small cast plays (theatre)

[xanadu]

Some friends of mine want to put on a play next semester. They aren't having much luck finding just the right one, so I thought I'd ask all of you for your opinion. They want a short play (30 minutes to an hour) for a small cast (about 2-6 people) Preferably a well written, emotional play. It can be a comedy as long as it's a good one. They'd like it to be a one act play with a simple set. I've looked up Neil Simon and a few other playwrights, and he seems to be the sort of author they want, but we're trying to find something that isn't so well known. Ideas for controversal plays are also welcome. The reason why I ask is that I suspect that they will try to wrangle me into all of this soon. I'm willing to give it a shot if we can find a good play. Anyhoo, thanks in advance!!

[TV time]

It sounds to me like The Good Doctor by Simon is what you're looking for. It is one of his lesser known works and it can be abridged down to 30 minutes easily enough. Although do not advertise that fact since you're not supposed cut any playwright's work.

Basically the play is "Simon does Checkov" It's a homage to the Russian author. It's done in very intelligent little pieces. Most humorous, some very funny and some very touching. It is very easy for actors to double throughout this play.

It may be what you're looking for.

TV

[Aankh]

You might want to look into Plaza Suite, also by Neil Simon. It consists of three short vignettes with a common thread running through them...all three are set in the same suite at the Plaza Hotel, NY.

They're quite good standalone, and the lead cast for each is only two people.

[Krokodil]

Love Letters and Woody Allen's God may fill the bill.

[Aankh]

Love Letters and Woody Allen's God may fill the bill.

But Love Letters is a full-length play! And you can't edit it! Or shouldn't, rather. It's too beautiful to be cut short...

[marky33]

What about Mike Leigh's "Abigail's Party" -- one set, five characters, black comedy
It would need updating and relocating but could work well

[ddgryphon]

The Shawl by David Mamet

3 characters, one act, and I believe 3 or four scenes. There is a lot packed in there and it caused quite a stir as it deals with speaking to spirits.

[Johnny Bravo]

Waiting for Godot?

(I've never seen it, so I'm not sure how long it is.)

[ThatGuy]

I've read a one act version of Arthur Miller's "The creation of the world and other business" that had me rolling. It's very funny and also controversial. The cast is adam, eve, satan, and some angels.

[Jurph]

Check out some of the (very) small cast one-acts in David Ives' All in the Timing. Speed-the-Play (a Mamet anthology-slash-parody that might take twenty minutes, tops!) is extremely funny... if you know Mamet. Otherwise it kind of falls flat.

[Jurph]

Oh, and damn my double-posting. But The Complt Wrks f Wllm Shkspr (abrgd.) is hysterical, runs in the same vein as Speed-the-Play, and combines all of Shakespeare's plays (and the sonnets!) into one play, including

- The Tragedies
- The Comedies
- Titus Andronicus (the cooking show)
- Hamlet in 30(?) seconds
- Hamlet in 15(?) seconds
- Hamlet in 15(?) seconds, backwards.

[bouv]

Another goodplay with a small cast is Adaptation. It's not at all based on or like the Nicolas Cage movie of the same name. It's basically a person's life, turned into a game show. The cast is four people, the contestant, a host, and male and female players who fill in the roles of everyone in the contestant's life.

[missbunny]

The Bald Soprano by Eugene Ionesco would fit the bill. Small cast of characters, short, funny, simple set. Get the right people acting and it's hilarious.

[DooWahDiddy]

...The Good Doctor by Simon...can be abridged down to 30 minutes easily enough. Although do not advertise that fact since you're not supposed cut any playwright's work.

TV

There are 45,000 users of the SDMB. So by instructing someone "not to advertise this" you pretty much advertised it. And that's probably not a good idea, since some of us actually work for Mr. Simon. *hint, hint*

Be careful.

[Governor Quinn]

If your friends have a taste for Noel Coward, you could try "Red Peppers" or "Fumed Oak" (two of the 10 plays that make up Tonight at 8:30).

[J String]

Thistle Blossoms by R. Whitlow.
http://www.pioneerdrama.com/catalog/thistle_oa.html

[TV time]

..So by instructing someone "not to advertise this" you pretty much advertised it. And that's probably not a good idea, since some of us actually work for Mr. Simon. *hint, hint* Thus by doing what I did, I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish.

Doc is a wonderful guy too, has a better grasp of the language than virtually every other human being alive and he knows I feel he is perhaps the greatest living playwright (better than most of the dead ones, too).

TV

[saramamalana]

The Actor's Nightmare by Christopher Durang. Good funny stuff, especially for theater nerds, and a cast of 5 I believe.

