These plays were written to be performed for young audiences, and work well with adult performers or as school productions. I often think the experience of performing for younger children is the most rewarding theatrical experience teenagers can have.

Prince Ugly
Musical. Ensemble Cast. Unit set. About 90 minutes.
Prince Ugly is a contemporary fairy tale about a young prince who is cursed at birth, like Sleeping Beauty--only this is a different kind of curse. Poor Prince William is the ugliest child on the face of the earth. Children run from his face, and even strong men quai. The spell can only be broken when the Prince makes one real friend--but how can he, when everyone is afraid of him? This is a fun, often zany story about identity and friendship. There are 10 original songs. There are four female and three male singing principals, along with a dozen-or-so supporting characters and a flexible chorus. The songs are bright ans simple, and intended to be performed by young voices. Prince Ugly is scheduled to be produced at The Montgomery Academy in Montgomery, AL in early 2003.

Prince Ugly is also available in a non-musical version.

PHOTOS.  Click to see production photos.

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Little Women
Ensemble Cast. Unit set. About 2 hours.
Little Women, adapted from the novel by Louisa May Alcott, is really intended more for a "family" audience than for an audience of young children. It tells the much-beloved story of the March girls, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, as they grow to adulthood in 19th-century New England. This is a story of courage in adversity, and of the triumph of family love. This adaptation sticks very close to the original text, and is especially popular with those who tryly love the book. The play is divided into two acts, and can be done with one set of actresses playing the title characters, or with a younger and an older quartet. In addition to the four girls, there are three principal women, five principal men (one of whom--Laurie--can also be played by two actors), and a dozen or so ensemble roles that can be played by as few as two or three if necessary. Little Women was performed at The Montgomery Academy in Montgomery, AL in the fall of 2002.

PHOTOS.  Click to see production photos.

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Sleeping Walter
Ensemble Cast. Unit set. About 40 minutes.
Sleeping Walter is the story of Walter, a young boy whose dreams are so much more fulfilling than his real life that he refuses to wake up. Walter dreams a series of increasingly fantastic triumphs, as his family grows more and more concerned that he won't wake up. Finally his sister, Grace, lies down in his bed and joins him in his dreams to try and "talk him down." But it is not until Walter learns for himself that real satisfaction comes from trying, not from winning, that he decides to come back to the real world. Sleeping Walter was performed at The Haverford School to fascinated audiences. It is entertaining for adults and small children alike. The play uses a flexible ensemble cast to play some 27 characters-minimum two male, two female and three either.

PHOTOS.  Click to see production photos.

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Ernie's Place
2 female, 3 male. Unit set. About 50 minutes.
Ernie's Place is a challenging play that has played for several young audiences, including tours of public schools in Austin, Texas and Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the story of three children who must adjust to the change in life occasioned by a move. Stella, Louie and Max have moved from the city to the suburbs after their parents' divorce. They have retreated into themselves, and are reluctant to trust or to need anyone else. They have appropriated a shed in their new backyard and made it their "super secret clubhouse." One day they discover a homeless man sleeping in their clubhouse-motionless. The man is quickly removed by the authorities, but in Mom's absence the children try to figure out who he is and what happened to him-why is he homeless? He has left behind a bag of possessions, which they see as clues. But while the children investigate "Ernie's" past, they are really exploring their own sense of spiritual "homelessness," or placelessness. The children finally decide to give up their clubhouse, so Ernie can have a place to live. This is a big decision, because it means they will have to make friends with the kids in their new hometown. When Mom returns home with the news that "Ernie" is dead, the children decide to reopen their club-open to everyone-in Ernie's honor. This is not an easy play-it offers meaty roles for four performers. (The role of Ernie has only one line, and is usually played by a stage manager or someone.) Audiences respond to this play on a deep level, and it is a rewarding play to produce.

PHOTOS.  Click to see production photos.

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The Day Boy and the Night Girl
4 female, 4 male, plus flexible ensemble. Unit set. About 60 minutes.
Free adaptation of a George MacDonald fairy tale about a boy raised never to see darkness and a girl kept always in the dark. The two children accidentally meet and eventually learn that they need each other. The story is framed by a parallel story of two children in a London orphan's hospital. This is a wonderful archetypal fairy tale, yet will be new and fresh for most audiences. Read in workshop in Austin, Texas.

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The Bird
2 male. Unit set. Ten-minute play.
A titmouse among the bus-stop pigeons-a messenger from God? Produced by Philadelphia Dramatists' Center. 

Car Trouble
1 female, 2 male. Unit set. One-minute play.
Three stranded motorists wait for a bus that never comes. This piece can be performed as a companion to The Bird, or on its own.

Larry of the Lake
2 male. Unit set. Ten-minute play.
A harried businessman is tempted to a life of irresponsibility by a mysteriously wet man.

MONOLOGUES Click here to see some original monologues I've written for student actors.

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© 2002 by Matt Buchanan