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Small Actors SB8000

Small Actors

By Stephen Gregg.

Product Code: SB8000

  • One-act Play
  • Comedy | Drama | Tragedy
  • Cast size: 4m., 4w., 2 either gender, doubling and extras possible.

    Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available

Rights and availability
This title can be licensed and sold throughout the World.

* 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: $55/perf

In stock

Synopsis

Emily desperately wants to play the lead in her high school's production of Romeo and Juliet. Instead, she gets a one-line, four-word role. None the less, she tells her parents (who will be out of town during the performance) that she got the lead, and suddenly, things spin way out of control. Mom and Dad cancel their vacation plans and invite every relative they can round up to come visit and see their daughter play Juliet. This outlandishly funny and very touching play is about the roles we all play—in theatre and in life.

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 One-act Play
  • Product Code SB8000
  • Cast Size 10
  • Min. Royalty Rate $55/perf
  • Cost $10.95
  • Approx. Run Time 35 min

Categories

  • Target Audience Young Audiences | Middle School | High School | College and Adult | Family (all ages)
  • Performing Group Middle School | High School | College Theatre
  • Genre Comedy | Drama | Tragedy
  • ISBN(13) 9780871297686
* 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.

Customer Reviews

"Great topics. Characters and staging can be simple or complex. Very well received by the audience - they laugh but also feel touched."
Review by April Cross, Halifax West High School, Halifax, Nova Scotia
"This one-act play is so perfect for high school students. It has everything: HUMOR -- REALITY -- POIGNANCY -- LOSS and RECONCILIATION. A great contest play."
Review by Susan Solburg, Wakulla High School, Crawfordville, FL
"We pick a traveling show every year and also entered this one in a contest. We took second place and our actress playing "Laura" won the best actressÑgreat roles and great story."
Review by Jacklyn Keagy, Dover Area High School, Dover, Pa.
"Excellent range of characters. Easily adapted to any space. Wonderful story."
Review by Lisa Greenwood, West Junior High School, Lawrence, Kansas
"This play was a hoot to produce. It went over so well and the students loved working on it. Gave all the actors a chance, even if it was just a walk-on, to be in a play."
Review by Glenda Kale, East Mecklenburg High School, Charlotte, N.C.
"This play was terrific! We performed it for large group speech contest and received all Division I ratings at both the District and the State levels. The kids had a great time performing it and the audience had a great time watching!"
Review by Barb Schmidt, St. Albert Catholic High School, Council Bluffs, Iowa
"The combination of pathos and humor provides a challenging and touching script for students. We all have faced the consequences of the truth gone astray."
Review by Louise Mann, Martinsburg High School, Martinsburg, W.Va.
"Great, tight script that leaves actors to develop deep and wonderful characterization. Very age-appropriate for high school groups."
Review by Maureen Fish, Milton High School, Milton, Mass.
"Small Actors is the perfect middle school play! The dialogue is fast paced and witty, but remains true to life. The story is both funny and touching, filled with moments of laugh-out-loud hilarity and real tenderness. Not to mention the added benefit of minimal set needs -- a definite bonus to middle school programs with no money!"
Review by Brie Carlson, Crowley Middle School, Fort Worth, Texas
"This play offers great roles for the seasoned and new actors. The play lends itself to the imagination. The playwright has combined both drama and comedy into this lighthearted play."
Review by Dale Lawrence, Mossbank School, Mossbank, Saskatchewan, Canada
"Small Actors was a great production! It's very funny but also looked deeper and more seriously into what motivated the central characters. The audiences loved it, and the kids had fun with it, too."
Review by Melanie Slabaugh, Hiland High School, Berlin, Ohio
"What a funny show! The fast-paced Romeo and Juliet at the end is a riot!"
Review by Nate Campbell, Badger Ridge Middle School, Verona, Wis.
"The kids had a great time working on this. The split-second version of Romeo and Juliet was side-splitting and the highlight of the performance."
Review by Janet Williamson, Richmond Hill High School, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
"Small Actors is a great experience for the company who produces it and the audience who sees it. A very funny comedy with a lot of heart, the play challenges directors to create seamless transitions and performers to fully realize Gregg's multi-faceted characters."
Review by Joan Grant, Bellows Free Academy, St. Albans, Vt.
"I loved this play for my middle-school kids because it is funny, but it also has a serious message to convey. It was a great example of how a comedy can have serious levels, and I think my students not only had fun but also learned a lot about life while doing it."
Review by Christine Wortham, Patterson Middle School, Killeen, Texas
"One of the best one-acts available for high schools. It has comedyÑphysical and otherwiseÑand drama. Its themes are timeless and important."
Review by Barbara E. Roy, Delano High School, Delano, Minn.

Hints, Tips, and Tricks

"Work with your set for staging purposes, it makes it easier if Emily almost never leaves stage."
Tip by Rebecca Willett, Drew Academy, Houston, Texas
"Jason, Phelps, Samuel and cast of Romeo and Juliet can be played by any gender (in my opinion) which is helpful for casting. We struggled with staging the 'speed bump' moment(s) - hard to pull off a natural reaction. Having a stage large enough to maintain a split stage is best - even better if you have a large enough apron to support the car ride scenes. We updated the reference to Emily possibly dating a girl to reflect a more modern reaction (Paul was not upset by the possibility). "
Tip by April Cross, Halifax West High School, Halifax, Nova Scotia
"Allow a central piece to double as both balcony and car by simply rotating a platform manually or mechanically. Also, this show offers many opportunities to use entrances through the house."
Tip by Robert Gleason, Holt High School, Wentzville, Mo.
"When doing the flashback scene, we found it helped the understanding of the play to dim the lights to almost half."
Tip by Barb Schmidt, St. Albert Catholic High School, Council Bluffs, Iowa
"We had much success keeping all actors on stage at all times -- in a row of chairs facing upstage when not in the scene. We could then use those actors to make the sound effects like car alarm, car doors closing, screech of tires, etc . We also pantomimed all props."
Tip by Brie Carlson, Crowley Middle School, Fort Worth, Texas
"The transitions from scene to scene are intertwined and can be tricky to stage. I used lighting a lot more than I usually do. If I hadn't had good lighting equipment, the transitions would have been rough to accomplish."
Tip by Christine Wortham, Patterson Middle School, Killeen, Texas

Production Map

Location City State Opens Closes
Veterans Memorial High School Mission Texas 4/4/2024 4/4/2024
Palm Desert High Palm Desert California 5/3/2024 5/3/2024

Downloads

File Description File Format
Performance PosterpdfDownload

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