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Distance Learning by Christian Kiley play script cover

Distance Learning

by Christian Kiley

Distance Learning takes us inside the student experience of trying to survive and thrive in a virtual classroom. What’s the future of virtual classrooms? Are they the new normal? Will we ever experience the old normal again? There are no rules to help overcome feeling alone. It’s time to get class started. Won’t you join us?

This ensemble play has been written specifically to be performed on an online platform.

Drama

Average Producer Rating: 5.0 out of 5

Recommended for High Schools and Middle Schools

At a Glance

Running Time
About 25 minutes
Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes
Cast
13 Characters
13 Any Gender
Set
Virtual Performance
Production Tips
Read production tips for this play
Free Excerpt

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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.

13 Characters

  • 13 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.

  • RULES Any gender 32 lines
    A student who knows, recites, and celebrates the rules.
  • MAESTRO Any gender 45 lines
    A teacher trying to have a good attitude about distance learning.
  • REBEL Any gender 25 lines
    A disruptor who is constantly trying to keep the class off task.
  • REENTER Any gender 18 lines
    A student who keeps exiting and reentering.
  • TALKTALK Any gender 9 lines
    A student who loves to tell stories about their Nana.
  • FREEZE Any gender 8 lines
    A student who keeps glitching and freezing during the video conference call.
  • CLOSE Any gender 8 lines
    A student who is almost always very close to the camera.
  • SCREEN Any gender 11 lines
    A student who has their video turned off for almost the entirety of the play.
  • TECHIE Any gender 8 lines
    A student who has all the tech gadgets.
  • MIRROR Any gender 8 lines
    A student who uses the video conference call as a chance to primp and check out their own image.
  • AFAR Any gender 8 lines
    A student who is almost always as far away from the camera as they can be.
  • BOOMBOMB Any gender 4 lines
    A person who derives a great deal of joy from interrupting video conference sessions.
  • SHUSH Any gender 8 lines
    A student who seems to fear distance learning and does not speak for most of the play.

Praise for Distance Learning

5 out of 5 stars
Michelene Hauber
St. Francis CSS
As a script written for online production, this was EXACTLY what we needed this year! This play explored some of the humour of the trials and tribulations of online learning, but it also allowed a glimpse into the difficult realities that many of us faced. My students really engaged with it and appreciated it. They also appreciated working on something that was tailored to their experience, instead of yet another "make it work" moment with staging and technology.

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From the Drama Teacher Learning Centre

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