Lose Not Thy Head

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. If you like Shakespeare, Monty Python, a little love, a little death, a lot of laughs and lunch at the pub, you must read Lose Not Thy Head by Gary Rodgers! The Viscountess is in a funk. She’s lost her passion for her job as lead executioner. This may or may not help the next victim. Joan has been sentenced to lose her head for impersonating her famous brother William Shakespeare. He’s disappeared with all his earnings and Joan has been trying to finish his latest play about Henry VIII. Joan pleads for her life, Death waits for Joan to die, a severed Head says beheading isn’t so bad, a Sigmund Freud-type doctor tries to convince everyone that you can’t sew a head back on a body, and then things get weird. Why did we publish this play? If you love comedy, but like your comedy left of centre rather than the pie in the face variety – this is your play. If you’re looking for interesting parts for girls – this is your play. If you’re looking for gender flexible roles – this is your play. If you like Monty Python, Shakespeare, Freud, talking chopped off heads, a little love, a little death, and a lot of laughs all in one package – then this your play! Let’s hear from the author! 1. Why did you write this play? I wanted a write a comedy that took an extremely unsavoury topic, such as medieval beheading in dank dungeons, and make total light of it. I feel that that is truly the source of this play’s magic. Such contrast is certainly not something that I invented but is common to many great comedies. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. I always felt the theme of this play is one’s struggle for power, control and self-preservation in an increasingly unsteady environment. This play is predicated on a constant struggle between several characters for command of the situation throughout the entire play. Even the supporting characters get to vie for status and control. 3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? One has to love the guillotine as a centre piece for the whole production. We are presented with a rather nasty image when ANNE is placed on the rack/stretcher and laid on the guillotine bed, beneath the blade, pleading for her life. The unpleasantness of this visual is smashed to pieces shortly thereafter when everyone is jumping on the guillotine vying for control, in a manner reminiscent of the children’s game I’m the King of the Castle. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? Don’t feel daunted by having to build a guillotine. It really isn’t as difficult as it might look and I’d be happy to explain how it was done for the original production. It is also possible to use other means of execution, for instance, CHROMWELL or WOLSEY could always carry a large axe for the purpose of beheading. 5. Why is this play great for student performers? For many high school performers, Lose Not Thy Head is an introduction to macabre humour, which is a wonderful genre to explore. Also, most high school thespians will have had some experience with Shakespeare in English class, however, it is less likely that they would have encountered Henry VIII or his sister JOAN for that matter. The troupe that presented the original performance had a wonderful time rehearsing and preparing their production and, ultimately, it was an extremely entertaining experience for both the company and audience.

Time for a Tfolk Top Ten Plays for…Comedies. Read one, read them all! 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! The Baloney, The Pickle, The Zombie, and Other Things I Hide From My Mother Trevor is bringing food to life with experiments he hopes will lead to the creation of zombies he can sell as cheap laborers. He may discover that his food may actually be smarter than he is… Apostrophe’s Are you sometime’s amazed at how many apostrophe’s s’ome people manage to fi’t into s’entence’s? Then you’re not the only one. That’s just the problem that needs to be solved in this outrageous comedy. Lord of the Pies A pie shop erupts into panic after Franny announces the arrival of the apocalypse. She starts to reconstruct society and takes out anyone who stands in her way with baby food and scotch tape. Is the apocalypse real? Will the bathroom serve as an adequate prison? Why is there a muffin tin in a pie shop? Hamlet, Zombie Killer of Denmark Denmark is plagued with zombies led by Hamlet’s uncle/step-father, the current king. When Hamlet learns from his zombified father that his uncle plans to turn Denmark into a land of the undead – Hamlet knows he must stop him! Or not. If he could only be sure… A gruesomely comic adaptation! Original text with new zombified dialogue. A Lighter Shade of Noir Trent Trowel is your typical gumshoe. Searching the mean streets for crimes to solve and dames to fall for. He joins some of the world’s most famous detectives at the International PD gala. But is this all a plot for the world’s most dastardly villains to foil them with a fiendish master plan? A fabulously funny and high styling take on film noir – it’s a lighter shade of noir after all! Close Encounters of the Undead Kind Wendy walks into a typical teen support group. Claire thinks Halloween is going to be humdrum as usual. Rachel wants her parents to be nice to her new boyfriend. Three ordinary scenarios… or are they? Is that a werewolf at the support group? A vampire at the door? A zombie boyfriend? With some close encounters of the undead kind, these plays are far from typical and humdrum! Epic Adventures in a Rinky Dink Art Museum High school students reluctantly visit a small town art museum to complete a creative writing project. But there’s more to the eye than a couple of paintings: Vanishing Valerie! Love-struck Kaitlin! Duncan… trying to eat a clay apple! A wonderfully sweet character driven comedy. Drop Dead, Juliet Juliet has had enough! Enough with the poison, enough with the stabbing, and especially enough with the dying. She wants a new story and she wants it now. _ Romeo and Juliet_ will never be the same – or will it? She Wrote, Died, Then Wrote Some More This comedic, melodramatic one-act mystery is an hilarious romp that features betrayals, broken hearts, a rather odd but beautiful love story, and many twists. Like the main character ending up dead. Or not dead… Lose Not Thy Head Joan pleads for life, Death waits for death, a severed Head says beheading isn’t so bad, a doctor tries to convince everyone that you can’t sew a head back on a body, and then things get weird. Shakespeare, Monty Python, a little love, a little death, a lot of laughs and a talking head. 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.

