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Author Topic: one-act plays?  (Read 3686 times)

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theinevitable

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one-act plays?
« on: January 23, 2006, 11:56:00 pm »
I have been selected to direct a one-act play for my school. in about a month and a half (or just a month?). Do you guys have any suggestions for where to look, specific plays, etc? It should be 10-20 minutes long, have a good number of characters, etc. I got a ton of books out of the library, but short of reading all of the plays, I'm not sure how to find a good one.

Any suggestions?
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AlohaDawg

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Re: one-act plays?
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2006, 12:10:06 am »
:::paging SideShow Mel to the white Courtesy Phone:::
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CortJstr

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Re: one-act plays?
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2006, 01:15:32 am »
You won't be able to actually put it on, but Bachelor Holiday is a great read. Only having 3 characters (all male) ruins it for school use even moreso than the language.
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theinevitable

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Re: one-act plays?
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2006, 01:48:55 am »
yeah. Right now I'm weighing between a crazy modern play that no one understands to confuse everyone, or the perennial drama geek fantasy of putting on a funny great accesable play that will make everyone love me. But, when you're taking away from someone's break time, it's pretty hard to make them enjoy it.

I really just want to beat the kid who did the last one. he is my arch-nemesis. I will beat him at doing a play, and this will ruin his hopes and dreams forever.


not really. well, I mean, it would, but... I dont' really want that to happen. I don't want him to collapse in self-loathing and die, I just want him to go far enough away that I never see him again.
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V-Adore

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Re: one-act plays?
« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2006, 03:02:18 am »
The real problem with one-acts is that they tend to have small casts just by definition. I would look for something that at least has a 50/5o gender ratio, and ideally (depending on your school) skew female; YMMV, but in my high-school days you inevitably had three or four times the number of girls as boys show up to auditions, so more female parts makes casting easier.
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idiomsavant

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Re: one-act plays?
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2006, 03:20:42 am »
You might want to look at The Actor's Nightmare, by Christopher Durang.  Three women, two men, minimal sets (as I recall).  Darkly comic and full of theatre-geek in-jokes.  You also might want to look at Sure Thing, by David Ives (one woman, one man), because it's frickin' hilarious.

Edit: Oh, right.  You said "a good number of characters."  So, "Sure Thing," what with it only having two characters and all, may not fit your bill.  Sorry.  Still, it is frickin' hilarious.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2006, 04:10:36 am by idiomsavant »
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CortJstr

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Re: one-act plays?
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2006, 03:24:06 am »
Shit. The teacher at one of my rival schools wrote an award-winning one-act about 3 groups of kids doing one-acts for a festival/districts but I cannot for the life of me remember what it's called.

Edit: Competition Piece! I knew I'd think of it. That shit is hilarious and has a largish cast. Plus you can have extras out the ass if you want.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2006, 03:29:49 am by CortJstr »
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V-Adore

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Re: one-act plays?
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2006, 06:17:44 am »
Actor's Nightmare is good, yeah. My school just did a one-act festival, and that one brought down the house. The script is hilarious, and it's suited well to relatively mediocre acting talent... er, not that you have that, per se, just that it's an option.
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jough

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Re: one-act plays?
« Reply #8 on: January 24, 2006, 08:42:28 am »
Edward Albee's "Zoo Story" is fantastic and goes over well with high school audiences.  Also, there is a one-act abbreviation of "The Odd Couple" that can be tonnes of fun.

I did an abridged version of Mamet's "Sexual Perversion in Chicago" that was a hoot.

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theinevitable

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Re: one-act plays?
« Reply #9 on: January 24, 2006, 12:29:24 pm »
damn.
someone did Actor's Nightmare last year. And it's really good, too...
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pmcd9

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Re: one-act plays?
« Reply #10 on: January 25, 2006, 01:19:11 am »
Melanie is conspicuously absent from this thread.

She's probably waiting for everyone else to make their suggestions because we all know that her advice will be the final word on the subject.

~Paul
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theinevitable

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Re: one-act plays?
« Reply #11 on: January 25, 2006, 04:09:29 am »
I'm excited. the drama-head guy informed me that he has an idea for a play. it involves multiple transvestites, and sexual innuendos, though, so he'll have to check with the head of the high school on whether it's ok.
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Social pressures exist
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You're gonna find that your head's been kicked in
You're gonna do it all for the grind

theinevitable

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Re: one-act plays?
« Reply #12 on: January 31, 2006, 05:47:22 am »
ooooo
I am hopeful.
the drama-head teacher guy is reading through "The Hardy Boys and the mystery of Where Babies Come from", but he thinks it'll probably be ok.
I am very excited about it. It's by christopher durang... I enjoy it a lot.
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Social pressures exist
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V-Adore

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Re: one-act plays?
« Reply #13 on: January 31, 2006, 06:34:56 am »
Quote from: theinevitable on January 31, 2006, 05:47:22 am
ooooo
I am hopeful.
the drama-head teacher guy is reading through "The Hardy Boys and the mystery of Where Babies Come from", but he thinks it'll probably be ok.
I am very excited about it. It's by christopher durang... I enjoy it a lot.
Man, are you sure? I saw that done in high school, and I found it extremely sucky, although that may have just been the actors. Also, isn't it basically a two-man show?

Another that comes to mind: "The Mid-Life Crisis of Dionysus," which has a fairly flexible cast size and is hilarious. It's a Garrison Keilor piece about... well, about Dionysus's mid-life crisis. We did it my senior year of high school, and as long as you have a good Dionysus it kills.
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theinevitable

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Re: one-act plays?
« Reply #14 on: January 31, 2006, 12:18:41 pm »
this is the part where I say "that sounds cool, but tryouts are this afternoon"
damn, this is what I get for doing everything at the last minute.
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Social pressures exist
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You're gonna do it all for the grind
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