Finding a good play
What makes a good play, based on long experience:
- Plays with substance; detailed and creative use of the language.
- Performance length 1 – 1.5 hours max. It can be a single play or multiple shorter plays. Please read the play through aloud to verify length.
- Try to find a play of the right length. Full-length feature plays usually run 2 hours. They can be edited down, but editing is very challenging, so make sure you leave yourself adequate time.
- 1-4 actors.
- Make sure the script is available.
Plays are often categorized as 10-minute plays, one-act plays, and full-length plays. The library is a good place to look for them, the web too. Here are some sources recommended by Lee Brozen:
- Dramatists.com
- SamuelFrench.com
- Doollee.com
- PlayDatabase.com
- One-Act-Plays.com
- 1ActPlays.com
- StagePlays.com
- KaneProd.com
- LazyBeeScripts.co.uk
- PioneerDrama.com
- OffTheWallPlays.com
Please check our database to ensure that your play hasn’t been performed recently.
Please cast actors who haven’t appeared for awhile
Here is a list ordered from longest time since appearing to most recent.
Props available
Many of our players have props they are happy to share. Please send a photo to president@quadrangleplayers.com and it will be added to this list. (It is sometimes easiest to find a photo online.)
Courtesy of Paul and Peggy Bodine
These speakers plug into a smartphone, tablet or computer via the headphones jack. They have controls for volume and amount of bass. They plug into a wall outlet.
Advanced recommendations, for digital pioneers:
- Write start-stop cues in the margin of your script.
- Find sound/music clips. (.wav and .mp3 formats work best. Others can be converted using a free app on your computer.)
- Edit if needed. (computer: use Audacity — download for free. or, iPhone: use Hokusai Audio Editor app — buy the $9.99 upgrade.)
- Load into a soundboard app. (iPhone: use Soundboard Studio app — use the free version.)
- Turn off internet connection so it doesn’t take calls and messages during the performance.. (put phone in “airplane mode.”)
- Connect to the speakers.
- Adjust volume levels during rehearsal.
- You are ready to go!