Time for a Tfolk Top Ten Plays About…Characters you will only find in the theatre. You want unique characters for your students? We got them! Cat hair, archetypes, Shakespearean, and a severed head just to name a few. Read one, read them all! 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! Inanimate Ani talks to the inanimate objects in her life and they talk back. It all seems friendly and fun at first. So why is Ani writing hate texts to her friends? Why does she let the objects control her? What if feels she can’t leave her room anymore? Characters: The inanimate objects in Ani’s life Floating On A Don’t Care Cloud Jamie Peel is a pothead. He lives in his own world, a bubble, a cloud that calls his name and reaches out to him. His sister TJ has watched him slowly drift away and doesn’t know what to do. An emotional tightrope. Characters: Marijuana is personified by a cloud of 7 characters. To Kill a Mocking Birdie Birdie would like you to meet her parents: a goldfish and a moldy piece of bread. You may also meet What, When, Alexa (who’s hiding in the bathroom) and Birdie’s sister Scoot, who thinks she’s a glazed Virginia Ham. It’s a perfectly crazy dinner party. Consider this your invitation. Characters: Everyone is Absolutely abnormal Lose Not Thy Head Joan pleads for life, Death waits for death, a severed Head says beheading isn’t so bad, a doctor tries to convince everyone that you can’t sew a head back on a body, and then things get weird. Shakespeare, Monty Python, a little love, a little death, a lot of laughs and a talking head. Characters: Death. A freudian Doctor. A severed head. Shakespeare’s sister who’s impersonating Shakespeare. Censorbleep The Bleep Bleep Girls are the greatest group in school. They know what’s best. And when students try to stand up for themselves, or don’t do the “right” thing, they get dealt with. Characters: Teenagers are turned into garbage and disappear. Postcards From Shakespeare Shakespeare has writer’s block. He pleads to the one person who can help him – Queen Elizabeth the First who sends Shakespeare around the world in 30 minutes. Denmark! Venice! Egypt! Join his whirlwind tour as he desperately searches for material. Characters: Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s Characters. Elizabeth the first. Myth-o-logues Cassandra is here to be your Greek mythology tour guide. She’ll lead you through stories of war, relationships and the origins of good and evil. Pick and choose from this must-have collection of monologues. Characters: Greek Mythology’s greatest The Dread Playwright Sadie Sadie wishes to leave her life on the high seas to pursue her true passion: theatre. But there’s a problem. She’s not just Sadie; she’s The Dread Pirate Sadie, the most feared pirate in all the land. And there’s another problem. She’s a horrible pirate. Characters: Pirates. And Playwrights. The Absolute Insidious and Utterly Terrifying Truth About Cat Hair Cat hair is infinite. It is the secret driving force behind business and politics, and is plotting the downfall of humanity even as we speak. Unbelievable? Find out for yourself in this hilarious, insidious and utterly terrifying tale… Characters: Lint Roller, Granola Bar, Masking Tape, and of course, Cat Hair. Emotional Baggage Seven strangers meet in a train station. Instead of luggage, they all carry their “emotional baggage.” This unique play is based solely on action and has no dialogue. Characters: All the characters in this play are archetypes: Dead End Job, Living in the Past, etc.

Episode 112: Taking Students to Competition How do you handle competition with your students? How do you circumvent the win, win, win mentality, especially if you don’t win? Teacher Gary Rodgers competes every year in his region and talks about his experiences.