8 Tips for Choreographing Your Curtain Call

My class chose Bradley Hayward's Apostrophe's even though I had a feeling it would not go over with an eighth grade audience. I was wrong. The students liked the fact that all parts could be played by either sex. They used this for 35% of their grade and nearly all students earned an A or B. Because some of the parts were short, even my special education students were able to shine.

I greatly enjoyed directing 'A Lighter Shade of Noir' last year with my middle school theater students. It had everything I was looking for in a script for 6th, 7th and 8th graders: lots of parts for girls or parts that could be changed to female roles, action without lots of fighting, multiple character scenes that had things to do while other people were talking, a main story line but also sub-plots, links to school subjects (like literature and history), and most importantly - dialogue that I could stand listening to over and over in rehearsal that gave the students motivation to look deeper and deeper into their character development. I hope you write more for theater, especially children's theater. We need more good writing for these young actors. Sharon Boski

Our plan is to produce the whole show (Shout!) in the fall next year. The concept is perfect for our new program. Thank you so much for your generosity and for the fantastic material you provide. It is perfect for high school students. We are taking Body Body and Power Play to competition this year. We'll keep our fingers crossed!