musicals @ http://www.broadwayjr.com/ that are great for childen to watch and do. They come with scrips and backtrack cds and work great


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## DuckJordan (Dec 24, 2010)

I think i need to clarify something,

This show is being performed By high school kids, Our largest audience in the summer comes from day cares who bring kids age 4-10 to our shows. I'm looking for a show that should last roughly an hour maybe a little longer. Not saying I do not appreciate the suggestions but some of the plays would only take 5 minutes to complete. And unfortunately we do not have the budget to string shows together. 

So I hope that clarifies a few things.


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## gafftaper (Dec 27, 2010)

chausman said:


> I've heard people say that Joseph and the Amazing... is fun and popular. I don't know anything about getting permissions or anything but it is popular enough.


 
That's going too be expensive. 

I taught in a high school with a $600 a year budget. Let me tell you how to do this cheap... take one or two well known public domain fairy tales and "guided improv" your way through them into a fully developed script... then lock that script down and rehearse it into a show. Don't leave it improv, write a show based on a variety of free improvs in a variety of ideas. It's FREE! It's a great experience for the actors. If you have some talented student writers around they can be part of the process. The only negative is that it takes a skilled directorial hand to say, "yes keep that/no try something different" to work your way to a script that works. Take classics, put a fun modern spin on them. Have the cast get together with a collection of fairy tales. Have them brainstorm ways to spin them. The director picks three or four of the best concepts. Then break the cast into a couple of groups and have them brainstorm ways to execute these ideas and improv them. Work your pay through the selected stories. Director picks the best and then you develop them into a longer story. Until eventually you say, that's it, lock it in. Show done. If you have some real talent you can even get some students to write some music for the show OR steal some public domain kids favorite songs and work them in.

Do it right and you can use this show to pad your budget for next year. 

Another idea: Shakespeare for kids. Take a highly accessible Shakespearean comedy like Midsummer or Comedy of Errors. Boil the plot down and retell it in modern language for kids. Keep a few bits of the old english so it's educational but not too far over their heads. Same thing, lots of improv and rehearsal until you lock in a script. FREE MONEY!


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## chausman (Dec 27, 2010)

Doesn't surprise me that it is to expensive. I just thought I would mention it. Thats a good ideal to take public domain plays and change them to make it more interesting.

To add to what gafftaper said, This Website has a very large list of plays that are public domain. I haven't looked through it much though. Might not have very many "kids" shows in it.


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## shiben (Dec 27, 2010)

I really like the idea of Shakespeare for kids. That sounds fairly easy considering the money is free... We might have to do that at our student productions group... Anyhow, we are workshopping a production in about a week thats for kids, will let you know how it goes. Title is Wednesday Wars, which is a book some of the younger set here might have read.


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## misterm (Jan 7, 2011)

one of the most successful shows we've done recently is "Honk!" from MTI. simple staging, great show, fun for everyone, and only requires about 5-10 strong actors with as many extras as you like. there's also a Jr. version available thats pretty decent. another would be "Seussical" (which we start next month). MTI has three different versions (regular, JR, and Theatre for Young Audiences).


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## ArthurRiot (Jan 8, 2011)

We did a summer program, and had a slew of kid's shows to do that needed smaller sets and could be done in front of the mains on the proscenium, as the evening set was in place behind it.

Two of my favorites were Pinnochio and The Emperor's New Clothes. They gave the kid's a chance to call out things, be involved, and didn't require much. We would make it a 2 act day, same cast, first act being one show and 2nd act being the other.

Just a thought.


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