Super Bowl Sunday can be pretty lonely if you prefer the magic of theater to the incomprehensible “plays” happening on the football field. If you are looking for a fun alternative to staring quizzically at a roomful of people who enjoy America’s favorite pastime, why not direct a one-act play? Get a group of friends together, channel your inner thespian, and score a win (in the sense of winning people’s hearts over to the exuberance of staged drama. Here are some ideas for short plays you can direct instead of watching the big game.
The Vagina Monologues
Get a group of close girlfriends together and perform this play that deals with the female experience. These monologues about sex, rape, orgasms, menstruation, birth and female genital mutilation are the perfect antidote to all that testosterone your boyfriend and his friends are exuding in the other room. Women aren’t even allowed to play in the NFL, let alone to talk about their feelings and experiences on the field. To really make this production your own, consider costume jerseys for each reader. And instead of their last name, include a sketch of their vagina on the back, as a comment on the female identity.
The Lottery
This short play based on Shirley Jackson’s short story focuses on an annual ritual known as “the lottery.” Each family must submit a slip, and if their slip has a black dot that means that they are selected for the lottery. The “winner” is stoned to death. This play symbolizes the senseless violence we succumb to as a society. Football is also violent. Makes you think, doesn’t it?
Words, Words, Words
This short comedy by David Ives is about three intelligent apes that one scientist hopes will recreate the Shakespeare play, Hamlet. If you encouraged young men to be creative and get in touch with their emotions rather than hurling themselves at each other on a field, I bet they would surprise you and write a beautiful piece of theater.
The Worker
This dark comedy explores the life of a young woman who creates a fake child to cope with her loneliness she feels while her husband is away at work. This is a feeling we can all relate to during the Super Bowl when our men our too busy watching the big game to talk about how a non-musical adaptation of Rent would still be incredibly engaging.
To Burn A Witch
The two young protagonists of this play are accused of witchcraft. Terrified, one refuses to lie and admit she is a witch, but the other confesses. This dramatic play can resonate with women who have been cornered and asked what a scrimmage is. Do you confess and say you have no idea, or do you lie for the rest of your life? This play examines those hard choices we constantly make in our lives to live up to societal expectations of what’s “normal” and “fun”.
The length of championship football game can feel like an eternity, but with these fun one-acts you can direct and perform, you’ll be at the end of the football season in no time. Take a bow!
