Agatha Rex

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Agatha Rex by Lindsay Price is a modern high school adaptation of Antigone, transforming the Greek chorus into a dynamic ensemble opportunity. Available in a competition-length version too! Possible expulsion, expulsion, expulsion. Agatha is a girl who stands up for her beliefs, regardless of the consequences. As student council president at Thebes High, she vigorously defends a student who is unfairly punished. Based on her actions, she could be expelled and lose an important scholarship. Set in a modern-day high school, the play translates the original Greek chorus into a fantastic ensemble opportunity. Let's hear from the author! 1. Why did you write this play?I love adaptations, and Antigone is an epic play - adapting it is always a fun challenge. The original story translated seamlessly to the high school stage: Antigone defies the king to honor her brother, while Agatha defies the principal to support hers. Both Agatha and Antigone stand up for what they believe in, no matter the consequences. In this modern version, Agatha isn’t faced with a life-or-death choice—apologize or die—but her actions will still change her life. She risks losing everything she’s worked for, all for a brother who may not even be worth the sacrifice. 1b. Why did you also write a competition length version?Agatha Rex is one of my more popular plays for production and for classroom study because of its link to Ancient Greek Theatre. I've had many teachers ask for a competition length version of this play and it's been great to be able to adapt my adaptation! 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences?Do you stand up for your beliefs, regardless of the consequences? How do you define right vs wrong? 3. What's the most important visual for you in this play?The "Greek Chorus" of students who observe the action and comment on it. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be?Agatha Rex is a great example of an ensemble that has a lot to do and can't stand around being wall paper. The Greek Chorus in the original is transformed into an ensemble of high school students. Frankly, it's the toughest part in the play – they set the scene, they set up the world of the play and its characters. The ensemble acts as foils for Agatha (both encouraging her to act and then backing away when she asks for their help) they are the atmosphere of the play. They act as the voice of the student body. And they have to do it in unison. 5. Why is this play great for student performers?This play has a lot to offer from offering a modern look into an Ancient Greek play, to the ensemble work, to the strong character development, to the discussion of the themes. How do you define right from wrong? What would you do in a similar situation? Should someone be punished less harshly because they are a good student? What are your thoughts on personal responsibility? 6. Who is your favourite character in the play? OR Which character would you be in this play?Eunice, the head hall monitor, is my favourite character! I would love to play her. 7. What is your favourite line in the play?Any time the chorus called Dr Creon "Cromagnon."

You’ve gotten the go-ahead from your school’s principal to produce a show this year! You have an awesome show in mind that would be absolutely perfect for your students, and you can’t wait to get started. Let’s just grab a script and go, right? Slow down there! It’s not as simple as that. It costs money to produce a show – even the smallest, most basic production. You’ll need to create a budget for your production so you can track where the money is coming from and where it’s going. It may seem intimidating to create a show budget if you’ve never done it before, but let’s break it down into smaller steps. 1. How much is this production going to cost?This is the million-dollar question (or in the case of many school shows, the $1,000-or-less question). The first thing you must do when planning to produce a show is to figure out exactly what you’re going to have to spend money on and how much you think everything will cost. Every show is different and will have different needs. Sit down with your laptop and create a simple spreadsheet. I use Excel. The first column is called Expenditures. In that column make a list of everything that you could possibly imagine spending money on. Consider the following: • Performing rights for the show • You absolutely cannot do a show without purchasing the rights to the production – to do otherwise is illegal! This may also entail purchasing a logo package and video licensing, if they’re available. • Scripts and score – enough copies for all cast and crew members. Don’t forget to include possible shipping costs. • Venue rental if you have to rehearse or perform somewhere other than the school • Insurance if the school doesn’t already cover it • Salaries/wages/honorariums if you are hiring outside professionals to work on your show – such as directors, musical directors, choreographers, fight directors, designers, band/orchestra members. • Costumes • Sets • Props • Hair/makeup • Equipment rentals – this will depend on what equipment your school already has for sound, lighting, spotlights, microphones, video projection, and special effects. • Printing – programs, posters, handbills, sign-in sheets, etc. • Publicity • Miscellaneous – you never know what expected costs might come up! Call the second column Estimated Amount. In this column record how much you think each item in the first column will cost. Some of these dollar amounts will be easily available to enter, such as the cost of performance rights – just check the website of the show you want to produce, and the costs will generally be clearly listed. (Check out Theatrefolk’s awesome collection of plays to get an idea of this!) But for some items, you probably won’t know how much money you’ll need. Sometimes, you just need to estimate. If you think you’ll need to spend more money on costumes than on props, put a higher amount in the costume section. Always estimate on the high side so you’ll have a little wiggle room when it comes to Step 2… 2. How much money do you currently have?This is your starting amount, the money you have right now. This could be money carried over from the last production, the amount of money that your show has been allotted from the school’s budget by the principal or board, or money from a grant or a kind donor. Either way, it’s the absolute minimum amount of cash you know you have to work with. Compare this amount to your estimated total amount of expenditures in Column 2. I’m betting this amount will be a lot smaller. If it’s not – way to go! Order those scripts and start planning for your auditions! For the rest of us, it’s on to Step 3… 3. How much more money can you get?Think about how you can earn or raise money for the show. On a new table (or just below your previous table), create a list of possible income-generating ideas, and how much money you might be able to make from each. Consider the following: • Ticket sales • Will you charge for tickets? If so, how much will you charge? • Will you have a different rate for adults, seniors, students, children? Or will you charge everyone the same amount? • Will any of the seats cost more than others? (For example, will the balcony be cheaper than the mezzanine?) • Will all the performances have the same ticket prices? Or will you offer special deals (such as early bird pricing, student rush, a less expensive “preview night”)? • How many performances are you offering? More performances will give you more opportunities to take in revenue, but will also cost more in terms of your licensing agreement. • What is the capacity of your theatre? • When calculating potential ticket sales, never assume you will sell out every performance. You might want to start with 50% as an estimated number of tickets sold. Consider past performances and how well they’ve sold. • Program ads • Corporate sponsorships • Donations • Grants • Fundraising • Concession/merchandise sales Assume that you’ll receive the smallest amounts possible from each source. This is the opposite of your expenditures, where you assume everything will cost more than you expect. 4. How does it all balance out?Compare the amount of your total estimated expenditures with your total estimated income. Your estimated income minus your estimated expenses is your estimated profit. You don’t need to have a huge profit, but you need to at least break even – which means your expenses cannot exceed your income. If your expenditures are a much larger number than your income, you’re either going to have to reduce your expenses or increase your income. If you need to reduce your expenses, think about what your absolute necessities are versus those items that are just “nice to have.” You also may need to sacrifice something in order to achieve your must-haves; for example, perhaps you can reduce the number of microphones you need to rent in order to have enough money to purchase matching costume uniforms for your actors. 5. Going forward.Add a third and fourth column to your spreadsheet (Column 3: Actual Amount and Column 4: Difference) so you can track the actual amount of money spent, and calculate the difference from your estimated amounts. This will show exactly where you spent/saved money, and help you to plan your budget for future productions. Exercise: Using the steps indicated above, students will pair up and create budgets for their school’s four-performance production run of Agatha Rex by Lindsay Price. They have a cast of 19 actors and a crew of 5 (director/producer, assistant director, stage manager, assistant stage manager, head designer). The school’s principal has allotted them an initial amount of $1,000. All other details are up to the discretion of each pair. Use the tables in the Giveaway as a worksheet. Space is included for any necessary notes (such as reasons/justifications for larger or unusual expenses).

