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Box
Sometimes we choose the way the world sees us. Black box - indestructible. Jewelry box - plain on the outside, shiny on the inside. Sometimes our box is defined by others - our parents, our friends, our enemies. A box built by others can feel small, confined, impossible.
How do we handle the boxes imposed upon us because of our gender? Our race? From peer pressure? From parent pressure? Do we have to live with our box for the rest of our lives? Can we change?
Box is a middle school vignette play with flexible casting. It can be expanded for a large cast or reduced to a cast of 10 with doubling. Excellent small scene and monologue opportunities.
» Box is now available in Spanish! Click here for details. «
Average Producer Rating:
This is a vignette play!
Recommended for Middle Schools
Running Time
About 30 minutes
Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes
Cast
18 Characters
3 M | 6 F | 9 Any Gender
Set
Simple set
Length
35 pages
Production Tips
Free Excerpt
Classroom Study Guide
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Performance Royalty Fees
Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes.
Exemption details for scenes and monologues for competition.
18 Characters
3 M, 6 F, 9 Any Gender
3 M, 6 F, 9 Any Gender
Characters in this play are currently identified as male or female. Directors are welcome to assign any gender (binary or non-binary) to any character and modify pronouns accordingly.
One
[A]
15 lines
Andrea, Claudia, Dori, Group A
Two
[A]
9 lines
The Voice, Rumour 3, Harper, Group A
Three
[A]
9 lines
Kasey, Lane, Group A, Cool
Four
[A]
9 lines
Hoax, Justice, Group A
Five
[A]
15 lines
Secrets, Tense, Group A
Six
[A]
8 lines
Jonah, Jumpy, Group A
Seven
[A]
12 lines
Maren, Amy, Shaky, Group B
Eight
[A]
10 lines
Patrick, Still, Group B
Nine
[A]
8 lines
Whisper, Student, Brenna, Group B
Ten
[A]
10 lines
Tattle, Student, Group B, Touchy
Eleven
[A]
7 lines
Hugh, Tom, Group B
Twelve
[A]
5 lines
Hearsay, Peace, Group B
Thirteen
[A]
6 lines
Marshall, Calm, Group C
Fourteen
[A]
6 lines
Rayna, Drama, Diamond, Group C
Fifteen
[A]
5 lines lines
Deputy, Rumour 1, Charlie, Group C
Sixteen
[A]
3 lines
Erin, Rumour 2, Stone
Seventeen
[A]
6 lines
Commentator 1, Ease, Group C
Eighteen
[A]
3 lines
Commentator 2, Taylor, Group C; 1 monologue
Praise for Box
Phil Schroeder
BrightSpot Theater
The kids really connected with the messages in this play. Our better actors found a lot of depth in the text and made really poignant things happen; our younger actors found a lot to work with that expanded their skills by demanding shifts in their usual deliveries.
Emily Nelson
Explorer Middle School
Every Spring, I have chosen one of Lindsay's originals: Hoodie, Anxiety is Orange, and now Box. All three of these plays are vignette-style, abstract explorations of concepts and experiences that are very relevant and evocative for my middle school groups. I can't recommend these titles enough, but Box is definitely my favorite so far.
Heather Tate
Nichols Middle School
Our production of Box was by far the best ensemble work done by any group of students I've worked with. It was a wonderful combination of scenes and monologues that let each actor shine. The material was so relatable to the students that they were able to really connect to the characters and the audience enjoyed it so much.
More Plays Like Box
Boat
by Lindsay Price
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.
Hoodie
by Lindsay Price
This middle school vignette play examines self-image and appearance.
The Happiness Shop
by Lindsay Price
Why aren't middle school students full of smiles, hugs and hi-fives? They’re too young to have problems.
Passing Period Purgatory
by Christian Kiley
Sometimes the hardest part of school is getting from one class to the next.
Funhouse
by Lindsay Price
This middle school play looks at the bullied, the bully, and the bystander through mostly non-verbal vignettes.
From the Drama Teacher Learning Centre
General
Playwright Spotlight: Get to Know Lindsay Price
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.
