Plays

I’ve always written plays, from family concerts as a child, to school plays while teaching, and more recently, plays produced or workshopped at schools and churches.  These are: What Mary Said (for adults),  Village: a Multicultural Musical (for teens); Christmas: An Other-Worldly View (for elementary schools), and Playground Boss (elementary school children). Read further to see what each is about.

What Mary Said

A one-act play.

Mary Magdalene helps George through a crisis when  he is caught between his wife, his pastor, and a Tarot reader.

Synopsis

Scene 1:

George visits Shivana, a Tarot Reader, after a job interview.  The reading is so accurate he asks how it works, when they are interrupted by Pastor Rudy, who  wants to shut down Shivana’s Tarot readings.  The pastor is  chagrined to find George, a member of his flock, visiting Shivana.  The pastor and George leave together, then an apparition of Mary Magdalene appears.

Scene 2:

George talks to his wife Cindy about the Tarot cards, and his decision not to job-hunt for a while.

Scene 3:

George returns to tell Shivana about reading the Gospel of Mary and his research into  Tarot.   Pastor Rudy enters with Cindy, George’s wife.  They argue about Shivana’s influence and the process and intent of Tarot readings.    Mary of Magdalene is invoked by the Pastor, in the name of Christ.  She appears to teach the Pastor and Cindy, helped by Shivana and George.  Pastor Rudy rejects her teachings and throws the cards to the floor.  One card sticks to him, which Shivana interprets. George and Cindy are encouraged to talk about their situation,  and Mary leaves Shivana to contemplate one card.

Cast: 3 females, 2 males

Setting: Interior of Shivana’s tea-house,  called “Tarot & Tea”

Multi-media presentation, with Tarot cards and relevant book covers singly projected onto wall

Time: about 60 minutes

Photograph of Magician card from Waite-Rider Deck, US Games Systems Inc. 1971

 

 

VILLAGE: A MULTICULTURAL MUSICAL FOR TEENS

 

Village: a multicultural musical for teens shows how old hates still simmer between rival gangs after the apocalypse, despite outward cooperation in rebuilding a village.  Remnants of four rival ethnic gangs from the city end up in an abandoned village, where they attempt to survive a Canadian winter.  A few adults straggle in, and all are astonished to be limited by the stunning powers of a robot who has remained in the village for almost 100 years, waiting for people to return.  The adults are appalled at the behavior of the teens, and want them to rebuild a school to learn to get along with each other, as well as learn how to solve problems so they can all survive.  With little infrastructure they must learn anew how to harness energy.  Two of the gang leaders fall in love, while the other two seek power over the village, crippling the robot by breaking the solar window that energizes him.

Twelve songs show the emotional conflicts and growth amongst the teens, adults and robot.  This high energy musical is arranged for voices by young teens, and requires all 29 actors to be onstage at some times of the script.  Length is 100 minutes.  The play has been workshopped in 5 different schools, from grades 8-12, in Calgary, AB.  It has not yet been produced.  Scripts are available by contacting the author.  CDs are available with the music for the songs, a set of rehearsal CDs, and another set of 6 songs recorded with members of Calgary Youth Singers.  The CD production was funded partly with a grant from Alberta Foundation of the Arts.  The music has been professionally scored.  Scripts, scores, and CDs are available through the author.

The music was recorded with Dave Borrow, who collaborated on production and also created additional music.

Songs are:

Threads of a Web (introductory, solo voice over projected background)

What a Difference (during the fight scene that starts the play)

Put Your Weapons on the Rack (sung by Mr. T.R. (robot) who stuns & paralyzes actors who are violent)

Not For Me (sung by the parents/adults, who say they do this for their children)

Just Define the Bottom Line (Mr. TR, to tell the people how to solve their problems)

Touch Me (Tam & Charlene, leaders of the Green & Gold gangs)

Our Kids Need a School (parents)

No School (teens)

Through My Own Door (teens, as they enter the doorway that reflects their own gang)

If You Try With Me (gang leaders)

My Village (all)

For more information, contact the author at shmontgo@telus.net

 

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CHRISTMAS: AN OTHER-WORLDLY VIEW

By Sharon Montgomery

First produced in Sooke School District in 1976, this play for elementary school children was written to expand the usual format of Christmas plays.  Its purpose is:

• To provide a means of expressing Christmas celebrations in such a way that children and adults feel it is worthwhile
• To have an audience participation format that treats all ages with dignity and respect
• To give children the opportunity to take the raw script and write additional dialogue, design settings, make background music, and control the flow of the play to the fullest extent of their capabilities
• To provide teachers of elementary schools a play that is open-ended with direction, calling on a multitude of talents in curriculum-related activities (science, art, music, language arts, drama, industrial arts)

Plot:

A group of human beings are whisked away to another planet, Arkayon.  They are taken to the court of King (or Queen) Merjud. After demonstrations of his power, to convince them of the futility of escape attempts, he interrogates the earthlings to find out the meaning of Christmas. The audience (some of whom are students with rehearsed parts) tell him and show him what Christmas means by giving the Arkayonians a gift. The gift they give is music, as they teach them how to sing. One earth child also shows the king the gift of love. The king then understands, and with his quest satisfied, returns the earthlings to their own planet.

