Antic Spring

I can see why a lot of theatre teachers want to produce this play as it was produced 13 times last year. It is already about 30 minutes long and has only six characters. However, I feel that this is more suitable for Jr High than High School because it is so superficial.
Placing emphasis on pantomime and character portrayal, it needs only six chairs-- to represent an open touring car. Pretty much, Ginger decides that everyone should go on a picnic. She likes Robert. Robert likes attention. Sam and Gwendolyn are dating, but they break up several times and get back together during the play because they both are stupid air-heads who don't know how to communicate properly. Edwin is Ginger's idiotic brother. Ginger invited Blossom (seriously, what kind of name is that?!) so that Edwin would discover the opposite sex. Yeah, doesn't happen. In the end, Robert and Gwendalyn get toether. It just happens. She falls in love with his poetry, and he likes being the center of attention. Entertaining? Maybe. State winning? Not likely. I personally would feel like it would be an injustice to the students to act in such a silly piece which would only teach them how to pantomime and not be afraid on stage. And pantomiming is so dangerous as you have to make it seem believable even college students have the tendency to pantomime unsuccessfully. I would NOT recommend this piece for high school UIL OAP.

Over The River and Through the Woods

Over The River and Through the Woods competed 12 times last year in the UIL OAP competition. This play really emphasizes the importance of family and the lunacy that comes with the word. This play will have you giggling throughout but In one not a single dry eye by the end. In an especially funny scene, Nick tries to play Trivial Pursuit ("that game we don't understand") with his grandparents. Nick's grandparents are perfectly satisfied with vague or inaccurate answers to the game questions. It was a familiar situation taken to a hilarious extreme that many actors should be able to identify and tap into. However, I found most effective the play's more touching scenes such as when Nick's grandfather Frank told about why he had come to America as well as Aida's , Nick's grandmother, description of the things which have given her life meaning. If the director can get his/her cast to hit those emotional notes, this play should advance every time.
It seems like it would be a wonderful play to put on as it is a relatively short show so not very much would have to be cut. One of the things that WOULD have to be cut was the girl the grandson, Nick Cristiano, dates. Depending upon the director, they can opt to cut her part completely or give her one small scene because her role is not really needed at all. I could see it doing really well at competition and have heard from various people that they really enjoyed being a part of the production.

Flowers for Algernon

I could not find a copy of The History of Tom Jones so I opted to discuss another play on the top produced UIL OAP in 2009. This play was produced 7 times. This is another production that dealt with a mental disability that should be dealt with very carefully because their are many families in the world and possibly in the audience who relate. Granted, Charlie Gordon's IQ improves exceptionally and even becomes a genius before he goes back to what he was before. The director should really emphasize the loss of who Charlie could be, how it affects everyone and how it affects Charlie after he goes back to being mentally handicapped.
The type of design for the set that seems to work best for this play in UIL One Act is having 3 designated areas where a majority of the scenes take place and have the lights come up on one area where the acting is being held. It would also be nice to actually be able to work with a real mouse on stage if at all possible. Costuming shouldn't be at all difficult, however it is important that Charlie's wardrobe undergo changes that reflect his changing IQ. Lighting should coordinate with where each scene takes place and where the actors are in the moment. I envision the lighting to get warmer and brighter as Charlie escalates towards his full potential and then colder more harsh as he dwindles away. This should be the case until the very end where there is no more struggle against his mind's deterioration and he is back to the way he was. At that time, the lighting could be softer but still have some coldness to it. If done correctly, this could be an excellent piece but would be more recommended for a smaller school because it is done so much and the casting is relatively small.