Classroom Exercise
Warm-Up Exercise: Would You Rather…
Starting your class with bell work or a journal prompt is a great way to get students into the drama class mindset. Some teachers like to have students brainstorm a list of ideas or respond to a question of the day to get their creative juices flowing. Here’s another prompt that you can use with your students: a “would you rather” question.
The simplest way to use a “would you rather” prompt is to post the question somewhere and have students write an individual response in their journals. You could use a “would you rather” question as a discussion prompt, either as a full class or in small groups. You might choose to have the prompt posted on a board as a chart with some sticky notes available for students to post their vote under their choice, to see what the breakdown of answers is within the class. Maybe 13 of your students would prefer to act in a play and 7 of your students would prefer to act in a musical. You could also make it a physical exercise, where students move to one side of the room or the other, depending on their choice. (This is a great way to see if students are easily influenced by their friends/peers.)
The “would you rather” prompt can be as simple or as complicated as you wish. You can start with ideas like, “Would you rather operate sound or lights?” “Would you rather be the director or the producer?” “Would you rather perform an improvised scene or a scripted scene?” The prompts don’t have to be related to drama class — you could throw in a funny one now and then, such as, “Would you rather have dessert for every meal or never have dessert again?”
The prompts could be related to a play you’re studying in class. Think about choices that characters make or problems that arise in the play, and have students respond to those questions. “Would you rather be part of the Capulet family or the Montague family?” “Would you rather go down the rabbit hole to Wonderland or stay in the real world?” “Would you rather be a pizza box or a chocolate box?”
You can also use a “would you rather” prompt as a problem-solving challenge, by adding an “if” scenario at the start of the prompt. For example, “If you were casting the lead role in your musical, would you rather cast your worst enemy who is a fantastic singer, or your best friend who is totally tone-deaf?” “If your actors weren’t off-book at dress rehearsal, would you make them do the show as best they could, or cancel it?”
One of the great things about a “would you rather” question is that it allows students to practice making a choice. Some students haven’t had many opportunities to make decisions for themselves, or lack the confidence to do so. They might look towards their friends to see what they would do, or worry about making the “wrong” choice. Encourage your students to make their choices for themselves.
Once students gain more confidence in their choice making, take it a step further and ask the follow-up question: “WHY?” What are their thoughts and feelings about the choice they made? Can they articulate why they would make that choice? Do they answer confidently, or do they feel like they need to defend their decision?
One of the challenges of a “would you rather” prompt is that students may try to push back and refuse to make a choice, or try to negotiate a “but” or an “if.” “I’d cast my enemy IF they would sign a contract saying that they can’t be mean to me.” “I’d cast my best friend BUT I’d have them take singing lessons.” It’s up to you whether you want to allow students to do this. Either way, students will have the opportunity to think critically and creatively.
Diversity
Spanish Plays and Translations
Are you looking for plays for your Spanish students? These plays are available for productions or classwork and all have relatable and relevant themes, with modest technical requirements. Perfect for student performers!
Featured Plays
You are not alone: Box
Box by Lindsay Price is a middle school vignette play with flexible casting. It can be expanded for a large cast or reduced to a cast of 10 with doubling, and has excellent small scene and monologue opportunities.
Sometimes we choose the way the world sees us. Black box – indestructible. Jewelry box – plain on the outside, shiny on the inside. Sometimes our box is defined by others – our parents, our friends, our enemies. A box built by others can feel small, confined, impossible.
How do we handle the boxes imposed upon us because of our gender? Our race? From peer pressure? From parent pressure? Do we have to live with our box for the rest of our lives? Can we change?
Michelle Wilson and the fantastic drama group at Davison Middle School in Davison, Michigan were able to share “all the feels” with their performance of Box. Cast, crew and audience members were all left with the incredibly unifying message that we’re all in this together:
“I have done Box several times with my 7th and 8th grade Introduction to Theater students (public school). I love the play. A fun fact is that the scene with groups A B and C always makes a parent cry–because of all the students on stage (with each other) yelling “I am alone!” It really shows how alone we feel in our culture, even though we are surrounded by people who feel alone.
