Members of the New Play Exchange can download the play for free.
There Is No Play
Time: That brief, tumultuous period between the winding down of covid and the utter collapse of the known world, ie: the present.
Setting: Classroom / Living room / Stage
Characters: (9-15, any gender.)
High School Students:
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
Adults:
TEACHER
PRINCIPAL
BOARD MEMBER
FIRST PARENT
SECOND PARENT
THIRD PARENT
FOURTH PARENT
Fort Scott High School Thespians premiered the play at the Kansas Thespians Festival, 2023.
There Is No Play is my newest work, a 30 minute drama for nine to fifteen actors. I wrote it with the University Scholastic League competition in mind, but it's a great length to read in a class period - and should lead to some interesting discussions about censorship and art.
In the play, eight students attempt to stage a banned play in spite of the opposition of the school administration and their own parents.
The play premiered at the Kansas Thespian Festival, after wonderful drama teacher Angela Bin reached out to me upon learning that the play had been banned by a different school in a different state by a principal who apparently has no sense of irony. I was so privileged to be able to zoom in for the initial reading, and incorporated some of the feedback from her students. Huge thanks to them all, and congratulations for winning the Gold Honor Troupe Award and to Angie Bin for winning Director of the Year Award for Southeast KS!
The play opens with each of the Eight students revealing a secret about themselves - or refusing to reveal their secrets, in a couple of cases. Two of these monologues are on the Dramatic Monologues page. They might give you a feel for the play, but they are only a couple of the moments for the leads to shine - there is also a movement piece, and a rapid-fire on stage "theatre game" that highlights the group dynamic.
This one is available for production from the playwright. Contact me.