The Women of Lockerbie

The Women of Lockerbie is such a dramatic and intoxicating piece of work that there is not much reason why one shouldn't do it. It does not demand an elaborate set, minimal in fact, usually done with black and white costumes, and only a handful of characters. The minimal set and costuming with beautiful lighting would make the characters pop immensely. Learning the language in this piece would help the students understand Greek theater but with a more modern twist. However, because there is so much meat to this play, it would be extremely hard to cut. Most of the time you'd have to cut the women chorus but that is what the piece is all about so you'd have to be REALLY careful when cutting. The women are especially important at the end of the play when they actually do get the clothes of the victims killed in the Pan Am bombing. Upon reading the play, one should ask him/herself why they felt they should cleanse the clothes their and not send them home for the families to wash? That question needs to be mulled over and over again while the director is working on the show. Yes, it is a spiritual cleansing of sorts but the women of Lockerbie didn't kill those people. Why did they have to wash the blood out of the clothing in their rivers and streams. Once that question is answered, then every other question can be answered easily.

Dearly Departed

This production, when well done, can be quite a hysterical play. This entire family "mourning" over a man that no one really liked with a fat woman who is constantly eating throughout the play and high strung car ride is bound to tickle a funny bone or two. I especially LOVE the car ride scene with the mom yelling at her kids to sit down or she'll do something horrific to them and then the dad blows his top at the end of the scene. BRILLIANT! There is so much to play with and it would be easy to cut and not too hard to do well.
If you don't cast someone for the obese role who is overweight, then you need to make a "fat suit". Some really poor departments don't have the means or skill to make them so they'll need to rent one but there MUST be a fat girl in the scene for it to work and be funny. The set cannot be elaborate because the locale changes so much from the car, to the church and etc. I can imagine a covered pylon acting as the casket at one point. Not very much lighting is needed since it is a very realistic and comedic piece. I would highly recommend this play for a A or AA school.

Actor's Nightmare

This play is an excellent short production where not that much would have to be cut for UIL OAP. I think it would be perfect for the high school age group because it plays on stereotypes and other playwright references. The students will learn about Hamlet, Noel Coward, Beckett and many other playwrights and styles. The costumes should be over-the-top as should the acting. Actually EVERY aspect of the show should be over the top. The only aspect of the show that has to be precise is the end when the poor business man has his head cut off. The lights should go down just as he is bringing down the axe. The director and actors should be familiar with the different plays that are extracted and placed in the scene. I would definately recommend this for a AA or AAA school because of the casting requirements and easy technicality of the show.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Shakespeare is always a different nut to try and crack mainly because of the language. A great number of actors would rather eat dog food than attempt to tackle a Shakespearean classic. Not suprising, however, A Midsummer Nights Dream was the most widely produced Shakespeare piece in UIL OAP last year. The reasons are quite obvious as a great amount of time can be out of the way by simply getting rid of a majority of the players' scenes. I had never seen the play in it's entirety before until a couple of years ago at college production of it. One thing that most directors have a hard time with while cutting Shakespeare is making sure that the iambic pentameter and the story is not lost.
One of the great beauties of performing Shakespeare is that you can change the time and place and still make sense. My senior year in high school, we set A Midsummer Night's Dream in a Corporate office during the 80's. "The Woods" was the name of the company, the faeries were computer technicians and hair a mile high! One guy had the Flock of Seagulls hairdo. The set was made almost entirely out of carved, painted or covered Styrofoam. Resetting the time and locale can be a challenge and if u are smart and have a talented cast, it can be pulled off.
On the other hand, doing the traditional A Midsummer Night's Dream isn't bad idea. The judge wouldn't see anything new but you could amplify it's possibilities. I had also been involved in this play in Jr High with the traditional setting. To assist in transporting us into a different world, my director made everything a beautiful green. For example, behind Titania's bed, there was about two trifolds side by side which were draped with a green netting with leaves and flowers intertwined.
During the magic spell parts, there is opportunity to have fun with the lighting. Possibly add in some great looking gobos, dreamy colors and I envision a harp-like sound cue. So much can be done with this play that a director would have a field day. costuming would coordinate with whatever the director's concept is and go on from there. I strongly suggest that there be an explosion of color onstage to reflect the colorfulness of the script.

