The Scarlet Heart

As January unveils its wintry palette, our attention shifts to a vibrant selection of plays designed to add some theatrical warmth to your stage or classroom. From dazzling tales to vivid narratives, these scripts are a kaleidoscope of colour, ready to light up the winter scene. So, cozy up and explore our January reading list. Let these plays paint a beautiful picture that transforms your season into an unforgettable experience. Embrace the drama, and let the colours of January come alive on your stage!❄️🎭

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. * The Scarlet Heart by Allison Williams is an excellent introduction to commedia for any student performer. The script can be performed as written or by following an improv-based scenario. The Scarlet Heart is a gem! Literally. A big fat juicy apple of a ruby that everyone really, really wants and will do anything to get. Too bad there’s not one competent thief in the bunch. Stupino! That’s a soup ladle! Stop making goo goo eyes at the soup ladle! Join Arlecchino, Brighella, Columbina, and more in their hungry, thirsty, bungling, cross-dressing quest for the Scarlet Heart. Why did we publish this play? It’s one thing to study commedia dell’arte as a theatre history unit. It’s another thing to get right into the “heart” of the form and try commedia for yourself! We were thrilled to be able to offer a commedia play that fits both the stage and the classroom. The Scarlet Heart is a fantastically fun and practical way into commedia, written specifically for student performers. Let’s hear from the author!1. Why did you write this play? I taught commedia for a long time, and there aren’t a lot of commedia scripts that are funny for a modern audience. Plus, I loved the idea of giving both a scenario and a script, and letting schools decide how much improv and how much student-created comedy they wanted to incorporate. So it’s like getting to do a traditional commedia, but with training wheels so it’s not overwhelming. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. There’s no honor among thieves, but if you stay focused on what you want, you might get what you need. 3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? Everyone stacked up hiding in the closet. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? Play it fast and snappy – anything you’re going to do memorized, have it cold so you can move with the pace of the comedy. Get comfortable talking directly to the audience and breaking the fourth wall. 5. Why is this play great for student performers? There are so many opportunities in interactive theatre and non-fourth-wall theatre, this is a great chance to practice those skills. Plus, for students who will do any sort of public speaking, this is good practice for feeling comfortable hosting an audience, not just performing in front of them, but actively making them part of the experience.

Time for a Tfolk Top Ten Plays For…Ensembles! It’s not about the leads and the chorus, it’s about the ensemble. The definition of the word ensemble is to have parts that come together as a whole and are only considered in relation to the whole. It’s all about working together to make a great production. Here are 10 plays that explore the concept of the ensemble. 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 Blue and the Grey This play starts with the sound of drumming and the words of Walt Whitman. This sets the tone of the play and lets us know what to expect. This is the work of the ensemble. In this play of ghosts, the past, and those left behind – The ensemble creates the aural world in The Blue and the Grey – haunting, necessary. Finishing Sentences Sometimes an ensemble is needed to populate the world of the play. In Finishing Sentences Kendra finds herself surrounded by camp life – that’s what the ensemble provides. And besides, you can’t have a colour war without them! (even if the blue team can’t get their chant together) Storied Quite often, the world of the play is, well, out of this world. It’s built in the imagination of the playwright, and in order for the audience to buy in, they need to see characters who also buy into the world. Storied takes place in a magical dimension inhabited by characters from fiction. Everyone from Javert to Santa Claus to Elizabeth Bennett lives there. The ensemble is crucial to the audience leaving the real world behind as they watch the play. The Happiness Shop In this play an ensemble of “Roppets” – robot puppets litter the stage. They are on stage for the entire play. They visual demonstrate “happiness.” They smile, they laugh, they hi-five all the time. It isn’t creepy at all. Aren’t middle schoolers happy all the time? They’re too young to have problems…. The Scarlet Heart The Scarlet Heart is a commedia dell’arte piece which can be played as scripted or off of scenarios. To play off a scenario means a group really has to know each other, listen to each other, improv often together. They’ll have to become a true ensemble. Being Bianca: The Semi Complete Guide Being Bianca has a huge cast – it can include up to 50 actors. And that means everyone has to be on the same page and working toward the same goal. Bianca has to do some community service. She decides the best service is to teach the world what it’s like to be her. Who wouldn’t want to be Bianca? Ariadne’s Thread: The Adventures of Theseus and the Minotaur Ariadne’s Thread has an ensemble in the classical sense of the word – a greek chorus. Again it’s all about creating the world of the play and in this tale of Minotaur’s and mazes the greek chorus observes and comments. They are the voice of the audience and they share that voice in perfect unison. Stupid is Just 4 2day We can’t avoid stupidity. It happens. To everyone! But it’s just temporary. The characters in this vignette play are all named after orchestra instruments. And that’s because all the transition pieces are performed like music rather than theatre. Everyone speaks, and gestures in unison. Win the Best Ensemble award! Chemo Girl Camille is given a video game system from her mom as a form of recovery therapy for cancer. The ensemble creates the video game for Camille as she is drawn into the world and takes on the name “Chemo Girl.” Think video games can’t be done in the theatre? The ensemble makes it happen. Anonymous In Anonymous everyone is just trying to get along, get by, make themselves heard. It’s hard when you don’t have a face or a voice. The teens in this play have no names because they’re everyone. The ensemble brings this theme to life.

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?

This week on Spread the Love, Lindsay Price and Allison Williams talk about The Scarlet Heart, a commedia dell’arte comedy for high schools by Allison Williams.