We take the hassle out of doing a play.

• Easy to get!
  
• Easy to edit!
  
• Easy to produce!
  

• You NEED a good script! You might try writing your own with your cast (and that has GREAT educational value--see our book, "Playwrighting") but that takes even more effort on your part, and requires a large investment of time with your group on just the writing part of it.
• If you don't write a script, you have to order one and wait for the script to arrive. That could take WEEKS! By then all your creative impulses and inspiration have melted.
• You have no idea what kind of script you are really getting until you read it. Good luck. If you've bought "kiddie" play scripts before, you know so many of them are badly written.
• You have to find a script that fits your cast. Most of the time, scripts either have a few characters (and then what do you do with the rest of the group?) or the balance of male to female parts is way off with the gender distribution of your group.
• You have to find a script that fits with your course of study. (God forbid you should be doing something that doesn't align with your curriculum :-). Horrors!)
• You have to motivate your cast. A badly written script will doom the process before you are even underway!
• You have to rehearse. With a complex script, that takes a long time, and students have to remain motivated throughout the whole process.
• You have to produce the play, that is to say, you have to come up with sets, costumes, props... even music, in some cases. You not only have to make the production materials, you have the time-consuming task of coming up with the design... and I'm sure you have enough to think about and plan already.
• You have to keep track of everything in addition to riding herd on your cast... and when they get excited, they can be a handful... as I'm sure you well know :-).

• You know the benefits of performing, including increased self confidence, better communication ability, increased focus and retention skills, among so many others.
• You want to motivate them to love what they are learning by making it come alive.
• You know you have some youngsters in your group, maybe most of them, who will learn better this way than any other.
• You are fully aware that good theatre combines every one of the Multiple Intelligences learning modalities: linguistic, logical, visual, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal all in one activity.
• You want to develop an ensemble feeling with your group.
• You just love doing theatre, especially the feeling that comes from collective creation.

• Your script should ideally have an expandable number of characters: enough good leading and supporting roles to give enough students a crack at a juicy part, yet with an expandable chorus with a minimal amount of lines, so that anywhere from one, to a whole classroom, of youngsters can also be involved with a simple part.
  
  
• Your script has to have dialogue that is not only interesting and develops character, but that follows naturally, one line being an expected response to the previous one, so that young actors can memorize their parts with ease.
  
  
• The dialogue should be short and simple enough at the elementary level, that it's easy to memorize, but with longer, more complex speeches at the high school-to-adult level to allow the actors to sink their teeth into the language, and develop their talents. It should be spread out reasonably evenly across many parts, so that seldom does any one role carry the entire burden, and all actors can feel they have an equal part in the play's success.
  
  
• Some writers think the vocabulary level has to at or below the age level of the cast, but we don't necessarily agree! Don't forget, you will get the chance to define the vocabulary in the play for your cast (several times, if necessary). Then, they will repeat it over and over as they rehearse it. (This is the great value of doing plays with ELL groups, incidentally: developing vocabulary and conversationalism through repetition). The cast will ingrain every single line in the show. It's the AUDIENCE to whom the vocabulary level must adjusted, for they will have one shot at understanding the play.
  
  
• The quality of the script, even when adaptating someone else's story, must develop a theme which is universal, potent and inspiring... or to be quite frank, why bother doing it?
  
  
• The script must offer the opportunity to be easily produced. If you can't possibly see how to do it without a million dollar technical effects production budget, again, what's the point?
  
  
• The script must have the possibility of aligning with your curriculum. You know that nowadays, you had better be able to justify the investment of your group's time.
  
  
• The script must be short enough for you to get it done with a minimum amount of rehearsal time, yet rich enough to excite your young people and motivate them to want to do their best. This requires rich characterization, a good storyline, snappy dialogue and, when called for, age-appropriate comedy. 10 to 15 minutes is probably long enough for an early childhood group to handle, with 20-40 minutes being okay from pre-teen and middle school ages, with longer scripts for high school and adult groups. For drama groups with plenty of rehearsal time, then only will you consider a two-act play, but even then, keep it shorter if they still need seasoning. You don't want to overburden yourself, your cast or your audience. A good quality shorter play will be appreciated more than a longer sloppy one.

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