Boat

Welcome to "Playwright Spotlight" — your exclusive backstage pass to the creative minds crafting the incredible plays featured in our Theatrefolk catalogue. Discover the magic, quirks, and genius of the playwrights who help bring the stage to life. Let's meet one of these exceptional playwrights who offers the chance for your student performers to shine in their spotlight. What inspired you to start writing plays specifically for middle school students? When I started my educational theatre playwriting career, I only focused on writing for high school. I didn't even consider the middle school market! But after a trip to a conference in Texas, I met so many middle school drama teachers over the course of a weekend who were looking specifically for plays written for middle school performers that dealt with middle school issues. And the big thing they told me middle school students didn’t want was fairy tales or similar childish stories. I took on the challenge and wrote School Daze as my first middle school specific play. Can you share a bit about your creative process when developing plays that resonate with middle school students?Talking to middle school teachers and students is the best way to develop plays that resonate. I've gone into classes and had discussions on topics, I've done workshops, and I always like to get plays in the hands of middle schoolers to get their feedback. They always have great insight into their own particular world and I appreciate hearing what they think. Are there any challenges you face when writing for middle school performers, and how do you overcome them?Middle school students aren't kids but they're not teenagers. That means that the topics, characters, and dialogue has to ring true in quite a narrow window. I've read many plays which are identified as middle school but the dialogue reads quite childish. I've seen plays that say they're appropriate for high school and middle school and they're clearly beyond the scope (in language and subject matter) of a 12 year old. And there are so many fairy tale adaptations out there! The best way to over come them these challenges is to share my work with middle school teachers and students. What themes or messages do you aim to convey through your middle school plays?For me, the biggest theme for middle school plays is identity. Middle school students go through some huge external and internal changes. They are at the age when they start making decisions about who they are, how they want others to see them, and how they see others. These are the stories and characters I want to share. How do you balance education and fun in your scripts for middle school productions?I don't think about it that way. I focus on characters experiencing a specific story. If I think about making something "educational" it's going to read stilted. Can you share a memorable experience or feedback from a middle school performance that left an impact on you?I have two related stories: First, I watched a 13 year old boy deliver one of my monologues in a competition. The character in the monologues talks about his life and how his family treat him after a suicide attempt. The monologue was written for a 16 year old character and the impact of seeing it done by a 13 year old was huge. This led me to question: does suicide happen in middle school? Secondly the director of one of my plays shared a rehearsal exercise she did with her cast in which her middle school students wrote on post-it notes the positive and negative things they say to themselves or hear others say to them.The negative board three times more post-its than the positive one. This led to the question: do middle school students get depressed? I fully admit, I didn't think so.That’s when I started researching the topic. I found that not only do middle school students get depressed but it’s often overlooked as laziness, and ignored because they’re seen as “too young” to be depressed. Many times the issue is never addressed. I knew I had to bring this issue to life in a play, which led to the play The Happiness Shop. Any advice for teachers or directors looking to choose engaging and age-appropriate plays for their middle schoolers?Talk to your students. What do they want to do plays about? Certainly there are limitations you may encounter from admin or parents, or even the students themselves. But the best thing I ever did as a writer was talk to students and learn their point of view of the world. What is your favourite middle school play you've written so far?My favourite middle school play that I've written is Box, which is part of the middle school trilogy of Hoodie, Box, and Boat. I've heard many times from teachers and students how authentic the characters and dialogue is. Having my writing seen as authentic, when I am so far away from being a middle school student myself, is something I'm really proud of.

Time for a Tfolk Top Ten Plays About….Empathy. Based on the idea that empathy is the act understanding and sharing another person’s experience, these plays open the door to looking out to others rather than looking in. Use these plays to spark to an empathy discussion. Click the link and you’ll be taken to the webpage for each play. There you’ll get the details and read sample pages. Hand this list over to your student directors and see what they think. All the best with your search!

Celebrate the new year with new plays! Over the past few months we’ve added some new scripts to the Tfolk catalogue. So if you’re looking for some new and exciting material to bring to your students, you’ll definitely want to keep reading. Explore themes of anxiety, empathy, expectations and surviving the teenage years – material your students can really understand and sink their teeth into. Click the links to read free sample pages from each play. Explore, Engage, and Enjoy!

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. We’re excited to introduce a brand new play to our catalogue! If you’re a fan of Hoodie and Box, then you definitely want to check out Boat by Lindsay Price. Sometimes it’s easy to see the world as your own personal sinking ship. It’s way easier to look into our own whirlpool than look out at what’s going on with others. I don’t care about them. Why should I? They’re not like me. They’re wrong. In this one-act middle school vignette play, characters come face-to-face with the fact that there are other people in their boat. Some are different. Some only seem different. Who will learn to paddle together? Who will spin in circles? Who will realize we’re all in the same boat and we always have been? Let’s hear from the author! 1. Why did you write this play? Boat is the third play in a trilogy of vignette plays I wrote about middle school life – the others being Hoodie and Box. Middle school is a time when students are so focused on themselves and how they present in the world. To that end, for this play I wanted to put the emphasis on looking outward rather than inward. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. The theme of the play is empathy. How do we empathize with others? How do we realize that we’re all in the same boat and always have been? 3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? The first visual that comes to mind is two boys who hate each other, find common ground in a fear of falling elevators, and cling to each other for dear life. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? The opening movement section will take practice – walking in lines can be tricky because it’s hard to get everyone moving at the same pace and the same foot stride. I’d suggest video taping your efforts so students can see when the movement is sharp and crisp and where it looks messy. That’ll be way better than trying to verbally explain any issues. Also, when the two groups are on stage, think in shapes and levels. Make sure the audience can see everyone at the same time, and create an interesting stage picture at the same time. 5. Why is this play great for student performers? This play is about middle schoolers, with middle school aged characters, and addresses middle school issues. It’s great for them!

