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School Daze

School Daze

by Lindsay Price

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.

Comedy Choral Work Vignettes Young Audiences

Average Producer Rating:

This is a vignette play!

Recommended for Middle Schools

About 30 minutes
Times given are approximate and do not include intermissions/scene changes/breaks
54 Characters
16 M | 24 F | 14 Any Gender, Doubling Possible
Simple Set
28 pages
Production Tips
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Classroom Study Guide
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Performance Royalty Fees

Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes.

Exemption details for scenes and monologues for competition.

54 Characters
16 M, 24 F, 14 Any Gender, Doubling Possible

Characters in this play are currently identified as male or female. Directors are welcome to assign any gender (binary or non-binary) to any character and modify pronouns accordingly.

Guys
Dad 8 lines
Can’t find the camera.
Big Kid Two 5 lines
Proud of his Evil Laugh.
Jimmy 2 lines
Knows Grade 7 is the perfect grade.
Fear Boy 5 lines
Hates being the new kid.
Positive Boy 3 lines
Can’t wait to go to different classes.
Negative Boy 5 lines
A glass-half-empty kind of guy.
Forward Boy 1 line
Hates being treated like a kid.
Backward Boy 7 lines
Misses recess.
Locker One 6 lines
Fears the inevitable.
MacDougal 28 lines
Thinks that it’s a fine day for a race.
MacGregor 19 lines
Agrees.
Johnson 1 line
Is gonna go out hard.
Bully 8 lines
Is a coward, as all bullies are.
Invisible 8 lines
Wants to go unseen.
Marty 18 lines
Can’t believe their starting a project on the first day of school.
Edwin 19 lines
Can’t believe he’s paired with Marty.
Girls
Lacy 13 lines
Has a zit.
Mom 13 lines
Has an overreacting daughter.
Mary-Jean 2 lines
Dresses differently than the other girls. One monologue.
Fear Girl 5 lines
They say everyone can chose to live in hope, or fear. She doesn’t choose hope.
Positive Girl 9 lines
A glass-half-full kind of gal.
Negative Girl 7 lines
Hates school. Doesn’t mind the flute. One monologue.
Backward Girl 3 lines
Misses her old classroom.
Forward Girl 2 lines
Can’t wait to leave all that kid stuff behind.
Locker Three 5 lines
Walks a razor’s edge between Lockers 2 and 4.
Locker Four 7 lines
Loves lockers. But then, who doesn’t?
Announcement Girl 5 lines
Tries not to be a woman of success, but a woman of value. One monologue.
Baranova 1 line
Definitely has a lock.
Stewart-Rosen 1 line
Never gets detention.
Cara 18 lines
Once a friend of Amee. Not so much anymore.
Tammy 16 lines
Another of Amee’s abandoned friends.
Amee 10 lines
Used to be okay. Now what’s her problem?
Snobby Friend 4 lines
You know how everyone has that one snobby friend? This is that friend.
Girl One 3 lines
Thinks that Middle School is different, when it comes to clothing choices.
Girl Two 4 lines
Agrees with Girl One.
Girl Three 2 lines
Agrees with Girl Two.
Girl Four 2 lines
Concurs with the three previous girls.
Home Ec Two 2 lines
Isn’t afraid to make some big statements, like “blech.”
Crush One 13 lines
Likes Joey Delson. But then, who doesn’t?
Crush Two 12 lines
isn’t so big on the whole “Joey Delson” thing.
Either
Big Kid One 8 lines
Wants Jimmy to be afraid.
Big Kid Two 5 lines
Working on his evil laugh.
Eighth Grader, (One through four) 0 lines
Locker Two 5 lines
What if they forget their locker combo?
Sam 22 lines
Not freaking out. One monologue.
Pat 21 lines
Wants to know if Sam is freaking out.
Short One 7 lines
Also has a short attention span.
Short Two 6 lines
Impressed by mustaches.
Frustrated 1 line
Doesn’t like spit balls. Hey, I get it.
Home Ec One 2 lines
Asks the big questions, like “why blech?”
Defensive 1 line
Doesn’t have time for homework.

Praise for School Daze

Michelle Morrill
Sandcreek Middle School
Excellent!!! I love the flexibility of the characters. Good play about the joys and horrors of Jr.High/Middle School.
Abigail Bordak-Raaflaub
Thomas Jefferson Middle School/Music Boosters
The students loved seeing snapshots of middle school life and found it easy to connect to. Our student performers had some really great conversations around different issues they personally have dealt with or seen other kids deal with. During a time when our students have really been closed off from each other and activities they are involved in, we needed this show more than we all realized.
Jonny Schremmer
The New School
The sixth graders had a fantastic time rehearsing and performing "School Daze"! It is full of energy, humor, and even a few poignant moments. Audiences loved it, too!

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