Drop Dead, Juliet!

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)

Time for a Tfolk Top Ten Plays For….Cross-curricular. Cross-curricular is a magic word for many admins and quite frankly there’s a good reason for that. Here in the 21st century we no longer live in an isolated world and students shouldn’t be taught in isolation. What we do in the drama classroom has always had implications outside of the drama classroom and it’s time to showcase that connection. If you want students to increase their critical thinking skills, their communication skills, and their collaboration skills, reach out across department lines! You can do plays that will interest your history department, english department, social studies, technology and more. 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!

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. More love, less death! Drop Dead, Juliet! by Allison Williams is an adaptation of the classic Romeo and Juliet story that goes well beyond your classic spoof. 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? Not everyone’s so keen on the changes. And why is Romeo sneaking off with Rosaline? Why did we publish this play? I remember seeing this play in an audience filled with students who did not know Shakespeare, and they laughed. A lot. They loved the characters, and that’s when I knew the play was a hit. Not only is the play a loving spoof of the original, it also addresses the importance of the original. There’s a reason Romeo and Juliet is timeless. In the play Juliet learns to respect her story and I think that’s a great lesson to learn. Let’s hear from the author!1. Why did you write this play? I’d just directed Romeo and Juliet at Jenison High School in Grand Rapids MI and working through the customs and meanings and Elizabethan mores with the student actors really made me realize how much fun there was in questioning the script. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. Truth in storytelling is valuable—stories don’t work if you try to twist them into something they aren’t. 3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? The death of Juliet. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? Play it for real, not for laughs – the comedy comes from characters desperately wanting things they can’t have, but wanting them for real. 5. Why is this play great for student performers? Lots of parts for a true ensemble, because there are a ton of crowd reactions in the big scenes.

Double the Shakespeare, double the fun! The talented student group at Franklin Township Middle School West in Indianapolis kicked off their inaugural theatre program with a night of “Shattered Shakespeare”, performing the Shakespearean adaptations Drop Dead, Juliet! and Hamlet, Zombie Killer of Denmark. Rave reviews and state competition success – what a great start! In the one-act comedy, Drop, Dead, Juliet! by Allison Williams, Juliet has had enough! No more poison, stabbing, or dying. Romeo and Juliet will never be the same – or will it? Not everyone’s so keen on the changes. In the gruesomely comic adaptation, Hamlet, Zombie Killer of Denmark by Chris Stiles, Denmark is plagued with zombies. “Zombie or not zombie? That is the question.” First-time director, Brent Williamson, shares his thoughts on the experience: “We recently performed a double feature of Drop Dead, Juliet! and Hamlet, Zombie Killer of Denmark here in Indianapolis. This is our first year ever doing a theater program at our middle school, and my first attempt at director. It went fantastically, and we got rave reviews. But… we didn’t quite know how good, until our High School director encouraged us to take a show to a regional thespian competition. Curious, we looked at it as a good learning opportunity, to see how the high school’s competed, and see what we could learn from them. So we prepped for another month, and took Juliet to competition. AND WE CRUSHED IT. Our Juliet won best actress, and we came in second place, advancing to the STATE competition and beating out four seasoned high schools, INCLUDING last year’s state champions. Not bad for a first time middle school theater club. So much of this came from your amazing and inspiring scripts. The judge’s loved the timely message of Juliet, and the clever writing. My students are in love with their show, and we wanted to say thank you.”

Romeo and Juliet may never be the same, thanks to the comedic classical adaptation, Drop Dead, Juliet!, by Allison Williams. Director Catie Reardon and the drama students at Rio Grande High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico channeled their inner-Shakespeare with this one-act comedy. Not simply a spoof of the Shakespearean classic, this modern version takes on a life of its own. Juliet demands a new story – and in Drop Dead, Juliet!, she definitely gets it! “Drop Dead Juliet is almost ready for an audience, and my actors are having so much fun! Love, death, sword fights, what else does a good Shakespeare play need?!” Way to go, Rio Grande High School!