Our website lists all of our plays with social issue themes but it struck me that they’re only lumped as “issue plays” without a good guide to sorting out which title addresses which issue. So I’ve categorized them for you to hopefully give you a helping hand in your quest to find the perfect script for your school. Check them out. As usual, all of the titles have extensive free sample pages for you to read. I think you’ll find the writing honest, fresh, and believable – three qualities sadly lacking from a lot of “teen-issue” plays out there in the world. Alienation / Feeling Alone in the World• Anonymous by Allison Green • The Art of Rejection: Two One Act Plays by Christian Kiley • A Box of Puppies by Billy Houck • Constantly, Incessantly, All The Time by Billy Houck • Huge Hands by Billy Houck Body Image• Body Body by Lindsay Price • The Four Hags of the Apocalypse Eat Salad at their General Meeting by Lindsay Price • The Battle of Image vs. Girl by Johanna Skoreyko • Hoodie by Lindsay Price • Breathless by Wendy-Marie Martin Censorship• Censorbleep by Lindsay Price Human Rights• Look Me in the Eye by Lindsay Price • Sweep Under Rug by Lindsay Price Racism• Flaky Lips by Lindsay Price • With Liberty and Justice For All by Jeyna Lynn Gonzales • Not Going Anywhere by Emma Fonseca Halverson • The Burgundy Letter by Kirk Shimano • Let Me In by Sholeh Wolpe *** Rumours and Lies• Have You Heard? by Krista Boehnert • The Redemption of Gertie Greene by Taryn Temple Individuality• Hoodie by Lindsay Price • Virtual Family by Christian Kiley • The Happiness Shop by Lindsay Price • A Deep, Poetic Journey Into Something by Forrest Musselman • Carrying the Calf by Shirley Barrie • Monster Problems by Lindsay Price • Stereotype High by Jeffrey Harr • Sixteen in 10 Minutes or Less by Bradley Hayward • Nice Girl by Amanda Murray Cutalo • Pressure by Lindsay Price • They Eat Sunshine, Not Zebras by Dara Murphy • The Super Non-Heroes by Taryn Temple • Smarty Pants by Bradley Hayward Identity• Box by Lindsay Price • Labeled by Lindsay Price • We Are Masks by Lindsay Price • Stressed by Alan Haehnel • Anonymous by Allison Green • Constantly, Incessantly, All The Time by Billy Houck • The Super Non-Heroes by Taryn Temple School Violence• Huge Hands by Billy Houck • Power Play by Lindsay Price • Clowns with Guns (A Vaudeville) by Christopher Evans • The Butterfly Queen by Christian Kiley • Life and Death in an Empty Hallway by Christopher Evans • Water. Gun. Argument. by Alan Haehnel Sexual Abuse• The Waking Moment by Bradley Hayward • Breathless by Wendy-Marie Martin Substance (alcohol & drug) Abuse• Bottle Baby by Lindsay Price • Floating on a Don’t Care Cloud by Lindsay Price • One Beer Too Many by Billy Houck Suicide• The Bright Blue Mailbox Suicide Note by Lindsay Price • Chicken. Road. by Lindsay Price • The Butterfly Queen by Christian Kiley Teen Pregnancy• The Pregnancy Project by Lindsay Price • Among Friends and Clutter (one scene) by Lindsay Price Illness/Health• Chemo Girl by Christian Kiley • The Other Room by Christian Kiley • Red Rover by Christian Kiley • Waiting Room by Christian Kiley • Breathless by Wendy-Marie Martin • Shreds and Patches by Robert Wing • Inanimate by Christian Kiley • Constantly, Incessantly, All The Time by Billy Houck Depression/Anxiety• darklight by Lindsay Price • Fidget by Bradley Hayward • Among Friends and Clutter (one scene) by Lindsay Price • Constantly, Incessantly, All The Time by Billy Houck • who are we, who we are by Forrest Musselman Bullying• Finishing Sentences by Scott Giessler • Funhouse by Lindsay Price • Power Play by Lindsay Price • The Redemption of Gertie Greene by Taryn Temple • Sixteen in 10 Minutes or Less by Bradley Hayward • Carrying the Calf by Shirley Barrie Divorce• Split by Bradley Hayward Gender• Life, Off Book by Scott Giessler • Anonymous by Allison Green • Baalzebub by Rachel Atkins (Baalzebub – One-Act Version here) • Completely, Absolutely Normal: Vignettes About LGBTQ+ Teens by Bradley Walton • Finding Jo March by Laramie Dean • Thought Traps by Lindsay Price Empathy• Discovering Rogue by Christian Kiley • Boat by Lindsay Price • We Are Masks by Lindsay Price • The Butterfly Queen by Christian Kiley Dependence on Technology• Virtual Family by Christian Kiley • Inanimate by Christian Kiley