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#26

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/12/04 at 8:33pm

Sottopassagio is about 35 minutes long.
David walked into the valley With a stone clutched in his hand He was only a boy But he knew someone must take a stand There will always be a valley Always mountains one must scale There will always be perilous waters Which someone must sail -Into the Fire Scarlet Pimpernel
#27

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/12/04 at 9:18pm

Miss Saigon
Megan Mullally as Karen Walker on Will and Grace: "Tell me more. Tell me more. Like does he have a car?"
#29

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/12/04 at 9:24pm

Has anyone ever seen/heard of The Rivers and Ravines?
BSoBW2: I punched Sondheim in the face after I saw Wicked and said, "Why couldn't you write like that!?"
#30

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/12/04 at 9:28pm

Again, I don't see how one could effectively develop intense, emotionally-charged drama in 40 minutes -- that's just not enough time to effectively develop the characters so that the audience is deeply, emotionally invested in them. Other emotional one-acts (Wit, 'Night Mother) are 90-120 minutes. A play that is so intense at 2 hours probably won't be so emotionally engaging when you cut it to 40 minutes.
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
#31

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/12/04 at 10:47pm

Yeah, probably not AS emotionally stunning in 40 minutes...but those are the rules...I didn't make them. And you CAN get emotionally into characters in 40 minutes to an extent at least. Or atleast I can, I've seen dozens of these 40 minute cuttings, many of which have been very powerful and emotional imo.
#33

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/12/04 at 10:52pm

Dog Sees God

and OUR TOWN!!!
"If you are going to do something, do it well. And leave something witchy." -Charlie Manson
#34

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/12/04 at 10:57pm

Yeah, probably not AS emotionally stunning in 40 minutes...but those are the rules...I didn't make them. And you CAN get emotionally into characters in 40 minutes to an extent at least.

But then there's also the issue of whether it's ethical - or even legal - to pare down a playwright's work to 40 minutes. That would ultimately change the dynamics of the play, and perhaps also the playwright's intent, without her/his express permission.

Sorry to play the devil's advocate, I'm just surprised a drama festival is letting you guys pare cut a performance of a play down to that size! I hope you find a great play to perform.
BlueWizard's blog: The Rambling Corner HEDWIG: "The road is my home. In reflecting upon the people whom I have come upon in my travels, I cannot help but think of the people who have come upon me."
#35

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/12/04 at 11:04pm

I completely agree with your concern. But trust me---this is legal. And it isn't a festival. See, here's how it goes...

In Texas the University Interscholastic League (UIL) is what runs all sporting events (football, basketball, etc.) band events (marching and concert) and academic events (writing, debate, literary criticism, math, etc) and drama events(One Act Play).

When I say 'events' I mean something that you go to compete with people from the other schools in your scholastic district. Winners of whichever event advance to area and then winners there advance to region and eventually to state. So this isn't like a festival or a fun school activity...it is like our contest piece that we can take to state, just as our football team can go to the playoffs and keep winning until they get to the state level. The winner is then the State Champions.

Sorry, I really don't know what UIL is equivalent to in other states, so it's hard for me to explain.

I don't know if that made any sense to a non-Texan. We speak a different language, you know.

But I agree that it's harder to get emotionally attached to characters in 40 minutes.
#36

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/12/04 at 11:14pm

EQUUS! Well.. is homoeroticism and sadomasochism okay? If so that's the play to do.


Edit: Whoops.. just realized it was already recommended. If only THE DIVINERS could be cut down. Speaking of which, is it supposed to be slow motin when the kid is under whater and then a tempo when he breaks water or was that just in the version I saw?
"I am ready to disclaim my opinion, even of yesterday, even of 10 minutes ago, because all opinions are relative. One lives in a field of influences, one is influenced by everyone one meets, everything is an exchange of influences, all opinions are derivative. Once you deal a new deck of cards, you've got a new deck of cards." — Peter Brook

Updated On: 12/12/04 at 11:14 PM

#38

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/12/04 at 11:27pm

I LOVE the Diviners...unfortunately, someone did it two years ago for their Senior-Directed play and utterly ruined it.

I think that's how it is supposed to be..I wouldn't know, the one I saw was so bad...but it sounds cool
#39

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/12/04 at 11:33pm

topdog/underdog by suzan-lori parks or cherry docs by david gow

both have only 2 male in the cast
need to defrag my brain.
#42

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/13/04 at 12:13am

"Sing To Me Through Open Windows" by Arthur Kopit (One-act)
A love story set in a carnival, three characters. Very touching!
#43

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/13/04 at 1:11am

"Zoo Story"
"Smart! And into all those exotic mystiques -- The Kama Sutra and Chinese techniques. I hear she knows more than seventy-five. Call me tomorrow if you're still alive!"
#44

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/13/04 at 10:23am

So, we're trying to pick our next season and we've been doing cold readings of the shows that we're considering. We read The Women of Lockerbie this past Saturday and at the end of it, the four women were grabbing for Kleenex and the three men were suspiciously quiet. It is heart-wrenching. It takes place in Lockerbie, Scotland seven years after Pan Am 103, the investigation is over and the US gov't is going to burn all the clothing recovered at the crash while the women of Lockerbie want to wash the 11,000 articles of clothing and return them to the victim's families. It's a fictionalized account of real circumstances. It was recommended to us by another theatre company as the only show they have ever read where the minute they finished it it was unanimously voted into their season...we've done the same. Be aware that some of the dialog which looks a little clunky on paper reads aloud very well
#45

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/13/04 at 10:23am

"The Shadow Box" can be emotionally draining, and is accessible to most audiences.

The show concerns terminal illness from both the perspectives of the patient and their family. There are three 'stories' interwoven and often staged as three different 'rooms' in a set. Perhaps you could just include one of these. One of the stories has a gay subtext, but the other two do not.
#46

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/13/04 at 10:24am

well, if you can't deal with Homosexuality, I suppose you won't be doing Corpus Christi
"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!" Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!
#47

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/13/04 at 12:14pm

WARNING: Our Town cannot be cut down. Editting it is illegal. A high school I know cut it down to 50 or 55 minutes for a state festival and won- only to be disqulified before the next level of competition for editting a play with explicit copyright laws. In fact, I just looked it up, and Thornton Wilder's will prohibits any cuts from his plays.
"I'm a cuber, I'm a cuber, I'm a cuber, I'm a cuber, I'm a cuber, I'm a cuber. Please don't take me to the pickle farm."- Brak
#48

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/13/04 at 1:09pm

Antigone did very well at my Texas high school at UIL.
Twenty-seven Wagons Full of Cotton - Tennessee Williams
Two-Character Play - Tennessee Williams
Miss Julie - August Strindberg
Salome - Oscar Wilde

"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#49

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/13/04 at 1:22pm

I 2nd The Normal Heart...........but it deals with the 2 things you mentioned you didn't want.
#50

re: Favorite emotionally moving play?

Posted: 12/13/04 at 2:18pm

I know an EXCELLENT one act, however, I can't remember the playwright's name to save my soul.

It's called "The Girl In The Mirror"... exactly what you're looking for. And you can probably cut a scene out to make it under 40 minutes. It's about a 55 minute play. Excellent, excellent one act.

Edit: A link! A link! http://www.dramaticpublishing.com/catalogdetail.cfm?listcode=G41
"The tick BOOM tick BOOM is so loud I can't hear the rain on the grass. I can't hear the wind. I'm about to scream. But I realize I'm not alone."

Updated On: 12/13/04 at 02:18 PM

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