Christmas

Based on the folktale, The Twelve Months, by Aleksander Chodzko, Strawberries in Winter by Mrs. Evelyn Merritt is a fantastic Winter play for all ages. Morozko has a Slavic winter tale for you. Who is Morozko, you ask? You may know him by his other name: Jack Frost. Poor Marouckla is tormented by her mean stepmother and her horse-faced stepsister. They’re determined to make Marouckla’s life miserable. They send Marouckla up the mountain for fresh strawberries. But everyone knows strawberries don’t grow in winter. Under the direction of Emily Steelman , the drama students at Eminence R-I High School in Eminence, MO transformed both their stage and their audience for all to enjoy a truly magical winter experience: “I really liked the story line of this play with Jack Frost narrating. One of our audience described the play as “a morbid twist on a Cinderella story.” If you have a combination of older actors and younger actors, this play would work great for you.”

If you need a holiday show that’s great for beginners, can accommodate almost any sized cast and has lots of room for audience participation, then you need The Merrie Christmas Show by Lindsay Price. A group of lively traveling players are at your service as they take you on a spirited adventure through Christmas past and present. They have searched the globe for Christmas stories and songs that will amaze, thrill, and delight children of all ages. Director Colleen Mahan from Saint Dominic Academy in Auburn, Maine shared how the student performers were both fun and festive in their production of The Merrie Christmas Show. She also shared some of their tips for staging the play: “It was flexible enough for me to be able to change casting in an environment where students come and go at will. It was also very silly, which is a plus for this crowd. We started the show with the cast winding through the audience, some members playing rhythm instruments, others with stockings, garlands and tinsel to decorate the stage with, and two carrying a steamer trunk full of props and costume pieces. It was fun and effective.”

Everyone can find the true meaning of Christmas in their heart. In Humbug High: A Contemporary Christmas Carol by Lindsay Price, it only takes a couple of ghosts and a dead lunch lady. Eddie Scrooge is 17 years old. He hates his parents and his classmates. His only goal in life is to make money and keep his heart ice-cold. He carries his own low temperature always about him and doesn’t thaw one degree at Christmas. He is on his way to becoming a miserly, miserable, tight-fisted hand to the grindstone, until one Christmas season he is taken on a journey by Madge, the lunch lady, and the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future. Scrooge is about to meet the errors of his ways face-to-face. The drama team at Salem High School in Salem, Ohio decked their halls with their production of Humbug High. Not a ‘Bah, Humbug’ was in sight as they brought the story of a teenage Scrooge to life: “The kids enjoyed doing the show.”

“There is the Grand Canyon of difference between ‘Yes, I can ski’ and ‘Yes, I can ski Smelly Dogface.’” Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Let is snow, let it snow, let it snow! The vignette play, The Snow Show, by Lindsay Price is a character driven toboggan ride through every experience you’ve ever had with snow. Cross your fingers and toes for six more weeks of winter. Stick your tongue out to catch the first snowflake. Wish for a snow day. Make a snow angel. Stand at the top of the most intense, intimidating ski hill ’cause those girls said you were cute. Love snow, hate snow, never seen snow, this play is for you. Whether you live in Juno or San Francisco, Toronto or Orlando, your audience will get frostbite for The Snow Show. Let’s hear from the author! 1. Why did you write this play? I wanted to have a winter time play that wasn’t connected to a specific holiday. Having said that, it’s amazing how many situations, themes and characters there are surrounding the topic of snow. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. A character driven toboggan ride. 3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? This play has one of my favourite scenes in it – “Remember the Burrito” about wishes coming true if you catch the first snowflake of winter on your tongue. The wishes of seven year olds are a lot different than the wishes of teenaged girls. So seeing two teens with their tongues stuck out as far as they can with wishes on their mind is a lovely image to me. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? Have fun and remember the joy of playing in the snow as a kid. There’s a wonderment to many of the scenes, and a wistful nostalgia because none of us are kids any more. And no blackouts. :) 5. Why is this play great for student performers? There’s a wonderful variety of characters, pacing, and scene types – all of which can be pretty much played on a bare stage. It’s all in the acting and the imagination.