Considerations:

Thirty years after this play was written and performed, the social and political climate is such that elementary schools do not have Christmas celebrations. This shows respect for the diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds of their students. At the last school where I taught, we had a Multi-Cultural Festival in December, looking for commonalities for ways people celebrated at this time of year.  We discovered from the children that all of their faiths included rituals and celebrations of light, family gatherings, and gift-giving to children. This diversity could easily be incorporated into this play, for the actual demonstrations of what the season means are created by the children, in short skit segments to add to the court demonstrations for King Merjud.

The giving of the gift of music still applies. The demonstration of the gift of love (a little child goes to King Merjud, says “I love you” and hugs him) still applies. The computer-tabulated poll of the audience, as they report what the season means to them, still applies. The soldiers who surround the audience and dance in a stiff restricted style prior to receiving  music, still applies.

Characters:

• Mighty Merjud – the most demanding role (needs a strong actor)
• Councillors Arn, Bog, Can, Dug and Erg
• Computer Scientists Un, Deux, Trois
• Arkayonians  circle the gymnasium, with one person for every 2 rows.  These ‘soldiers’ are called Things by Merjud.  They receive comment sheets from each member of the audience, who say what Christmas means to them.  These are collated by the Computer Scientists.
• Environmentalists: 4 people in the Control Center (mid-gym?) who change projections as needed.
• Earthlings: The audience, which includes the rest of the school population and all adults and guests.

Setting

The entire gym is used. Seats are arranged so there is room for the soldiers to move within the aisles. The walls may be decorated with posters of planets, stars, solar systems, etc. – anything to convey this is happening in outer space.  Alternately, the environmentalists can project those images. The environmentalists may need to be mid-gym, but care should be taken that they don’t block sight-lines.

The stage is a sparse throne room of Mighty Merjud. Access from the gym floor is needed.  Merjud sits on a high-back chair with colourful cushions. White sheets drape the wall behind him. Five stools for the councillors spread on either side of the throne.

Lower left-stage is the Computer Centre. Thirty years ago this was created with blinking Christmas lights. Now the students could create any apparent computer centre. The three computer scientists enter the data collected by the soldiers and share results towards the end of the play.

Time:  between 60-90 minutes, depending on number of skits added by children

—

PLAYGROUND BOSS

by Sharon Montgomery, produced at Cecil Swanson School, Nov. 1997

Playground Boss is a puppet play written and produced as part of a conflict resolution and anti-bullying program at Cecil Swanson Elementary School, Calgary, Alberta. As Resource Teacher and coordinator of the Conflict Resolution committee I wrote and starred in this puppet play with my principal. We used it to introduce the topic to every class.  At the end of Scene 2, we asked the children what it is really like on the playground. Their teachers then conducted a student survey to record their experiences. The Division 1 survey included 9 questions which the teacher read to the staff. Grade 1 students stood up to show how often the behaviour occurred that day. Grades 2 and 3 students checked their choice after each statement.

The Division II Survey consisted of 31 statements describing student behaviour, both positive and negative.  Students checked how often the behaviour occurred that week. These student surveys were used as a baseline assessment of school safety. The same surveys were administered at the end of the school year, to evaluate the effectiveness of the school-wide conflict resolution and anti-bullying program. The student surveys were one of the most important aspects of this program, showing that we really did want to know the truth. Results at the end of the year showed that physical threats had lessened significantly, but verbal put-downs remained the same. However, by that time the students regularly demonstrated they were better equipped to deal with verbal put-downs.

Puppet Characters

Kerry – a small bird
Percy – a parrot, bigger and more colourful than Kerry
Wolfred – a big wolf with two different coloured eyes
Lennie – a lizard
Kermit – a frog

Plot

Kerry is victimized by Wolfred, who blames him for bumping into him. Wolfred says he is the playground boss and Kerry accepts that. Percy arrives and talks to Kerry about how he feels, encouraging him to stand up to Wolfred. Scene 1 ends with Percy saying “I wonder what would make Wolfred stop bullying other kids?”

Scene 2 shows Wolfred and Percy interacting, modelling how Percy does not respond to Wolfred’s intimidation. Instead he tells Wolfred how sad his friend Kerry was after yesterday. Scene 2 ends thus:

Wolfred:  I don’t have to help Kerry. These things happen all the time in school. See, just ask these kids. They will tell you what really happens on the playground, and even in class. Just ask them.

Percy: Okay, I will ask them. I  do not want the playground to be a place where kids will get hurt. I need to find out from the chldren what it is really like. (turns to face audience) Will you answer my questions if I ask you?

The teachers administer the student survey. All the students were primed and eager to respond by this time. Student participation was 100%.

Time: 15-20 minutes for Scenes 1 and 2, 15-20 minutes to administer the survey. Scenes 3 & 4 demonstrate role-playing how to stand up to a bully, and the actual encounter. They were performed part-way through the program.

 

OLD AND NEW

A two-act play written completed in 2019.  The play has 6 characters (1 man and 5 women) and is written for an audience of older people.  It looks at love and friendship among people aged sixty and older.  It examines friendship between four long-time friends, and looks at what happens when one or two of them embark on a new intimate relationship.  “What do an activist, a healer, a writer, and a lover have in common?  They are all friends, who meet regularly.”

This play was shortened in length and submitted to Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary in winter of 2019, for consideration in their Stage One development series.  An excerpt was presented at Knox Theatre by Urban Stories Theatre in February 2019.

 

OLD AND NEWER

This play features most of Act Two in Old and New.  It focuses on the relationships that one woman develops with her Tai Chi instrucor and her brother.  It is 55 minutes in length.  It features 5 women and 1 man.

 

 

 

 

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This page has the following sub pages.

• Village: A Multicultural Musical