Dear Drama Teachers
Looking for those elusive plays or Drama DVD’s created specifically for your theatre students? We have some excellent suggestions here for you to browse through. These popular DVD’s and play scripts for senior school students are suitable for performance, class-room work, discussion or examination.
The challenge for busy teachers is often just finding exactly the right script and resource for your needs – we hope that having a little nibble will give you a chance to better assess suitability prior to purchase. So we have provided a taste of our titles – Free samples of scripts are ready to download straight to your computer. Have a browse on us, and see if there is anything that fits the bill. Easy online ordering means you can also download your chosen scripts immediately when you make your purchase.
NB: For Copyright reasons we are unable to provide online samples of Mark Wheeller scripts – please contact rachel@maverickmusicals.com for those script samples.
Two Invaluable DVD Resources for Teachers of Drama
These professionally filmed DVD’s depict a full range of Drama Techniques, and examples from Mark Wheeller’s plays – demonstrated by groups of theatre students. Easy to watch format, presented with high quality audio and video production and clear explanatory voice-overs.
Wheeller Plays Exemplified
uses 18 filmed extracts from plays ‘Hard to Swallow’, ‘Kill Jill’ ,‘Too Much Punch for Judy’ and ‘Missing –Dan Nolan’ demonstrating a range of performance techniques. Contains interviews with Mark Wheeller about his work, providing a fascinating insight into the unique style of this playwright. For the many Drama Teachers already using his works, this DVD will be an excellent addition to their texts.
Drama Techniques Exemplified features well filmed practical examples of pupils demonstrating the techniques. It is split into two main sections: ‘Learning Through Drama’ and ‘Learning About Theatre’. Teachers and drama practitioners will find it a really helpful and focused resource, and easy to use in the classroom.
More Great Plays by Mark Wheeller
Hard to Swallow
A play based on Maureen Dunbar’s award winning novel and film “”Catherine”” that charts her daughter’’s uneven battle with anorexia and the family’’s difficulties in coping with it all. Told mainly through the words of Catherine and her family, this uncompromising and sensitive script is equally as popular in schools as it is on the one act play circuit – Hard To Swallow has sold over 15,000 copies in the UK since its publication in 1990 and has become a very popular performance in schools. Read more.
Missing – Dan Nolan
Based on the true story of Dan Nolan, a teenage boy who disappeared on New Year’s Day 2002 after going fishing with friends, this unusual and deeply affecting play uses the actual words of Daniel’’s family, friends and the detective in charge to portray its important story. Read more.
Too Much Punch for Judy – Mark Wheeller
Too much Punch for Judy is an award-winning drink drive documentary drama which tells the harrowing tale of a young woman who kills her sister in an alcohol-related road accident. This is one of the most performed plays ever (performed over 5000 times)averaging nearly one performance a day since its first publication in the UK. Check out the video footage of a performance.
“It is important that we pay due cognisance of the invaluable role that Mark plays as a socially conscious dramatist… one of the most performed playwrights in a wide range of professional and community venues as well as in educational establishments that face so many of the social problems that are addressed in his work.” Charles Vance Editor of Amateur Stage. August 2005. Read more.
Monologues 3 – Therese Edmonds
One book – three great monologues – three cool comedy scripts to brilliantly showcase an actor’s skills.
Gavin Regrets, 12 mins
Ever found yourself in a ludicrous situation and wondered how the heck you got there? Somehow Gavin’s found himself having to explain to the police how he ended up thigh-deep, naked, with his underpants on his head and stuck in mud “up to me nuts”, rescuing an unconscious dwarf in a kiddy bike trailer snagged on a rock in the middle of the river. Tracing it back decision by decision we see there’s a strange, almost credible, logic to this hilarious tale of a moron given enough rope. Winner of the Maj Monologues’ Peoples’ Choice Award in 2007. Read More.
Valerie Gets Hitched, 5 mins
Valerie is a load of fun for any actress to play: she’s loud, she’s vain, she blubs, she thinks – so wrongly – that she’s still hot and spouts forth such an unjustifiably high opinion of herself we can’t help but laugh at her and the poor sap she’s just married. But in the end it’s a love story. Valerie Gets Hitched won the Shorelines Writing for Performance Award in 2008. Read more.
Shelly Kelly’s Day O’ Destiny
Shelly Kelly’s Day O’ Destiny is poignant, laugh-out-loud funny and heartwarming. We cheer Shelly on as she attempts to realise her dream of being just like Susan Boyle and bringing some much-needed attention to her struggling town by winning Australia’s Got Talent. Winner of the Maj Monologues’ Judges Prize and the Peoples’ Choice Award in 2010. Exciting news about this title! It is now a set text for the new GCSE specification in the UK! Read more
Stop Dead – Phil Freeman
Stop Dead deals with a devastating subject: that of youth suicide. It looks at the final events leading up to the breaking point of four quite different young people, bringing into focus the mounting pressure with which each has to cope. Drama extensions and viewpoints for discussion included for classroom use. Read more.
Four Funerals and a Wedding – Marlene F Magee
Seeking a great play for a class of students with a range of abilities? Four Funerals and a Wedding picks up from where Shakespeare’s play left off. In this one act play the humour is snappy and streetwise with instant appeal for young people – an ideal piece for festival, classroom performance or as a youth theatre showpiece. Read more.
That’s it for this month. There are more great plays on our website – just tailor your search by using the filters available online. If you would like any more information about our plays and drama resources just send us an email to rachel@maverickmusicals.com.au Happy reading!