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Does anything say ‘Christmas’ more than Santa… and zombies? We don’t think so! Our newest holiday play, Santa’s Zombie Apocalypse by Bradley Walton is ideal for middle school and high school performers and will definitely give everyone a holiday experience they won’t forget. When Santa is trapped by zombies (who have somehow gotten into the North Pole toy shop) two reindeer fawns are determined to save the day. But as they make their way through the toy shop encountering wayward zombies and stranded elves, they learn that saving the day is not as easy as it sounds. And it’s certainly not like any video game they’ve ever played. And why is that zombie eating a doll’s head? Optional multimedia elements turn this play into a live-action video game. The script also includes suggestions for multilingual performers and gender-neutral casting. Why did we publish this play? This play is an absolute delight. It’s perfect for the holidays, especially if you want something a little less saccharine and a lot more zombies. Don’t you want to see a zombie say ‘All I want for Christmas is braaaaaains…..?' Add to that a completely gender neutral cast, great costume opportunities and best of all – tech options for your digital savvy students. I could go on and on but you’d be better off reading the play yourself! Let’s hear from the author! 1. Why did you write this play? I’d had the title kicking around in my head for years, but never had a reason to write a play to go with it. Then the annual spring play that I direct for my school got moved to December, and suddenly I had a very compelling reason. The problem was, I’d only had four students audition the previous spring. I was hoping for more this time around, but I figured I needed to plan for a cast of four, just in case. So how do you do a play called “Santa’s Zombie Apocalypse” with 4 people? I hit on the idea of a reindeer fighting its way through the toy shop, one room at a time, to rescue Santa from zombie. In each room, the reindeer fights a zombies and rescues or interacts with an elf or one other character. One person could play all of the zombies, one person could play the reindeer, and one person could play all of the other parts, so I could get by with a cast of 3 if I really had to. Conceptually, it sounded a lot like a video game, and there’s how the video game elements in this play originated. Likewise, the video phone bits came about as a way for characters in different parts of the toy shop to talk to each other if they were all being played by the same person. Of course, when we had auditions, I had way more than 4 people try out, and the script evolved from there. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. Don’t assume the person that you’re following knows what they’re doing, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. 3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? The zombies, because this is a family-friendly show and they need to look like zombies without being overly gory or frightening to children in the audience. For our production, my wife concocted a scheme of neon green makeup with red, white, and purple accents, and that worked great. Having the zombies dressed in Christmas outfits added to the effect. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? I’m not gonna lie: All of the optional technical elements for this play–the video game stuff, the captions, the video phone bits–are a lot of work, but they’re TOTALLY worth it in the end. Try to include as many of them as you can. The payoff is huge. 5. Why is this play great for student performers? This is great for schools with a lot of diversity in their student bodies because the elves can all speak different languages. It’s great for schools with less diverse student populations because the elves can also all speak English. There’s a lot of flexibility in casting. It has fun, manageable roles for novice performers, and meaty leads with big arcs and emotional complexity. Plus, it’s called “Santa’s Zombie Apocalypse“. What’s not to love about that?

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Are you ready to deck those halls? Or are you saying “Bah, humbug” to the holidays? Either way, you’re going to love Humbug High: A Contemporary Christmas Carol by Lindsay Price – a new take on the classic Dickens tale. Eddie Scrooge is 17 years old. He hates his parents and his classmates. His only goal in life is to make money and keep his heart ice-cold. He carries his own low temperature always about him and doesn’t thaw one degree at Christmas. He is on his way to becoming a miserly, miserable, tight-fisted hand to the grindstone, until one Christmas season he is taken on a journey by Madge, the lunch lady, and the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future. Scrooge is about to meet the errors of his ways face-to-face. Let’s hear from the author! 1. Why did you write this play? Not only is adaptation my favourite form of writing, A Christmas Carol is one of my favourite stories. It’s such a universal tale of humanity, which is the reason it’s been transformed so many times over the years. The way Dickens writes characters is so vivid it was a treat to transform them into modern versions. The story tells itself so it’s important to have strong unique characters. *2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. * Everyone can find the true meaning of Christmas in their heart. Sometimes it takes a couple of ghosts and a dead lunch lady. *3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? * When Madge, the dead lunch lady and Eddie’s only friend appears as a ghost covered in a chain of her own making made of pots, pans, and soup ladles. She tells him the truth of what’s going to happen if he doesn’t change his ways (and pushes him to get a girlfriend). I love the mix of raising the stakes in the story and Madge’s sense of humour. *4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? * Character, character, character. Everyone knows the story, so share it through the eyes of human beings and not actors saying lines. There’s a lot of fun to be had in the play, but the genuine journey of the characters is most important. *5. Why is this play great for student performers? * Great characters share a well known story that was written just for them. Who wouldn’t want to play Scrooge as a teenager?