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 For…Our Most Popular Plays! Sometimes you want a sure thing. So this week we offer our most popular plays. These are the works that get done time and time again whether it’s because of their subject matter, their humour, their ease of production or their unique theatrical take. 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! Hoodie Hoodie examines image and appearance in the vignette style and poses what may be the most difficult question of all – Do I stay in the clump or do I stand alone? Sixteen in Ten Minutes Or Less The lives of seven teenagers become intertwined in this humorous and oftentimes bittersweet collection of ten minute plays. Alice Alice follows the white rabbit down the rabbit hole into Wonderland, where she meets a cornucopia of strange creatures. A one-act adaptation of the famous novel by Lewis Carroll. Shuddersome: Tales of Poe The thumping of a heartbeat. The creek of a door. The sound of beating wings getting closer and closer… Specters, ghosts and ghouls come alive in this vivid theatrical adaptation of some of Edgar Allen Poe’s best-known works. Ten/Two Ten short two-person plays (inspired by the numbers 10 and 2!) in a variety of themes and lengths. Excellent for classwork and for competition. 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? The Absolutely 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… 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. 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! 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. 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.

Episode 124: Using Theatre in ChinaNick Cala is a high school teacher in China. He’s putting up a play for the first time with Chinese students who are studying to attend American universities and fully believes in the importance of drama as part of their process.

