It's spring and the bees need to work. But Fumble has been approached by Flutterby-the-butterfly to be her dancing partner with the fairies. Fumble discovers he loves dancing. But he's a worker-bee. Or is he? Adapted from the Bee Who Would Not Work by Charlotte Herr. the play asks "must you always work?" "Is there time for play?"
Miranda dwells in the past. Any past – as long as the world is prior to her father’s death 2 years ago. Reeling from her mother’s remarriage, Miranda spends a week with her great aunt and acquaints herself with an ancestor from her father’s past – the Russian explorer Otto Schmidt.
In the confines of Elsie’s apartment, Miranda travels back and forth to the North Pole gleaning information about the nature of the universe, loss and ever-lasting presence. As Miranda visits Otto in the past, Elsie is struggling to maintain the equilibrium she is barely holding to since her sister’s death. Trying to keep her crushing anxiety at bay, Elsie tries to give Miranda remembrance and closure. Turning to the stars, Miranda works at building a way of reaching the past and finding her father.
Setting: The cliffs of Lyme Regis, England; and a setting above the cliffs that has a table where Mary and her mother sold fossils. A small setting of a bed and table inside the home is set. It should be very sparse.The set can be imaginatively created. It can be as simple as levels. It can be as fantastical as an imagined etched drawing of the Jurassic period. Mary’s story is real but the population often found her fossils to be fantastical. Scrims, projections would also work.
SYNOPSIS: Mary Anning is considered the first female paleontologist. She lived in Lyme Regis which is still a hotbed of fossils. She learned to find fossils at her father’s knee. After her father died, she continued to find fossils and sell them to help her family earn a meager living. This play chronicles her first big discovery at the age of twelve: an ichthyosaur (fish lizard). Mary had little schooling but was a learner. She read incessantly, carefully chronicled and drew all of her findings. Her thirst for knowledge began at an early age (and was attributed to being hit struck by lightening although that is more lore than fact). Mary’s brother Joseph (at age 9!) found a large (4 feet) fossil head. Mary believes that the entire fossil could be found and the play is about her efforts – against all odds – to do so.
Winner 2016 Old Miner's Children's Playwriting Contest. Developed at Utah University by Dr. John Newman and the university students.
SYNOPSIS: When a sudden “white blanket” covers the woods, the woodland animals are left with chattering teeth and an inability to keep warm. The Rainbow Crow volunteers to discuss this problem with The Creator. It is a perilous two-day journey to The Creator’s home in the sky and Rainbow Crow is apprehensive but braves the journey meeting an assortment of sky spirits on the way. Adapted from the Lenape Legend of the Rainbow Crow.
Set: Unit set. The set should consist of playing areas or levels. The scenes are episodic and move quickly in time and space. Set pieces should be kept to a minimum. The play would do well with projections. Multimedia slides for each scene are suggestions.
which encouraged passive resistance against the totalitarian government. The play chronicles her coming of age and development from bystander to witness to activist.
Winner - Unpublished Play Reading Project administered by the American Alliance for Theatre Education
"There aren't many Fringe offerings that are truly all-ages shows, but this is one and it's very fun, even if attending kid-less. It's an adaptation of "La Cenerentola," the Italian folk tale that inspired "Cinderella" (and Rossini's opera), but in Claudia Haas' version, the title character is OCD about cleaning, which is too much for her stepmother but just right for an order-obsessed prince. It's presented with the kind of comedies performed in Renaissance-era public squares, and is delivered with a light touch and plenty of kid-pleasing charm." - Rob Hubbard, St. Paul Pioneer Press
On a magical day at the fair, wishes are blown to the wind and dreams are crafted and celebrated. Rosie wants to go to college although her status as a foster child with no money makes it seem unlikely. Her brother Ozzie dreams of running away with Rosie and leading a life off the grid. Virginia has a dream that she will leave her wheelchair behind and dance again. Daniel wants to be an artist. Raymond desperately needs a home for his beloved Chickie - where she won’t be turned into a chicken-pot-pie! Bobby would just like his sister to pay attention to him. And Jansen yearns for adventure. Their dreams intersect and bump into each other as young people discover what dreams are made of and how it takes more than wishing to make them come true. All roles are for young performers.
High school theatre, community theatre; theatre for young performers, large-cast play, 1969 moon landing, historical
It's the summer of 1969. Viet Nam is raging. Woodstock will end the summer. Cities are crumbling and people are shouting. On July 20, 1969 a man will walk on the moon. David knows the war in Viet Nam is just. How else could he justify the recent loss of his brother "over there?" Russell knows the war is an abomination and cannot wait until he is 18 and can burn his drafft card - just as his brother did. And Madrigal knows the times are fragile and call for magic. And if the faeries won't supply enchantment - she will.
A timeless tale of wanting things. When a simple fisherman catches Scatfish - a jazzy, enchanted fish, it is discovered Scat can grant wishes. The fisherman's wife proceeds to ask for more things. When will they have enough? With little set needed, this play is ideal for touring and can be done anywhere - in a classroom, in a gym, in a park.
A tale of young people trying to connect and heal after 9/11. Their solution to terror? Chocolate truffles and painting murals. Their solutions may seem simple and naive but their hope makes all things possible. Framing the story is a true tale of a friendship that brings home the beauty of tolerance.
Set: Utilizes a center stage area and 2 small sitting areas on either side of the stage - the only sets you need to change would be small set pieces.
High school theatre, literature, adaptation, comedy, Regency England, large-cast play, community theatre, teen performers
The dialogue is vintage Austen and the story of pride, prejudice and love remains as fresh as ever. Especially adapted for high school theatres.
An errant computer and a mysterious comet conspire to send three teenagers back to Shakespeare's time. The teens soon find themselves acting in an "olde" version of Pyramus and Thisbe with Shakespeare's children! Meanwhile back at home, two computer geeks are hard at work trying to bring their friends back to their own time.
It's the King Lear of fairy tales - also known as one of the "salt" tales. The play chronicles the journey of young maiden (Sabine) who is suddenly cast out of her father's home for telling him she loves him "as much as meat loves salt." Forced to earn a living with few skills, Sabine re-invents herself as "Cap o' Rushes" and carves out a new life for herself. It's a riches-to rags-to riches mixture of silliness, love, and family ties.
A story of wishing and is it really necessary? Do you make your own luck? A large-cast play for young performers set in Victorian England.
Holiday show, family audiences, adult and young performers, seriocomic, folktale, large-cast, high school, community theatre
There is a legend that garlands and wreaths must be hung above every doorway and window in winter to prevent the witch from entering your home to kidnap children. But what happens when children shirk their responsibilities to play and dream? They are ripe to be kidnapped by the witch - Pinella!