ARK 5 by Sandra Fenichel Asher; Drama
Cast: 7 + extras; 4f, 3m, many extras possible and needed

SYNOPSIS: What would you give to live a life of peace, free of hunger, free of disease, free of the ravages of age? Asher poses this question in ARK 5 where the citizens of the ARK are doing exactly that. They lead productive, useful lives free of anything that causes chaos - emotional or physical. 

***
JOAN & PETRA: We will fill our days with usefulness and contentment.

PETRA: The past is useless. We work in the present to create the future.
***

Petra rules a future that is free of any sort of chaos and in her mind chaos includes love and music. Attachments harm the greater good. Those who are deemed "useless" are cast aside. For the people of ARK 5, they have no idea where the useless people are and how they live their lives. "Out of sight, out of mind," rules and people only know what they need to know to live their lives and nothing more.

Using the framework of Joan of Arc, Asher creates a unique futuristic heroine with her Joan. Joan in ARK 5 is not called to act by angels but by humanity. The numbers in the "useless" area are growing and they have declared their space the "wilderness." With the help of the very human Michael, Catherine and Margaret, Joan discovers her calling and her long-buried humanity as she is called to save the wilderness people. 

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MARGARET: Catherine says information is not knowledge. She says we are deluged with facts, but we lack understanding.
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WHY YOU SHOULD PRODUCE THIS PLAY: At a time when teenagers are exploring the notions of their individuality, individual rights and the collective good, ARK 5 poses many questions regarding the often hidden price tag of safety and freedom. Teens are grappling with a challenging world. Technological advances come at them at the speed of light. Their use and abuse in the play have direct parallels to today's world. In addition to giving the cast worlds of discussion, this play is one that would highly resonate with a high school/university audience. 

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JOAN: The ARK System is a force for good in the world. We are kept healthy and safe. We are well-trained to do important work.

CATHERINE: There is peace and usefulness, yes, order and health. But at what price?

JOAN: No price but our willing service!

MARGARET: If we are fit to serve.

CATHERINE: But if not ...?

JOAN: I'm not aware of anyone dying!

CATHERINE: You have been protected from grief as you have been protected from love.
***

By high school standards, the cast may seem small but the importance of the extras in the wilderness scenes can not be understated. Using movement and little dialogue, the wilderness scenes are some of the most poignant and powerful scenes in the play. Just as with the major roles, teen-actors "in the wilderness" have the opportunity to create their own character arc and who they were in the past and how they came to the wilderness. There are so many study variations to be had here. One project could be to compare and contrast it with the original Joan of Arc story - both historical and dramatized. Asher brings up the role of music in the ARK 5 society. Music can cause messy emotions. Yes it can make the heart soar but it creates attachments, it stirs the being and in that sense is chaotic. So it is banned. What else could be banned to create a useful, orderly society? What is the role of faith? Asher doesn't supply you with answers but she does open doors for you and your cast to create a thoughtful debate.

To order a copy of this play, read an excerpt and/or produce it, please go to:
www.dramaticpublishing.com/ark-5

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Sandra Fenichel Asher's plays have been produced nationally and abroad. More than two dozen have been published, including three Distinguished Play Award Winners: A Woman Called Truth, In the Garden of the Selfish Giant, and Jesse and Grace: A Best Friends Story. Other honors include an NEA fellowship grant in playwriting, the New England Theatre Conference's Aurand Harris Award, the Joseph Campbell Memorial Award, AATE'S Charlotte Chorpenning Award for a distinguished body of work and an Aurand Harris Fellowship grant from the Children's Theatre Foundation of America. In addition to playwriting, Asher is also the author of 25 books and editor of five fiction anthologies. For more information, go to:
sandyasher.com

You might also like: Kara in Black by Max Bush

Kara in Black by Max Bush; Drama
Cast: 7-9m, 10-13w (Fifteen of these characters are between the ages of 16-19 - ideal for universities and high school)
Unit set depicting different locales
Running Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes approximate

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KARA: Della's my sister!

SUE ELLEN: What do you mean?!

KARA: She likes old Elvis records!

SUE ELLEN: What does that mean?

KARA: They don't know that. And she doesn't know those people. They're going to try and kill each other.
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SYNOPSIS: Kara in Black takes place January-March 2003, beginning prior to the invasion of Iraq and finishing three days after the invasion. Kara's older sister, Della is leaving to join her Army unit and travel to Kuwait for a possible invasion of Iraq. Kara (Known as "Weird Kara" for her unusual prom designs - she came to prom in something resembling a fruit salad a year ago) doesn't want her to go and for the first time in her life, she starts to think about the nature of war and what her sister will experience. With friends, Kara researches the first Gulf War to better understand what will happen to Della in Iraq. Kara speaks with a decorated war veteran (Stevens) to better understand combat experience and what it does to people.

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STEVENS (Vietnam veteran): And then, and then something was pressing against my face..... The ground.... Oh yeah, I'm hit. My head was ringing and my shoulder, a round hit my shoulder.... Find 'em, got to find 'em... Get up, find 'em and kill, kill 'em all... but I took too long.... We had seven dead. Five alive. Seven...

