3sapphires Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 My 8th grade daughter (very strong reader) has requested more plays this year - both to read and to watch. She is an Actor who struggles with singing, and is trying to build her knowledge of "straight" plays to help her as a performer. I'm posting on the High School Board because I figured that this is something that is usually in the High School curriculum. So far for this year we have Our Town The Crucible Pygmalion We would also be very interested in any film versions of plays that would be appropriate for a younger teen that would be availavble on Netflix or DVD (we have a pretty good library system here). Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 I answered on your other thread that Arsenic and Old Lace - read the script, watch the movie version - would be a great play. How about some Shakespeare? There are lots of great movie versions, both movies and filmed plays. You can probably find live versions if you live in or near a city. With Shakespeare, I actually like to watch it first, and then read it - it makes the reading much more accessible. We've read, watched, and enjoyed Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, and Twelfth Night. Oh, and Romeo and Juliet. We've read Macbeth but I couldn't find a good theatrical version to watch. We've watched Hamlet, but not read it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Shakespeare. There's enough to fill years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Digital Theatre Plus would be an excellent resource for her, best price is through the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op ( https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/digital-theatre-plus/?c=1). She would also probably love the show "Inside the Actor's Studio" http://www.bravotv.com/inside-the-actors-studio. It's been running for years, and I'm not sure how many of the interviews are available online. When we did an intro to theater class about that age, I also inclued "Technical Theater for Non-Technical People" by Drew Campbell, written to give actors a better understanding of what goes on in the backstage tech arena (my daughter is backstage rather than a performer, but has mostly done props and scene painting, so this helped her as well). "Major Barbara" by Shaw "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Wilde "A Raisin in the Sun" by Hansberry Shakespeare---we started with the comedies. The only one I absolutely wouldn't do is "Titus Andronicus" which I don't want to ever see again myself, and I love Shakespeare! After she's seen "Hamlet" try watching "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, " Tom Stoppard's absurdist play about the story seen through the eyes of two minor characters. My daughter loved it. There's a film version. "A Doll's House" by Ibsen is frequently listed, but haven't read it. I'm looking at "The Sultan's Dilemma" by Tawfiq Al-Hakim right now for my 10th grader, pulled from the Norton Anthology of World Literature. Also, we pulled material for the theater class from a couple of MIT online courses at the suggestion of someone on the boards (I copied the info, but didn't not the poster, so I can't give credit, unfortunately): "And btw, have you seen the MIT OCW costuming courses? Wow! http://ocw.mit.edu/c...-2009/index.htm http://ocw.mit.edu/c...-2008/index.htm That 2nd one has handouts on analyzing the *psychology* of costuming, which should interest a theatre student even if they don't wish to make costumes. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Definitely have her read something by Shakespeare, if she can handle the language and you are comfortable with the themes. Other suggestions: Harvey (The Jimmy Stewart movie is good) A Man for All Seasons Cyrano de Bergerac Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (the original by Barrie is not a musical) Please do your own research on any suggestions you receive. Everyone has different ideas about what is appropriate, and none know your dd like you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Netflix has The Importance of Being Earnest, which I think is a good production. We also enjoyed A Midsummer's Night's Dream that is on Netflix. A few years ago, we started our annual Shakespeare readings by watching Much Ado about Nothing (Branaugh/Thompson), reading it with a small group, then watching the Tennant/Tate version from Digital Theatre Plus (I think my friend was able to buy just the one play). Recently a couple of us watched the even newer Joss Weddon production. It has been cool to be able to compare the choices made in several versions of the same play. If you can get to any live productions, do. We have seen regional theatre versions of All's Well that Ends Well and a wonderful abridged version of Midsummer (with just 4 actors playing all the parts). Live theatre does have different qualities. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3sapphires Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 How could I forget Shakespeare! We are getting tickets for Taming of the Shrew, Macbeth and Twelfth Night to see throughout the year. Thank you for all of the suggestions. Some of these are new to me, and some I should have known, but all look good. I'll add them to her list now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Jdavmae Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 It might be interesting for her to read plays that have a role she would be interested in playing now or at some later point in her life. The Miracle Worker, and the Diary of Anne Frank are both well written realistic plays, about real people. Both have various film versions. These would be good additions to the list you already have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almondbutterandjelly Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Ooh, are you watching My Fair Lady for Pygmalion? Classic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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