What is a good plays for a smaller theater to perform in it’s first seasons?
Posted on March 5th, 2010 by admin
I’m looking for a seaon playlist for a small theater that will get attention, but not bad attention. I’m not looking for children’s shows, but not neccessarily adult ones either. I’m looking for small casts, minimal sets, no musicals, where the quality of the performance is based on the ability of the actors and director. Also, this theater is located in a reletively conservative area, so nothing too far out.
You’ll also want shows that use lots of women, since most of your volunteers will be of that persuasion…
And so you’ll want some of the work-horses of community theatre with primarily female casts:
Steel Magnolias (1 set, 6 women)
Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1 set, 4 women, note lots of profanity and cigarette smoking by one character)
The Good Doctor (highly flexible cast, can easily double-cast some roles, needs one strong male lead)
The Odd Couple (comes in a female version if need be)
Arms and the Man (three sets, one for each act–the first set requires a window, otherwise can get by with furniture. Get the pre-revised version and you don’t need to pay royalties.)
No Exit (2 women, 1 man, no set. One-act)
Riders to the Sea (one-act)
Talk to Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen (1 man, 1 woman, 1 act)
Glass Menagerie (1 set, 2 men, 2 women)
Those ought to get you started. I tend to go more for tried-and-true standards of modern drama because I was taught that actors who are still developing need good material, whereas fully-mature and glorious actors can make any drech into a good show.
Playwrights Emily Ackerman and KJ Sanchez were writing the play ReEntry long before they knew it. The play, which documents the experience of veterans returning from war, was crafted directly from interviews with veterans — including the playwrights brothers, who had long been a valuable source of material for other plays. But the military feel of the play was enhanced by one of its stars, Joe Harrell, of Atlantic Highlands, a former Marine. The play first opened at the Two River Theater Company in Red Bank, before moving off Broadway to the Urban Stages Theatre in Manhattan. ReEntry can be seen through March 7. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)
ROA Productions. Episode 8. “The Haunting of the Brooks Atkinson” Part 2. After Wesley doesn’t show up for work, Lauren decides to investigate. She finds a series of clues that lead her closer to the solving the mystery. Meanwhile, Wesley has been abducted by the Ghost of the Brooks Atkinson, in a “Phantom” twist of fate. With special guest, Neil Patrick Harris.
Mobile theater allows you to stream or download television shows and movies. INCLUDING MOVIES IN THEARERS! On your iPod Touch or iPhone (above 2.0 firmware)