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Don't Tell Me I Can't Fly

Don't Tell Me I Can't Fly

By Y York. Inspired by the life and art of Della Wells.

Product Code: DE9000

  • Full-length Play
  • Drama
  • Cast size: 2m., 3w.

    Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

  • Awards: AATE Distinguished Play Award | The Charlotte B. Chorpenning Playwright Award

Rights and availability
This title can be licensed and sold throughout Canada, the United States.

* Please note the royalty rate listed is the minimum royalty rate per performance. The actual royalty rate will be determined upon completion of a royalty application.

$10.95 /script

Min. Royalty Rate: $90/perf

In stock

Synopsis

Nine-year-old Tonia Bridge is growing up in a working-class, African-American home in Milwaukee in 1964. Young Tonia's artistic soul is at odds with her parents' fears and pragmatism. Her efforts to please and appease them are in conflict with her own needs and desires. Complicating Tonia's world is her mother's mental illness and her father's anger at the insidious racism of the times, which hampers his own ambitions to pursue a career in science. Tonia tries to please her mother by wearing safe, but drab, clothing. She also follows the rules in a famous etiquette book on hair, deportment and manners. She tries to please her father by making a beautiful science project she thinks will make him proud. A different Tonia takes the stage when she is guiding her friend Theo into the world of her imagination, or finding a thrill in her secret games with her dolls. Tonia finds her way, the only way possible, by allowing her parents to see her true self with all its flaws, beauty and possibilities.

Notes

Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

To review some frequently asked questions about streaming, please click here.

To apply for livestream or record & stream rights, please complete this form.

Details

  • Status

    In stock

  • Type of Show Full-length Play
  • Product Code DE9000
  • Cast Size 5
  • Min. Royalty Rate $90/perf
  • Cost $10.95
  • Approx. Run Time 65 min

Categories

  • Target Audience Young Audiences | Middle School | Family (all ages)
  • Performing Group Middle School | High School | College Theatre | Community Theatre | Professional Theatre | TYA
  • Genre Drama
  • ISBN(13) 9781583428092
* Please note the royalty rate listed is the minimum royalty rate per performance. The actual royalty rate will be determined upon completion of a royalty application.

Hints, Tips, and Tricks

"Actors must understand the culture of the time period. Extremely important that the actors develop the arc of the characters. Each character has growth that is essential for the delivery of the message. The story has a message that is age-old for African Americans, yet often it isn't addressed. The message: "To be seen, or not to be seen. That is the question.""
Tip by Renee Jones, Lancaster ISD, Lancaster, Texas

Media Reviews

"York creates a marvelous scenario for overcoming adversity while also discovering one's unique soul." -Postscript Performing Arts