Treasure Island

This month, we are diving into the world of stage combat. If you dream of directing an action-packed show like The Three Musketeers, Robin Hood, or Treasure Island, then you’ll have to deal with stage combat with your students. But stage combat is more than just swordfights and gunslinging. There are tons of plays and musicals that include many different types of stage combat: punches, slaps, hair pulls, slow-motion fights, knife fights, found weapon fights, trips, slips, falls, lifts, and more. Wait — falls and lifts count as stage combat too? Definitely! The mere mention of stage combat can evoke many feelings in student performers: excitement, nervousness, silliness, or even fear. If you plan on running a stage combat workshop with your students, or if you’re doing shows with even the briefest moments of stage combat, you need to ensure that your student performers are feeling confident as well as physically and mentally safe at all times. Here are some things that your students need to know before starting stage combat work: 1. Students need to know the responsibilities that go with doing stage combat.We go into this in detail in our article Stage Combat 101: Before You Even Begin. Be sure to check out the giveaway, which has a great printable tip sheet for students. The highlights include: • The first rule of stage combat is safety first, safety last, and safety always. • Stage combat must always be performed exactly as it is choreographed every time. Never improvise stage combat. • Stage weapons can be broken or damaged or cause bodily injury with improper handling. Always treat stage weapons with care and respect. • If a student is caught goofing around during stage combat instructions or with a stage weapon, they will face consequences (such as being removed from the fight entirely). In short, students must display respect, care, maturity, and trustworthiness in order to be permitted to participate in stage combat. If a teacher, director, or fight director does not feel that a student has displayed the traits necessary to do stage combat, the student will not be cast in a role that involves stage combat or allowed to participate in stage combat workshops. 2. Students need to be informed.In your audition notices, be sure to include if a role involves stage combat, and what kind of combat (unarmed, knife, sword, etc.) will be performed. Have copies of the script available ahead of time so students can read through it and see exactly what the role entails, such as whether the character is the aggressor or the victim, and how many fights are involved. This way students can make informed choices about whether they feel physically capable and mentally comfortable auditioning for a role that requires stage combat. Note: This is also a useful technique for any roles that involve romance or sensitive subject matter such as death. It’s also a good idea to give students advance notice if you are planning on doing a stage combat workshop or unit in class. Not only will they be able to prepare in advance so they are dressed properly (sneakers, workout clothes, long hair tied back, etc.), they can make an informed decision on whether they feel comfortable participating. 3. Students need to know they can advocate for themselves.If a director or fight director asks a student to do something that the student knows they cannot physically do or that feels unsafe, the student is allowed to speak up and let the director/fight director know (either publicly or privately, depending on the student’s choice). Let’s say your director wants a student to fall to their knees on the stage, and the student has a prior knee injury. The student can certainly ask to not do the move, or to do an alternate move, or request to wear a pair of knee pads. In short, if something feels unsafe, don’t do it! Students do not need to explain the reason or disclose past history or trauma when requesting to not do a move that they feel is unsafe. A good fight director will find a substitute move or workaround. Be aware that a student may feel comfortable while auditioning or during the early rehearsal process, and then discover in the moment that a particular move or sequence is uncomfortable for them. We encourage teachers and fight directors to be flexible and understanding if these situations arise.

Treasure Island by Todd Espeland is a theatrical, character-driven adaptation that’s worth it’s weight in gold – or in this case, a treasure chest full of ‘pieces of eight’! Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest… Pirates sponging for rum, treasure maps filled with pieces of eight! Join Jim, Long John Silver and the rest of his scurvy crew for this classic pirate adventure. Easy staging (including Silver’s peg leg) gender flexible options, and a thrilling journey to Skeleton Island. Yo, ho, ho! Under the direction of Richard Martin, the student performers at Lusher Charter School in New Orleans, LA had all hands on deck with their production of Treasure Island. Their experience was both a theatrical and a technical success – and that’s the real treasure: “I recently closed Todd Espeland’s Treasure Island with my middle school students at Lusher Charter School in New Orleans. The production was such a success! The kids had a blast portraying pirates. They especially liked including scars and wrinkles in their makeup designs for the characters. My stage crew were very inventive, tackling the challenges of turning trunks into different scenic locations. I would highly recommend this script to any middle school teacher. The language was meaty enough to be a challenge for my actors and the linear plot allowed me to teach story elements in depth. Thanks for a great script!”

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Adapted by Todd Espeland, Treasure Island is a thrilling journey to Skeleton Island, complete with easy staging (including Silver’s peg leg) and gender flexible options. Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest… Pirates sponging for rum, treasure maps filled with pieces of eight! Join Jim, Long John Silver and the rest of his scurvy crew for this classic pirate adventure. Available in full-length and one-act versions. Yo, ho, ho! Why did we publish this play? A good adaptation is worth it’s weight in gold – or in this case, a treasure chest full of ‘pieces of eight’! Todd Espeland has put together a theatrical, character-driven adventure out of Robert Lewis Stevenson’s classic novel. I loved every moment. Add to that is Todd’s fabulous solve of Long John Silver’s peg leg! Let’s hear from the author! 1. Why did you write this play? I was hired to be the new Executive/Artistic Director of the Fort Wayne Youtheatre and was asked if I had ever written a play because someone needed to do an adaptation of it. It was getting thrown into the deep end of the pool. It was a great time. I like the adventure story aspect of it and I got a chance to craft some very theatrical moments in it. 2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences. There is a strong theme of moral ambiguity in the story. The characters often find themselves in situations where there is no clear distinction of good and evil and many characters in the story have both good and evil traits, like Long John Silver. 3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play? I like the visual of Jim, near the end of the play, standing up to the group of pirates. I love the image of this small kid, facing down this group of men who want to do him harm. 4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be? You don’t have to be literal. You don’t need to have a ship on stage, or an island. You can create set and atmosphere with light and a few well selected set pieces and items. Youtheatre produced this play on a minuscule budget in a black box. We transformed the space each scene with some well selected set pieces and light. Use your imagination. Transform your set pieces. We used several old trunks in the show that we transformed from seating in the Benbow Inn, into boxes aboard ship by opening them and pulling ropes out and them made them into hills on the island by covering them with fabric and jute. 5. Why is this play great for student performers? The characters are accessible. Their needs are very clear. Plus they get to stretch as actors because they have to find the dual natures in each character. Silver is a bad guy who is capable of doing evil things but he genuinely like Jim. Benn Gunn might seem like a guy crazy from being on the island but he is the smartest person in the play. This is also a great play for female performers. We deliberately played with the gender of some of the characters so that women would get a chance to play these strong characters. There were women pirates. Ann Bonny was one. So why not mix it up a bit and let everyone play these powerful characters.