Choosing one act plays for middle school is not an easy task. The students are at a very in-between point in their lives. They no longer want to be seen of as “kids” yet many are not quite ready to tackle heavier issues. Play selection is a total “your mileage may vary” situation. It depends on each specific set of kids. Some will be content with fairy tales while others will want intense make-’em-cry dramas. Here is a direct link to all of our one act plays for middle schools. I reached out on our Facebook page for some feedback from middle school teachers: “What are the major factors you need to consider when selecting a one act play for your middle school?” Here are some of the more representative responses we got. “Large cast size (25-35) for my classes, appropriate for their age, doesn’t focus on typical angst of the MS student, it needs to be mostly funny (they’ll get enough serious stuff at the HS level), and I LOVE vignettes which allow me to cast many kids in roles The Snow Show ~ Jessica Landry Stafford “It has to have a message. My students don’t like fluff. They want something to sink their teeth into. It also has to have a good ending. I have found most one act plays just drop off and don’t have strong endings.” ~Leslie McKibben “Cast size over 20. Smart script. Age/audience appropriate but not talking down to teenagers. Would love to see more stories that weren’t necessarily anchored in school angst.” ~Aidan O’Hara “A play “the cast and crew will care about.” Most middle schoolers are not yet such experienced theatremakers that they’ll enjoy doing any show for any reason–the story needs to engage them pretty quickly for them to commit to the process.” ~Becky Schlomann “I always think about the talent that I have available at the school and choose a show that will make all their talents shine. I want to pick a show that will both challenge the students, but also engage them and nurture their love for theatre.” ~Bethany Kennedy “No more mangling of fairy tales or Shakespeare! Something that they can sink their teeth into without being angsty. Heavier on girls. Boy roles where they don’t have to be ‘manly.’” ~Amy Medina “Opportunity, creative challenges, meaningful and accessible character development. LOVED Tick Talk for middle schoolers in particular, BTW.” ~Jessica Shulman McGettrick As you can see, the answers are wide and varied. There’s no magic bullet. There’s no “one size fits all” play for a middle school group. Choosing a one act play for middle schools depends heavily on the group of kids that you have at the time. Here are some of the main factors brought up by our Facebook fans. AppropriatenessAppropriate is in the eye of the beholder. It would be impossible to say what’s “appropriate” because standards vary. Our customers request plays that run the gamut between requests to remove all references to dating from a play (a play that doesn’t show a date, it just uses the world) to our most challenging plays, some of which aren’t even on our recommended list of plays for middle schools. Cast sizeThis one was almost universal. A large cast size is important. This is particularly tough in a one act play format. Writing a play that has a lot of characters isn’t challenging, but it is challenging to develop them all, to give them individual traits so the actors feel like they can contribute as individuals to the production. Some of our one act plays that achieve this nicely are: • Funhouse – a bullying play with a cast of 20 • The Absolutely Insidious and Utterly Terrifying Truth About Cat Hair – A fun play with a long title and a huge cast. • Shuddersome: Tales of Poe – A very large cast adaptation of Poe’s most theatrical stories • Lord of the Pies – a delicious parody of Lord of the Flies Students Can Relate to ItThe plays we publish and promote for middle schools tend to have the majority of characters of student age (except in the case of literary adaptations). It’s important that the characters and the situations they find themselves in are realistic and relatable. Not necessarily how adults see the middle school student, but how they see themselves. The Play Stretches the PerformersIt’s important that the play stretch them as performers. But “stretch” doesn’t have to mean “a different age, like grandparents” In the professional world, for example, I’ve always played roles that fit my age and every experience I’ve had has stretched me as a performer. A meek student can be stretched by playing a bully. A straightlaced student can be stretched by playing a troubled kid. Typecasting is lovely and it makes casting easy, but if you’re looking to stretch kids then it’s important to cast against type sometimes. At the end of the day the most important thing in educational theatre is the students’ learning experience. For example, our middle school play The Happiness Shop looks at the issue of Middle School Depression. This is a serious topic and allows middle school students to tackle a big issue in a theatrical manner. The Fractured Fairytale DebateSome people on our Facebook post said they love fractured fairytales, others are sick of them. That’s what makes art so wonderful – there are plays to suit every taste. We don’t have any fractured fairytales but I don’t think there’s a single thing wrong with them besides the fact that it’s very easy to write a bad one. I’ve seen so many come through our submission process that just aren’t theatrical. They are just re-worded versions of fairytales – parodies or spoofs. They are funny on the page and that’s probably the medium they belong in. The best way to tell if a script is theatrical or not is to ask yourself these questions: How will staging this play (bringing it to life) differ than just reading it? What parts of the script would be enhanced by live performers? Can you visualize the script in action when you read it? Do you see people moving? Are there moments that will affect the audience? If you struggle to answer these questions then there’s probably not much theatre written into the play. I have no doubt that we’ll publish a fractured fairytale at some point but when we do it will also work as an engaging piece of theatre. Here are a couple of examples of **adaptations/parodies that work as theatre:** • Drop Dead, Juliet! – Juliet tries to change her inevitable death at the end of the play and engages in a battle of wills with William Shakespeare. • Circus Olympus – A collection of Greek myths come to life. The script encourages liberal use of circus skills – what’s more theatrical than a Greek myth & circus mashup? • Rebootililzation – Not a one act, but this clever play incorporates a ton of fairtytale and literature based characters. More Girls than BoysThis is a purely logistical issue. More girls audition for middle school shows than boys. Pretty much all of our plays have more girls than boys for this very reason. We also try our best to get some gender-neutral characters in there for casting flexibility. Bradley Hayward’s Apostrophe’s and Sixteen in Ten Minutes or Less are both fantastic choices for flexible casting. Simple StagingIn our experience, the middle school budget is limited. The middle school play is more about putting as many students on stage, rather than having the most elaborate staging. We got you there, too. We always aim for scripts that are easy to stage. Our running joke is that most of our plays can be staged with two chairs and a cube and if you’re really pressed for budget, then one of the chairs could be cut. Personal TasteBecky Schlomann had this to say about what kinds of plays she looks for: “Something I personally like. I’m going to be spending more time with the script than anybody, and if at the beginning of the process I hate it, by the end of the process I’ll be ready to poke my eyes out.” This is the main reason that every play on our website comes with an extensive free excerpt. That way there are no surprises when you order a play for production, and you don’t have to order a dozen perusal scripts based on a catalogue blurb only to end up disappointed that none of them appeal to you. There are a lot of one act plays for middle schools on our website. If that overwhelms you, feel free to email us or use our live chat through this page. Tell us your likes, dislikes, cast size, and the age of your group. We’re always happy to send recommendations your way.

Episode 104: Why Shakespeare Today – Postcards From ShakespeareTheatrefolk Playwright Allison Williams talks about her attraction to Shakespeare adaptations, why students should study the bard today, her best tips for acting and directing Shakespeare and her newest play Postcards From Shakespeare.

Episode 87: Character Interpretation – The Student’s Point of ViewLindsay talks with two sets of students who prepared the same characters, in the same show, but in two different productions. How did they prepare? How did seeing their character played by another actor affect their work?

Episode 15: Allison Williams InterviewTheatrefolk playwright Allison Williams recently participated in a nearly year-long writing competition and won! She gives us all the gory details.