Theatrefolk Featured Play – Apostrophe’s by Bradley Hayward

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Apostrophe’s by Bradley Hayward is a hilarious show with an extremely flexible cast, audience participation, and really fun staging opportunities. It begs to be performed by silly students with a million clever ideas. You’ll never look at apostrophes the same way again!

Are you sometime’s amazed at how many apostrophe’s s’ome people manage to fi’t into s’entence’s? Then you’re not the only one. That’s just the problem that needs to be solved in this outrageous comedy.

Why did we publish this play?
There’s so much to like about this show. The casting is gender-neutral, there’s audience participation, and the staging holds a challenge or two – there’s a scene that is played forward, then backward, then forward again. A great physical exercise for your students! Add to all of this, Bradley is a wonderful writer for the student voice.

Let’s hear from the author!

1. Why did you write this play?
I wanted to write a super goofy play with a deeper meaning than all the silliness might suggest. Hidden among the wacky pantomime, comedic fast forward/rewinding action, and audience participation is actually a sad story about very real people searching for a place where they belong in this world.

2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences.
The things that separate people can ultimately become the reasons people make connections.

3. What’s the most important visual for you in this play?
Early in the play, the characters enter alone and stand at a distance. They are afraid to get too close. Yet as the play progresses, they begin to break down the barriers between them. This emotional distance is reflected by physical distance, when we see the characters get closer and dance with each other.

4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be?
Rehearse in front of an audience! Gather a few friends together to watch the scenes as you practice them. So much of this play is about the connection between the characters and the audience, so rehearsing with people watching will help eliminate the proverbial fourth wall that exists on a stage.

5. Why is this play great for student performers?
The script is overflowing with possibilities for physical comedy, character development, and vocal experimentation. All of the roles are non-gender specific, so it can be tailored to suit your cast. In addition to student performers, I think this play is perfectly suited for student directors because it is made up of short vignettes that make the play easy to rehearse in small bites.