School Daze

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Middle school: a wild mix of excitement, nerves, and really big eighth graders. With a large cast and relatable characters, School Daze by Lindsay Price is an ideal choice for middle school performers navigating their first day of school. You remember middle school. That first day can be a funhouse or a hall of horrors. Will I fit in or be left behind? Did I wear the right clothes? How will I find the right class? Why do those eighth graders look so big... Middle school is the tricky tightrope between being a kid and being a teenager. How did you fare? Did you fall off the tightrope? Did you hold on? See the characters in School Daze try to keep their balance on the first day of middle school. Let's hear from the author! 1. Why did you write this play?When I’m writing or thinking about writing, my number one method of finding play ideas is observation. Looking at what’s happening around me, listening to conversations, and most importantly, listening to my customers and my audience. Before writing School Daze, I had only written plays for high school students and never considered middle school. After a trip to a conference in Texas, I met so many middle school drama teachers who were looking specifically for plays written for middle school performers and dealing 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 this play was actually the first of many middle school pieces. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences?Middle school is a tricky tightrope. How do you manage the first day successfully? 3. What's the most important visual for you in this play?I love the image of Sam and Pat standing with cafeteria trays trying to figure out how to navigate this new world. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be?Avoid blackouts. Blackouts take the audience out of the world of the play and if you have one after every scene, the play is going to feel quite choppy. Using staging and music to move from scene to scene. Keep scene changes to a minimum and focus on keeping the play moving! 5. Why is this play great for student performers?I’m thrilled at how schools respond to this play. Some schools present it year after year to their feeder schools as an introduction to Middle School. And because it’s in the vignette format, it’s easy to rehearse with a large cast because you can have several scenes practicing at once. Perfect for Middle School classrooms. 6. Who is your favourite character in the play?I love the race scene because it takes a typical middle school event, moving from class to class, to the extreme. It also gives actors a lot to play with — there’s the humour of the characters and the physical action of the slow motion running. Every time I’ve ever seen the play, this scene has always been a highlight. 7. What is your favourite line in the play?"Everyone at my old school hates Skinny Marie and I know, I just know, she's going to try and be my friend because we're the only ones who know each other."

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.

September has arrived and it's time to hit the books - but with a twist! This month, we're showcasing a wonderful assortment of plays, all set within the hallowed halls of education. It's time to build your September reading list! So grab a cup of tea, find your favourite reading spot, and cozy up with these fantastic perusal plays. Celebrate these plays on the stage or in the classroom!

Middle school can be tricky. School Daze by Lindsay Price explores the tricky tightrope between being a kid and a teenager on the first day of middle school. You remember middle school. That first day can be a funhouse or a hall of horrors. Will I fit in or be left behind? Did I wear the right clothes? How will I find the right class? Why do those eighth graders look so big… Middle school is the tricky tightrope between being a kid and being a teenager. How did you fare? Did you fall off the tightrope? Did you hold on? See the characters in School Daze try to keep their balance on the first day of middle school. Thanks so much to Robin Caporuscio and the amazing student performers at Armada Middle School in Armada, MI for sharing their photos and experience with their production of School Daze: “This was a cast of all 7th and 8th graders and the show was their final exam for acting class and it was presented in an evening performance for the public.”

Episode 214: Theatre as a teaching tool The drama classroom is not just a place for games and play time. You can use theatre as a teaching tool – perhaps the most important one students will ever receive. That’s the philosophy of long time drama teacher Michelle Huerta and she has grown and changed over the years as her students have grown and changed.

Do you remember how you kept your balance on the first day of middle school? In the one-act comedy, School Daze by Lindsay Price, middle-schoolers navigate the tricky tightrope between being a kid and being a teenager. Alton Bryant and the drama students at Haynes Bridge Middle School in Alpharetta, Georgia had a great time taking on this vignette play and entertaining students, teachers and audiences alike. “The students love it and the teachers love it as well. We videotaped a few teachers talking about their first day in middle school and played the video right before the play started .” Great job, Haynes Bridge Middle School!

Time for a Tfolk Top Ten Plays For…Middle School! You’re a middle school teacher looking for material specifically written for your students. You’ve come to the right place! We specialize in middle school plays with age appropriate characters and look at the issues middle schoolers are dealing with right now. 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! Box Sometimes we choose the way the world sees us. Sometimes we’re put into a box by others – parents, friends, enemies. How do middle schoolers deal with perception? A vignette play with great small scene and monologue opportunities. Frankenstein vs the Horrendous Goo This play is a delight. Three dimensional characters, fabulous dialogue, creative staging of a horrendous mutant polymer! Students, administrators and parents get “goo-ed” by a green slime with a mind of its own. Why is Frankenstein called into save the day? The Pauper Princess A twist on The Price and the Pauper with two girls in the lead roles and Elizabethan England as the location. The Princess is Princess Elizabeth and the Pauper is a girl hiding as a boy in a location theatre production. A huge cast with roles for everyone who tries out. Don’t be scared by the era it’s Shakespeare meets modern middle school! Roshambo Some people take Rock-Paper-Scissors (aka Roshambo) seriously. Very seriously. So seriously they organize championship matches with national rankings. A middle school comedy that looks at what people will do to win. They’re not above an illegal scipper. The Redemption of Gertie Greene An upside down look at bullying in middle school. Is Gertie really what everyone calls her: a freak, strange, stupid, clumsy, and mean? Ms Fillmore’s drama class separate fact from fiction and the importance of standing up for those who can’t do it for themselves. School Daze The first day of middle school can be a house of horrors. Will I fit in? How will I find the right class? A vignette style play that you can do with a class. This play has found a lot of success with schools performing it for their incoming students. Ariadne’s Thread Bring Greek mythology to life! A fantastic modern version of the Theseus and the Minotaur myth complete with an active chorus. Choral speaking, a twist on the traditional story and a lot of humour. The Magic Diary of Mozambique Darla feels invisible and that nothing goes her way. She wishes she had a better life. When her globetrotting sister gives her a diary, Darla thinks it’s just another dumb present. Then, bizarre things start happening and suddenly EVERYTHING’S going Darla’s way. Be careful what you wish for. Hoodie Hoodie examines image and appearance in the vignette style. It poses what may be the most difficult question of all for middle schoolers – Do I stay in the clump or do I stand alone? Almost History: that whole space time continuum thing A Reporter and a Sidekick livestream from great moments in American history. While middle school students watch, the Reporter gets into a number of misadventures and changes the course of history. Even Einstein and Marie Curie cannot undo the disaster! It’ll take a miracle to restore order to the “whole space-time continuum thing.”

Episode 121: Middle School Play Mania: multiple plays with multiple classes Middle School Teacher Jessica Stafford isn’t just doing one play. She’s doing a play with multiple classes. And she’s not doing the same play, each class gets their own play. How do you produce multiple plays with multiple classes and not go crazy? Listen in and learn!

Marisa Burrows from Barber Middle School (Dickinson, TX) helps Lindsay spread the love for School Daze, a Vignette Play written especially for middle schools.

Marisa Burrows from Barber Middle School (Dickinson, TX) helps Lindsay spread the love for School Daze.

Podcasting from FATE 2007 – it’s Theatrefolk! • Roxane Caravan • Karen Loftus • Sheri Hancock • Lindsay in a Workshop • Jonette De Marsico Plays referenced in this Podcast: • Shout • Emotional Baggage • School Daze • The Bright Blue Mailbox Suicide Note