The Diviners

This play has many pros and cons to it that could make or break it in UIL OAP. One thing is Buddy's mentality. If he is played up to be a silly mental person, just like in The Boys Next Door, it won't prove to be as affective. The playwright make it clear in the back of the script that Buddy doesn't have a certain physical or mental disability, just more of a communication and mental frustration. There is also a moment in the beginning where they are digging the well and Buddy finds water. Of course, the actual digging would have to be pantomimed but the bending of the stick would have to be figured out. Whether the actor tilts it a certain way or he acts like the stick is almost violently leads him to the water or something...even if someone is creative enough to come up with a contraption to make the stick bend that way. However it HAS to happen for the story to make sense. I don't think it would be wise to change the setting as it contributes so much to the story. The costumes must be old and worn with Buddy's COVERED in dirt.
Cutting of this script should be rather easy, some parts in the beginning and middle of the play aren't needed to tell the story and some characters as well. I definitely think that the end mustn't experience too much cutting as there is so much going on in those scenes. I definitely think that with the right cast, this show can be pulled off quite effectively and possibly win.

Steel Magnolias

I was extremely connected to this script as I envision this happening in a little salon in my hometown; down to the way they talked, their daily lives, concerns and etc. I am sure many people relate to this script just as much as I do and therefore would be wonderfully beneficial when tackling the piece. A couple of major assets the script has is that it only has one locale, a wide array of characters all with a major role in plot, and moments can easily be cut and still keep the main story line going. However, the actresses would have to be acutely tuned into their characters as there is not much that happens on stage and I could see the audience getting very bored with the play. The director should communicate effectively how each character contributes to the scene, what the subtext is during certain moments and how to play on them effectively. I do like how every woman has an equal part in this play. Shelbi and her mother are the main leads in this piece but all of them are equal.
I definitely think that there is a lot of stuff to work with in this play and I think that if some beautiful moments were played upon, that it could be wonderful.

The Boys Next Door 2

After reading The Boys Next Door, I felt that it was a very meaty piece if done correctly. To perform it for UIL OAP competition, you'd need to have very smart and talented actors/actresses for these roles. You'd also need to have a very clean cut piece and have a multi-functional set that acts as the boys' apartment, the dance hall and etc. I would be afraid that a good chunk of wonderful moments in the play would have to be cut because of the 40 minute time restraint.
It seems to me that the script heavily depends on the lighting to help change the setting. This, as I have been told countless times, should never be counted on 100% as light boards can lose your cues on a bad day. I have also been told whatever can go wrong, will so don't put all your eggs in one basket when dealing with OAP. The costuming should be easy, just dress your mentally disabled boys in mismatched clothes and then Jack in normal attire. If done correctly, I can see this play doing extremely well in the UIL OAP competition.

The Boys Next Door

I am not finished reading this play as of yet, but I remembered something I wanted to blog before I would forget it. I remember Vicki Jackson (my old high school theatre teacher during my freshman and sophomore years) had sent an email to another director we were competing with, who was doing The Boys Next Door, warning him to be dead on with acting of the mentally unstable because the judges son was mentally handicapped. That would be one of the biggest issues when attempting to produce this play (just like many others)you can not stereotype an illness, disease, defect or anything of the sort in a drama as there are people out there who have lived with that first hand. In the UIL world, it could be your judge or whoever. Even when working with another language as you would in Sweet Nothings In My Ear (sign language)...you have to know your stuff.

Smart UIL OAP Productions?

In the high school theatre teaching realm, UIL One Act Play is the "Big One" in the academic year. It is really difficult to choose an effective and successful play with a limited budget and miles of rules and regulations to abide by. Some teachers choose a new play and send it off to be approved, some choose and older play and make a different cutting while the rest produce a play with an approved cutting but with a different spin to it. Nevertheless, there are certain plays that almost always make the cut and/or always attempted for competition.

There is a list of the top 10 UIL OAP that were produced repetitively in 2009 from highest to lowest:
Actor's Nightmare
Dearly Departed
A Midsummer Night's Dream
The Women of Lockerbie
The Boys Next Door
(History of) Tom Jones
Antic Spring
The Diviners
Over the River and through the Woods
Steel Magnolias

I intend on reading each of these scripts and blogging my thoughts about the technicalities of producing these plays. These include set, costume and lighting design, actor selection and various other problems or great attributes.