TIPS: I had a grandparent of one of the students make me 6 heavy duty plywood boxes with these dimensions (2 of each):
* 2 ½ feet high, 2 ½ feet wide, 1 ½ feet deep
* 3 ½ feet high, 1 ½ feet wide, 1 ½ feet deep
* 5 ½ feet tall and 2 feet wide and deep
They are heavy, so the students have to work together to move them, but we use them all the time for improv, and have used them for many productions of Box. They are so strong, students could jump up and down on them and they wouldn’t break.”
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Featured Plays
Embrace the Ensemble: Box
Variable gender-casting. Flexible cast size. Excellent small scene and monologue opportunities. What more do you need? Box by Lindsay Price is a relatable middle school vignette play that you don’t want to miss.
Sometimes we choose the way the world sees us. Black box – indestructible. Jewelry box – plain on the outside, shiny on the inside. Sometimes our box is defined by others – our parents, our friends, our enemies. A box built by others can feel small, confined, impossible.
How do we handle the boxes imposed upon us because of our gender? Our race? From peer pressure? From parent pressure? Do we have to live with our box for the rest of our lives? Can we change?
Director Bri Wehman had nothing but great things to say about her student group’s production of Box. The talented team from Wilson Middle School in Plano, Texas allowed their student directors to take themselves and their audience on an extremely relatable middle-school journey:
“Teachers, parents, students… you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who isn’t touched by this script and its characters. We used BOX as a student-directed play for my advanced 8th graders. It has its challenges, it’s touching, and it’s very real-to-life. I cannot recommend this enough to any director or group considering it.
TIPS: Embrace the use of your ensemble!”
Featured Plays
Simple Set, Strong Message: Box
Vignettes. Flexible casting. Expandable cast size. Excellent small scene and monologue opportunities. If you’re looking for a middle school play for your students that truly has a bit of everything, look no further than Box by Lindsay Price.
Sometimes we choose the way the world sees us. Black box – indestructible. Jewelry box – plain on the outside, shiny on the inside. Sometimes our box is defined by others – our parents, our friends, our enemies. A box built by others can feel small, confined, impossible.
How do we handle the boxes imposed upon us because of our gender? Our race? From peer pressure? From parent pressure? Do we have to live with our box for the rest of our lives? Can we change?
The talented middle school group at Punta Gorda Middle School in Punta Gorda, Florida had an amazing experience with their own production of Box and director Rudi Wolfahrt was happy to share how the show struck a chord with everyone involved:
“Very simple to produce, but the greatest experience was how the message of Box resonates with cast members, students and adults. We received many positive comments after our production.
I recommend producing this show in front of the student body. The audience was engaged and related to the characters.”
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Featured Plays
An Ensemble Extravaganza: Box
Need a vignette play with flexible casting for your middle school performers? Box by Lindsay Price can be expanded or reduced to suit a variety of cast sizes, plus it offers excellent opportunities for small scenes and monologues.
Box is a middle school vignette play with flexible casting. It can be expanded for a large cast or reduced to a cast of 10 with doubling. Excellent small scene and monologue opportunities.
Sometimes we choose the way the world sees us. Black box – indestructible. Jewelry box – plain on the outside, shiny on the inside. Sometimes our box is defined by others – our parents, our friends, our enemies. A box built by others can feel small, confined, impossible.
How do we handle the boxes imposed upon us because of our gender? Our race? From peer pressure? From parent pressure? Do we have to live with our box for the rest of our lives? Can we change?
Under the direction of Kellybrooke Brown , the accomplished student performers at Albertville High School in Albertville, Alabama were able to work together to examine the boxes that we all find ourselves in. A truly successful ensemble experience for them all!
“Box was wonderful for my new actors! It gave everyone a chance to shine with no star vehicle!”
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Featured Plays
How does the world see you?: Box
How do middle-schoolers deal with perception and the boxes that we all find ourselves in? Lindsay Price’s vignette play, Box, examines these issues while providing great small scene and monologue opportunities.
Sometimes we choose the way the world sees us. Black box – indestructible. Jewelry box – plain on the outside, shiny on the inside. Sometimes our box is defined by others – our parents, our friends, our enemies. A box built by others can feel small, confined, impossible.