_What will be her dreadful fate _ _When the trumpet sounds the call _ _For those who stand against the state _ Must first learn how to fall. In Agatha Rex by Lindsay Price, Agatha is a girl who stands up for her beliefs, regardless of the consequences. As student council president at Thebes High, she vigorously defends a student who is unfairly punished. Based on her actions, she could be expelled and lose an important scholarship. Set in a modern-day high school, this modern adaptation of Sophocles’ Antigone translates the original Greek chorus into a fantastic ensemble opportunity. Under the direction of Jon Burnett , the amazing student performers at San Francisco Friends School in San Francisco, CA brought this modern day Greek tragedy to life. Both the characters and the audience watching were left with the same question: In the same situation would you stand up for someone who is unpopular, or do you flow with the status quo?

Sometimes a picture really can speak a thousand words. In this production of Agatha Rex by Lindsay Price, the students at Northwestern High School in West Salem, Ohio showed how interesting stage pictures can be created with simple set pieces. Under the direction of Elizabeth Crabtree , the team used simple risers and cubes for their set, along with utilizing lighting to achieve a great effect. Set in a modern-day high school, the play translates the original Greek chorus (Sophocles’ Antigone) into a fantastic ensemble opportunity. Great play, great pictures, great production! Great job, Northwestern High School! *Photo credit: David Wagar

At a recent conference middle school teacher Adam Moreno from the University School of Milwaukee shared with me how he uses Agatha Rex in the classroom: students work on, self-direct, and present the same scenes from the play on their own. I knew that these would be a great project to share. You have three different classes using a scene from one of our plays AGATHA REX. Why did you choose this particular scene?First off, I use Agatha Rex because it’s a strong introduction to some great aspects of Greek Theatre, especially the use of the Greek Chorus. I also use the theme of right and wrong to have in depth conversations with the students about ethics. The students struggle with the ideas of equal punishment, breaking the rules, and standing up for what you feel is right. Agatha Rex has valuable lessons that students need to learn and discuss. The end of the first act and the end of the second act are particularly strong scenes for the students to work on as an ensemble because of the use of the Greek Chorus. Everyone, with the exception of Agatha, speaks together. This takes the focus off of what each individual student is doing and focuses their energy on how the group says the lines and how the group moves on stage as an ensemble. The result is some awesome collaborative work! What are the expectations for the presented scene?I break acting down into two elements for my middle school actors: physicality (movement on stage) and expression (variations is voice). When the students begin, I emphasis the need to use the whole stage, to stay open to the audience, and to change levels. I also remind them that, even though they are speaking together, they need to convey emotion through their unison voice. We also talk quite a bit leading up to this project about the importance of “background” or “secondary” acting. What are you doing on stage, when you’re not saying a line. I love watching the creative ideas they come up with about who their characters are and what they are doing in each scene. Each of the classes must prepare and perform the scene on their own.

Episode 56: The Ensemble in High School and Middle School PlaysLindsay’s favourite group in a play is often the ensemble. But at the high school and middle school level, being in the ensemble can often feel second class. What can you do to make the ensemble first rate?

This week we spread the love for Agatha Rex, a retelling of Sophocles’ Antigone set in a modern-day high school.