KARA: (After a long moment) How old were you?

STEVENS: Eighteen.

KARA: I'm eighteen.
***

Kara researches past wars and discovers "Women in Black," a non-violent international organization that holds vigils protesting violence towards women and children. She decides to open a local chapter and that decision leads to polarization among her friends and family. During the play Kara (along with some of her friends) discovers what matters to her, how to combat her fears of helplessness in a challenging world, and how to use her voice to express herself on what she knows to be true. After the invasion, things grow increasingly heated as each character must grapple with what their truths and feelings about this new war. Kara's vigil for peace brings out heightened emotions in a conclusion that will stay with you long after the play is over. 

***
STEVENS: ... I said, "Throw a grenade in there." He threw it and ran, and it went off. I said, Cover me" and looked inside and there wa ... was... a family in there. The mother was on her knees rocking, she was doing some chant from Vietnam, and she fell over dead. There was a boy and a little girl - four, five years old - they were both hurt and screaming..... I got to find those kids, go back to Vietnam, find those kids, and talk to them. It's unfinished business....  Every time I hear a kid yell, that's what I think of.

KARA: (after a long moment) How old were you?

STEVENS: Nineteen.

KARA: My sister is nineteen.
***

WHY YOU SHOULD PRODUCE THIS PLAY:  University and college students will recognize themselves in these characters. They are on the same journeys of exploration as Kara, Della and their friends. All of the characters - whether they are for the Iraq War or against - speak from moments of honesty and their own convictions. There are no tidy answers to the questions Bush poses in the play - but rather a respectful look at the exploration of young people as they try to reconcile their beliefs, their cares and their own needs and how they fit into a messy world.

In our increasingly polarized world, Kara in Black is ripe for discussion - among the cast and crew and audience members. It's a perfect fit for theatre in education. Meticulously researched (Stevens' monologues are from interviews that Bush did with Vietnam veterans), the play was developed through an Aurand Harris Playwriting grant (funded by Children's Theater Foundation) and a commission from the Lawrence Arts Center in Lawrence, Kansas (courtesy of the Summer Schools in the Arts grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.) 

Practically speaking, you have a large cast of actors (the majority female) in their late teens with substantial roles for the experienced actor as well as for the novice. With the large cast, you have the ability to give your students a meaningful, theatrical experience. 
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***
KARA: I'm protesting this war for you. And everyone else. I love you. And want you to be safe and still be my sister when you come home. Della? Della, are you still there? I'm doing this for you.
***
To order a copy of this play, read an excerpt and/or produce it, please go to:
Dramatic Publishing - Kara in Black 

Max Bush is a freelance playwright and director whose plays are widely produced on professional, educational and amateur stages across the country. He's won many awards for his works including the Distinguished Play Award from the American Alliance for Theatre Education, the IUPUI National Playwriting Competition (now known as Write Now!) and was awarded the Charlotte Chorpenning Cup for a nationally significant body of work for young audiences (also from American Alliance for Theatre Education). Bush was named  a Distinguished Alumni by Grand Valley State University for his work in playwriting and for developing programs at the university. He has many published plays suitable for teen actors. To learn more about Bush and his extraordinary body of work, please go to:
Dramatic Publishing - Max Bush

Every year, a list comes out of the "Top Ten Produced Plays in High Schools." Every year, the titles are similar. Our Town has been on the list for fifty years! Similarly, You Can't Take it with You has been one of the top produced high school plays for decades. They are worthy plays but are they the best fit for high school? Most of the characters are older and they skew heavily male. Ask any director and they will tell you the turnout for auditions is heavily female. 

With so many new and worthy plays published yearly, there are gems that have gotten lost in the crowd and should really be looked at by directors/teachers who work in theatre education. This blog seeks to highlight the growing canon of plays written for teens and young adults that are published and production-tested. Most of them have earned honors and awards and many have gone through professional development. They feature mostly large casts, with young people playing close to their age range (let them play Will Loman when they are fifty). 

The featured plays explore characters that are close to the actors emotionally and accessible to student audiences. The subjects are as varied as adult theatre as are the genres (comedy, drama, fantasy, young audiences, issue plays, biography, history, science, and more). 

An added bonus of producing these plays - most of us Skype - for free. We are happy to "meet" the casts and answer questions.(Writing is solitary so Skype sessions can be most welcome.) We also can be found close to our computer which means you can email us and expect a timely answer. If we're local, we try to see our plays. 

The blog is an extension of two sessions at the American Alliance for Theatre Education Conference:
- Hidden Treasures - showcasing underproduced plays that would resonate with young actors and their audiences.

- Act Your Age - the benefits of choosing plays with most of the characters close to the actors age.

In the interest of gender parity, at least half of the plays featured will be plays by female playwrights. I will be highlighting a new play every two weeks. Be sure to bookmark this page. New material is every 14 days so not overwhelming! (I taught and directed teens for decades.)  Let the fun begin. 
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