Myth-o-logues

March 8th is International Women’s Day – and what better time to highlight some amazing women within the Theatrefolk community. Join us in celebrating these phenomenal playwrights and authors and their incredible contributions to the world of student theatre. Plus, keep reading to see our Top 10 Plays for Female Casts at the end of the post! Rachel Atkins • Baalzebub (and One Act Version)

*Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. * Myth-o-logues by Janice Harris is a fantastic one-act and classroom resource. Pick and choose from this must-have collection of monologues from Greek Mythology’s greatest characters. Great for in-class and online study and performances! Cassandra (the Trojan prophetess no one believes) 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. She’ll share all before old Charon ferries the whole audience across the River Styx. Will you listen? Will you learn? Will you believe? Why did we publish this play? I love this title. It describes this play perfectly – a collection of monologues about Greek myths. This is a great way to introduce both (myths and monologues) in one package. You can even put them all together for a unique monologue driven production – which will make it really accessible for an online performance. Middle school teachers – you will want this play in your classroom! Let’s hear from the author!1. Why did you write this play? I wrote this play because I wanted to give my students a more comprehensive understanding of traditional Greek stories and characters, particularly in the context of the study Greek theatre history. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. The topic of the play is Greek Mythology. The theme changes with each character as the performers explore the characters— faithfulness, loss of love, revenge, power, etc. 3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? At this particular time, I visualize an online performance. See below. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? I would encourage those producing this play to have your actors do a lot of research on the whole storyline of each character. This will strengthen the portrayal of each character as the students do the character study needed for a successful performance. 5. Why is this play great for student performers? This play is good for student performers for several different reasons. The monologues are of different lengths, so a student can choose one that fits his/her comfort level. (My method for assigning monologues or scenes is for students to submit several choices. I make the final assignment.) The subject matter is cross-disciplinary. The material can be performed by a beginning or advanced level student. Character study is necessary for a successful performance. 6. Do you have any tips or suggestions for those who are performing this play online? I think this play is particularly suited to an online performance. I can picture a performance of individual actors appearing on the screen. As narrator, Cassandra could be in the center. The focus could shift from actor to actor, the screen could fade in and out. There is a great opportunity for students working on the technical side of the performance online. Actors could easily perform in their own rooms or yards, in a garden, or even on a stage, observing social distancing. There is plenty of room for creativity in an online performance. Get your copy of _Myth-o-logues _right here, right now!Not right for your group right now? Search our play catalogue to find one that your performers will love!

Episode 206: Monologue Competitions: How to compete confidently How can you encourage your students to compete with confidence? Learn from the source! Student Kelsey Gilmore was chosen as critics choice for monologues and best in show in her district for her monologue performance. What did she do? How did she prepare?

Time for a Tfolk Top Ten Plays For….Classroom Production. Are you putting on a play with your class? Do you need flexible casting? Do you need ensemble driven works? Material that’s easy to stage? A show that can actually be rehearsed in a class period? We’ve got plays just for you! 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! Mmmbeth Your class will have a blast with this one. So much fun to do as it takes a twisty turning and gender bending look at the Scottish play. A great piece to teach comic timing to your students. Large flexible casting! Ten/Two Ten plays for two actors. The plays can be performed individually or all together for a full evening of theatre. Excellent for the classroom. This collection is ideal for student directors because each play is a contained piece. Box How do middle schoolers deal with perception? A middle school vignette play with great small scene and monologue opportunities. Flexible casting and it can be run entirely within class time. Anxiety is Orange This play is all about colour. Join the characters as they navigate the world, each other, and the greens, greys, blues, reds, pinks, yellows, and oranges around them. Does orange make you anxious? Vignette plays are awesome for class projects. Everyone gets one scene to perfect. Everyone can be rehearsing at the same time and not waiting around. Myth-O-Logues Pick and choose from this must-have collection of greek mythology inspired monologues. In this play everyone gets a monologue and an ancient greek character to present. Students practice a necessary theatrical form and get cross-curricular! The Perils of Modern Education Got student directors? Give each one a scene to develop in this vignette play. A comedic romp through the stresses and struggles of making it through the school day. The Perils of Modern Education are many! Gender flexible casting, doubling possibilities, and easy to stage. The Bottom of the Lake An awesome combination of ghost stories, urban legends, teen issues, romance, absurd comedy, and film noir, all in a single play. Because this play is divided into scenes, everyone can work at the same time. betweenity This vignette play explores the beats, pauses, and never-ending silences in conversation. An excellent class project play with parts for everyone , at all levels, and a great technique exploration. How do you act in a pause? Letters Have less time but need a class project? Try this Reader’s Theatre play about war. For many wars, letters home were the only form of communication between soldiers and their loved ones. Letters is thought-provoking and character-driven. It’s not hard to visualize these characters reaching out with pen and paper. Pandora’s Fire Everybody knows the story of Pandora. Her curiosity got the better of her and she is to blame for releasing all the ills into the world. But is that the whole story? Work on ensemble acting with your students with this great greek adaptation with a modern twist.

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.

Some drama teachers have their whole production year figured out before the first day of school. If you’re doing a big musical, you need to get that paperwork started way in advance. Or maybe you need to coordinate using the theatre space with other departments – you need to know what you’re doing and when. Or, if you’re lucky, you have an engaged drama club and they’re reading the plays and deciding what they want to do ahead of time. But sometimes all that planning goes out the window. You choose a play, hold auditions and the actors you think you’re going to have don’t show up. Or you choose a small cast play and are faced with a flood of wonderful auditions. And sometimes, just the act of choosing a play is the issue. It can be an overwhelming and frustrating experience. Auditions loom and you still haven’t chosen a script. If you’ve stared at a stack of play catalogues with panic in your eyes, we here at Theatrefolk are ready to come to the rescue! Ok. We’re not a superhero. But we can give you some guidance to what we have available and how you can swiftly navigate our catalogue. If you’re frustrated with your search, or if you have to make a last minute decision NOW, have a look at the following plays. With each play there’s a link to the website page where you can read free sample pages. Enjoy! Top SellersWant something popular? Try these! Hoodie by Lindsay Price Hands down, our most popular one act. Hoodie is a middle school play about self image and appearance. Great for classes, and the kind of play that lets you cast every kid who auditions.