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.

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!

Time for a Tfolk Top Ten Plays for…Holidays! The holidays are a perfect time to put on a play. And we don’t just stop at Christmas. Since the end of October is a particularly spooky time of year we’re also going to share some of our most spookiest stuff. Click the link and you’ll be taken to the webpage for each play. There you’ll get the details and read sample pages. All the best with your search! Deck the Stage Six short plays inspired by Christmas carols. Bittersweet moments. Laugh out loud comedy. And the weirdest 12 days of Christmas you’ve ever seen. The plays can be performed individually, or all together as a complete evening of entertainment. Humbug High: A Contemporary Christmas Carol A new take on the classic Dickens tale! Eddie Scrooge is 17 years old. He hates his parents and his classmates. His only goal in life is to make money and keep his heart ice-cold. This Christmas he’s about to meet the errors of his ways face-to-face. The Snow Queen Kai has been captivated by The Snow Queen. She is frozen in her heart and mind. Gerda will stop at nothing to find her sister. This is a magical theatrical adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of a sister’s love, an ice cold heart, and a fantastical journey. A great winter themed alternative to traditional Christmas fare. Christmas In July Last Year has handed off the calendar to the New Year and is ready to hit the beach. The New Year is nervous but ready for the challenge. But something goes terribly wrong. Summer starts in November, Easter’s in February and Christmas is in July! The calendar days are all in a tizzy. The First Herald Angel On the first Christmas Eve, a poor shepherd happens across a small child in the hill country about Bethlehem. To the shepherd’s surprise, the child explains she is an angel practicing to be a herald angel so she can announce the Saviour’s birth. Great for concerts or assemblies. The Bottom of the Lake Dani’s out in the middle of the woods at night, alone, without a flashlight. She meets three girls from another camp, and they tell ghost stories to pass the time. A combination of ghost stories, urban legends, teen issues, romance, absurd comedy, and film noir, all in a single play! Close Encounters of the Undead Kind Is that a werewolf at the support group? A child vampire at the front door? A zombie boyfriend? With some close encounters of the undead kind, these plays are far from typical and humdrum! The plays can be performed individually or all together for a ghoulishly delightful evening. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow This new adaptation of the Washington Irving story is excellent for large groups and suitably spooky for Halloween! Icabod Crane is new to Sleepy Hollow and seems to fit right in. But not everyone is happy to see Icabod and they prepare a ghoulish surprise for him. The Haunting of Chip Lake Lodge Four seniors arrive at a country lodge for their prom. But things go askew from the start. They show up at the wrong lodge, their car won’t start, the phone goes dead, and disco music plays inexplicably. The lodge is haunted! It all leads to a bizarre prom night no one will forget. Shuddersome: Tales of Poe Specters, ghosts and ghouls come alive in this vivid theatrical adaptation of some of Edgar Allen Poe’s best-known works. His words rise from the page like corpses from the grave. Be careful. Do you hear that tap, tap, taping? Multi-length versions of the script to fit every need. Planning on performing one of these or another Theatrefolk play? Let us know all about it with pictures and highlights – we might even feature you on our site! Click here to submit your story.

This week on Spread the Love, Lindsay and Craig talk about The Robbed Reindeer, a Christmas play by Lindsay Price.

This week on Spread the Love, Lindsay and Craig talk about Cinderella’s Crunchy Christmas Cake, a Christmas play by Lindsay Price.

This week on Spread the Love, Lindsay and Craig talk about …and a Groundhog in a Pear Tree, a Christmas play by Lindsay Price and Kristin Gauthier.

This week on Spread the Love, Lindsay and Craig talk about The Merrie Christmas Show, a Christmas play by Lindsay Price.

This week on Spread the Love, Lindsay and Craig talk about Deck the Stage, a Christmas/Vignette play by Lindsay Price.

Lindsay and Craig spread the love for Humbug High: A Contemporary Christmas Carol.

This week Lindsay and Craig spread the love for The First Herald Angel by John Donald O’Shea.