I second the nod for All in the Timing by David Ives.

[ddgryphon]

Another goodplay with a small cast is Adaptation. It's not at all based on or like the Nicolas Cage movie of the same name. It's basically a person's life, turned into a game show. The cast is four people, the contestant, a host, and male and female players who fill in the roles of everyone in the contestant's life.

Let me throw support behind this choice as well. The author is Elaine May (formerly of Nichols and May) and a well respected writer and script doctor.

Plus, though a little dated, it is pretty darn funny.

[CalMeacham]

I'm a big fa of George Bernard Shaw's -- he's got a lot of short plays you might try -- The Man of Destiny, Th Dark Lady of the Sonnets[/B, etc. Or the "Don JUan in Hell" sequence from [B]Man and Superman.

Woody Allen wrote a few short plays that might fill your bill. Check his collections "Getting Even" and "Without Feathers" and "Side Effects. There's one where a guy plays Death at cards (a la "The Seventh Seal"). I think it's called "DEath".


You might consider doing a scene from a play instead of the whole shebang (I'm assuming that you can do that -- I have no idea what the licensing rules are like). f that's the ase, try a scene from Neil Simon -- something from "God's Favorite, or "The Odd Couple" or something.

[Rilchiam]

The Glass Menagerie has four characters. No walk-ons or anything, just Laura, Tom, Amanda and Jim.

There's a Harold Pinter play called The Dumb Waiter with two characters. And Waiting for Godot has already been mentioned.

[Rilchiam]

Woody Allen play about cards (gin rummy, IIRC) is called Death Knocks.

[AnnaLivia]

I don't think Godot's your man. Two acts, well written- but usually runs more than an hour.

There are lots of good, short Beckett pieces out there. Come and Go is a particular favourite of mine. As is Krapp's Last Tape. I am lately quite fixated on Not I and Rockaby.

Mamet- Sexual Perversity in Chicago , Ducks (I think this is the title)
Albee- Zoo Story

I'll be back if I can think of more.

AL

[FilmGeek]

I don't know if it's 'good' but I directed it in high school.

It's called "The Valiant" and it's by... damn. Um... Google says Holworthy Hall and Robert Middlemass.

Not funny, but emotional.

[BlueMit11]

If you're looking for very different and very flexible, you could try Hamletmachine the most famous work of the German coldwar playwright Heiner Mueller. It has been/can be done an infinite amount of ways. It would really be something to undertake, though.

[N. Sane]

This is N.Sane's sister speaking (the theatre performance geek):

First of all, if you're going to put on the play and charge admission, you have to purchase the rights (go through Samuel French or Dramatists Play Service), unless, of course, it's a play that's already in the public domain. If you do a play and you charge admission and you haven't secured the rights, you can be liable for a shitload of money. This all pertains to copyright law.

If you need to edit, make sure you have permission to do so--it should be part of the rights you have when you sign the contract. If the author will let you change something, the contract will tell you what you may change and to what extent. For example, someone mentioned "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged;" in performance, you are actually allowed to update the dialogue and references to make it more topical. If it's a workshop and you're not charging admission, then you may edit and change stuff (but only in an educational workshop type setting). EXAMPLE: Somebody recently tried to perform "True West" by Sam Shepard with a female cast. They had already paid for the rights, but the rights were pulled from them and they're just out the money. They are not allowed to perform the show.

For play suggestions, if you're totally keen on Simon, you might want to consider doing just one act of a three-act play. You would have to obtain permission for this as well. Note that Neil Simon has a reputation for being especially picky about his dialogue.

If you want to go with a one-act, here are a few comedies:

Christopher Durang has a ton of short plays with small casts. There's a really funny satire of "The Glass Menagerie."

"Five Women Wearing the Same Dress" by Alan Ball

"Medea" by Christopher Durang and Wendy Wasserstein--this one is one of N. Sane's personal favorites.

If you want to go classic comedy, Chekov wrote a short play called "The Bear," which is freaking hilarious. It doesn't read well, but every time I've seen it I laugh my ass off it's so funny.

If you're wanting restoration/classical stuff, check out one-acts by Sheridan or Moliere. If you want to go more modern, go to a bookstore and take a look at some of the newer stuff. There's some great new stuff out that needs to get play. Plus, you may find that getting the rights is cheaper on the newer plays.

[Julius Henry]

I'll also agree with the David Ives notions, as well as Christopher Durang (his parody of Equus is almost as good as his parody of The Glass Menagerie), and suggest you also look into John Patrick Shanley who also has a collection of short plays published, and would be best known for his screenplay Moonstruck.