Available from YouthPLAYS.com.
There Is No Play
Time: The present.
Setting: Stage / Living room / Classroom
Characters: (9-15, any gender.)
High School Students:
ARDEN
HUNTER
VIC
DALLAS
QUINN
MAX
SAGE
OCEAN
Adults:
TEACHER
PRINCIPAL
BOARD MEMBER
DALLAS' PARENT
ARDEN'S PARENT
HUNTER'S PARENT
VIC'S PARENT
Fort Scott High School premiered the play at the Kansas Thespians Festival, 2023.
There Is No Play is my newest work, a 35-minute drama for nine to fifteen actors. I wrote it with the University Scholastic League competition in mind, but it's a great length to read in a class period - and should lead to some interesting discussions about censorship and art.
In the play, eight drama students rehearse a play that speaks to the trauma they each face in their own lives—until their parents complain about its content and the administration bans the play. Forced to work on a trite and supposedly harmless replacement show to perform at the upcoming drama competition, the students go behind their teachers' back to learn the forbidden play as well, planning to surprise the audience with it. As they furtively rehearse, they learn more about themselves and the secrets they've been keeping from each other, but when the curtain rises and the pressure's on, will they take the risk or play it safe?
“It is up to each school’s administration to determine that all profanity and obscenity has been eliminated and that their play and production does not offend the moral standards of their community.” - University Interscholastic League Handbook.
There Is No Play is now available from YouthPLAYS!
The play premiered at the 2023 Kansas Thespian Festival after award-winning drama teacher Angela Bin reached out to me upon learning that the play had been banned by a different school in another state by a principal who apparently has no sense of irony.
I was privileged to be able to zoom in for the initial reading and incorporate some of the feedback from her students. Huge thanks to them all, and congratulations for winning the Gold Honor Troupe Award and to Angie Bin for winning Director of the Year Award for Southeast KS!
The play opens with each of the Eight students revealing a secret about themselves - or refusing to reveal their secrets, in a couple of cases. Two of these monologues are on the Dramatic Monologues page, and one on the Comedic Monologues page. They might give you a feel for the play, but they are only a couple of the moments for the leads to shine. The play also includes a movement piece, brief stage combat, and a rapid-fire "theatre game" that highlights the group dynamic. It's a challenging play for students - but also a chance to truly show what they can do.
Shawn Eby performs the Teacher's monologue at the Valdez Theatre Conference in Alaska, 2023.
This one is available for production from the playwright. Contact me.