DEAR JOURNAL by Judy Culp
Upper grades; few to many actors; 10 minutes to 1 hour.
An exciting collection of monologues, dialogues, and one-liners that can be used as a flexible drama workshop piece, introducing “journaling” to a class or a whole school. Author Judy Culp writes, “This piece is highly adaptable: It may be used as is; users may pick certain selections for presentations; or certain selections maybe combined with new original pieces written by students on timely issues.”
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MACBETH Adapted from Shakespeare by Elizabeth Boiko Burdick
Upper Grades; 4 male, 4 female; 5 male or female; 30 minutes. Storytellers using modern language point the way to a thorough understanding of Shakespeare's original words, in this dramatic adaptation of one of the playwright's most powerful tragedies.
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THE GOBLINS AND THE GRAVEDIGGER by Craig Sodaro
Upper and Middle Grades; 6 male, 8 female, 3 male or female; 19th-century England; 30 minutes.
Goblins help to connect the meanest man in town with three loving orphans who desperately need a home, in this heartwarming Christmas tale.
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THE COMEBACK CAPER by Anne Coulter Martens
Upper Grades; 8 female, 7 male; 4 male or female. 35 minutes.
A television drama comes to life as an over-the-hill star and a stolen ruby become the focus of a tense courtroom trial.
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BALANCING ACT by Christina Hamlett
Upper and Middle Grades; 5 male, 1 female, 8 male or female; as many male and female extras as desired. 30 minutes.
High above the streets of New York City, Native American construction workers connect the giant steel beams that create the City’s skyscrapers, while telling stories about the Iroquois Nation and its culture.
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SHIRLEY CHISHOLM: "UNBOUGHT AND UNBOSSED" by Mary Satchell
Upper and Middle Grades; 11 female, 7 male, and 20+ males or females; 30 minutes.
Scenes from the inspirational life of Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005), the first black woman elected to the U.S. Congress and an outspoken advocate for the rights of women and minorities.
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THE LOVE POTION, based on the opera L'Elisir d'Amore by Gaetano Donizetti, adapted by Jesse Martin
Upper Grades; 2 female, 5 male, and as many extras as desired as villagers, soldiers, and workers; 30 minutes.
An Italian opera set in the mid-1800s complete with competing suitors, class warfare, poor village girls, magical elixirs, and love everywhere you turn.
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BEOWULF adapted by Eddie McPherson
Upper Grades; 13 male or female, plus; 25 minutes.
A great introduction for students to Beowulf, the epic tale from 1000 AD with monsters and heroes, good and evil, fame and infamy.
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RALPH BUNCHE, MAN OF PEACE by Mary Satchell
Upper and Middle Grades; 7 male, 4 female, 25 male or female; 30 minutes.
The inspiring story of Detroit-born Ralph Bunche (1904-1971), the first African-American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (1950) for his work with the United Nations to help create a cease-fire in the Middle East.
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SHOP TILL YOU DROP! by Donna Hall
Upper Grades; 10 female; 3 male; 1 male or female, and extras; 3 scenes, 15 minutes each.
High school students take center stage in this three-pack of plays about thinking of others at holiday time; creative gift-giving from the heart; and innovative sales techniques when jobs are one the line. Perform one, two, or three scenes, as time permits.
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THE TORN PHOTOGRAPH by D. R. Kennedy
Upper Grades; 9 female, 2 male, 6 male or female; contemporary; 20 minutes.
Hotly contested Student Council election puts a strain on a longtime friendship as students fight for presidency.
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SECRET ADMIRERS by Frances Dowell
Upper Grades; 3 female, 3 male, as many extras as desired; 25 minutes.
Platonic? Hardly! Will offbeat hero of a band triumph over cute basketball star? A play of crushes, stereotypes, and young love.
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FREEDOM RIDERS, by Tom Quinn
Upper and Middle Grades; 12 male, 6 female, and male and female extras. 35 minutes.
A story of the struggle and heroes of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, with reference to the basics of human dignity: riding a bus, using the restroom, eating in a restaurant, and going to school.
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THE ANCESTORS' BOX by Christina Hamlett
Upper & Middle Grades; 13 female, 3 male; 35 minutes. A large-cast play that tells part of the story of Japanese-American internment camps created in World War II, through the eyes of a high school girl who was sent off and her best friend, who stayed behind.
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