How do we handle the boxes imposed upon us because of our gender? Our race? From peer pressure? From parent pressure? Do we have to live with our box for the rest of our lives? Can we change?
Directed by Shannon Boatwright , the drama group at Chapin Middle School in Chapin, SC stepped out of their comfort zone and ensured their production of Box was a soaring success:
“My 7th grade honors kids had a blast, learned valuable lessons, made connections and pleasantly surprised me in the end with an incredible performance. And despite losing internet access school wide the day of the show, having to connect to a fellow teacher’s iPhone hot spot to run my sound, and having a choir mic literally fall apart at the start of the performance, well, it all magically somehow came together and our audience LOVED it. (And so did my administration, which was super awesome!)
Having to work hard, focus, commit to something outside of their comfort zone and then reap the fantastic benefits of seeing the whole piece come together and be an important part of it created a priceless experience. They worked really hard and were VERY proud of their work in the end.”
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Featured Plays
Middle School Magic: Box
If you’re looking for a middle school play that has it all, look no further than Box by Lindsay Price. Flexible casting, small scene and monologue opportunities, and dealing with issues that middle-schoolers can relate to, this vignette play is not to be missed.
Sometimes we choose the way the world sees us. Black box – indestructible. Jewelry box – plain on the outside, shiny on the inside. Sometimes our box is defined by others – our parents, our friends, our enemies. A box built by others can feel small, confined, impossible.
How do we handle the boxes imposed upon us because of our gender? Our race? From peer pressure? From parent pressure? Do we have to live with our box for the rest of our lives? Can we change?
Director Sally Vopnfjord was thrilled to share the success of the amazing student performers at Kipling Collegiate Institute in Toronto, Ontario, who were able to create and share their own middle-school magic:
“Our school recently performed BOX as part of the National Theatre School Drama Festival (formerly Sears Drama Fest). Despite competing in the festival for the first time and featuring first-time actors – we won! We were selected as one of the top 3 shows in our district. BOX will now be performed in the Toronto Regionals at Hart House – fingers crossed that we can take this show all the way to the Provincial Finals.”
Congratulations on your success, Kipling Collegiate!
Featured Plays
Theatrefolk’s Top 10: Plays About Friendship
Time for a Tfolk Top Ten Plays About….Friendship. Bonds are important. Community is important. Having someone to rely on is important, so is being that person for someone else. What does it mean to be a good friend? We’re talking support, empathy, and thinking about someone other than yourself. There’s no better way to start that conversation than with a play.
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!
Featured Plays
Theatrefolk’s Top 10: Plays About Empathy
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!
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Featured Plays
A Connection Across Cultures: Box
“This is the box my parents want for me. This is who my parents want me to be. A shining star… I don’t want to disappoint my parents, but this is not my box.”
How do we handle the boxes imposed upon us because of our gender? Our race? From peer pressure? From parent pressure? Do we have to live with our box for the rest of our lives? Can we change?
Box by Lindsay Price is a middle school vignette play with flexible casting. It can be expanded for a large cast or reduced to a cast of 10 with doubling. Excellent small scene and monologue opportunities.
Under the direction of Stephanie Brook the student performers at GEMS World Academy in Switzerland demonstrated that the challenges of choosing how the world sees us is shared by students worldwide.
“This was performed by my theatre class made up on only Grade 6 students (ages 11-12), from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities. We have Italian, Spanish, Swiss, Canadian, American, British, Scottish, Irish, Filipino, Dutch, Argentinian, Venezuelan, Brazilian, Israeli and Portuguese, to name a few.
I had to do a lot of unpacking of the material for them to understand what the play was speaking about, but this is a beautiful age to be addressing stereotypes and “boxes”, and they really connected with it. I have been receiving messages from parents all evening telling me how wonderful it was.
Several of the parents, kids and staff at school commented on how relevant, how real and how engaging the play was. One of the students really connected with it, and she was in Grade 4! She said it helped her to understand a lot of what goes on at school.
The school counsellor wants us to take this on as a Grade 6 play every year – she thinks it is so perfect.”
Congratulations GEMS World Academy!
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Box
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