Spread the Love: Deck the Stage by Lindsay Price

We know about ‘decking the halls’ but now is the time to Deck the Stage!. Audiences and students alike will be left feeling holly-jolly with this festive collection of six short Christmas plays by Lindsay Price, inspired by Christmas carols such as: Deck the Halls, The Twelve Days of Christmas, and We Three Kings. Mary Taylor and the drama students at Sunray High School in Sunray, TX got into the festive spirit with these vignette plays inspired by some classic Christmas carols. “All of the parents, friends, and students who attended loved the play. I was able to include a total of 31 students, many whom had never been on the stage. I used this fall play to introduce theatre to freshmen who have never had the opportunity to participate in theatre. Our Culinary Arts and Food Science classes also hosted a dinner in conjunction with the performance. The guests were served during the intermission. This was a first ever event for Sunray High School. _– _Mary Taylor” Way to go, Sunray High!

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. ‘Tis the season to bring some festive fun to your drama group with Deck the Stage by Lindsay Price. This Christmas collection is unlike any other. The show is comprised of six short plays, all of which are inspired by Christmas carols such as: Deck the Halls, The Twelve Days of Christmas, and We Three Kings. The plays can be performed individually, or all together as a complete evening of entertainment. An excellent project for your drama club with parts for everyone at all levels! Let’s hear from the author! 1. Why did you write this play? Adaptation is my favourite form of theatrical writing. I love taking a text from one genre and finding a way to make it a piece of theatre. Christmas carols often have character and story built into them and it’s a short step to use them as inspiration for modern scenes. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. Some characters search for the true meaning of Christmas of hope, giving, and community. Some characters just want to win the tree picking contest. 3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? It’s a vignette play so every scene has it’s own visual. My favourite line in the play is a dramatic moment in the scene Still as Stone where a girl shares, for the first time, that Christmas only means that her father “didn’t love my mother and he didn’t love me.” It’s heartbreaking and gets me every time I see it done, even though the play is 17 years old. My favourite comedic visual is when Ms Meyermyer, grade two teacher, has a small melt down over her students not wanting to do her original creation the “Twelve Shames of Christmas” and she gets in the face of Marilo who WILL be Toxic Waste and she WILL like it. It’s that concept of doing things over the holidays for all the wrong reasons, which of course make the best theatre. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? Make the transitions between scenes part of the theatrical experience. Don’t go to black each time and leave your audience in the dark during the scene change. Do scene changes in character – have Hans and Johan continue their competitive spirit by seeing who can be the fastest in striking sets. Have one set that all the scenes can be done in front of with a couple of cube changes. Use music to keep the energy up during scene changes. Nothing drags a play more than long, long, long transitions. 5. Why is this play great for student performers? Variety. This play gives students the opportunity to play drama, comedy, physical comedy, otherworldly moments, monologues and more.

This week on Spread the Love, Lindsay talks about Wenceslas, a Christmas play.