The Green Grass Grows: They Eat Sunshine, Not Zebras

Drama teachers: How do you teach your students about what happens when their orderly way of life gets turned upside down? They Eat Sunshine, Not Zebras by Dara Murphy is the perfect comedy for high school and middle school students alike.

Nothing stands in the way of the green grass. Until they wake up one morning to see a yellow dandelion in their midst. A dandelion will turn their orderly way of life upside-down. A dandelion must be destroyed. Isn’t that what you do when something is different?

Under the guidance of Kate Olena , the talented students at Nichols Middle School in Buffalo, New York had a great time exploring the themes of this fun one-act comedy:

Theatre class is mandatory for 8-weeks each year at Nichols Middle School. I had a group of students who were very shy and only moved their hands onstage, if they moved at all! This play was perfect for my thrust stage in a multi-purpose space. The characters (mostly blades of grass) had no hands and were rooted to the floor, so they had to use their bodies in ways they had never done so before to express their views. The theme of the year was “Utopia/Dystopia”. The metaphor was not lost on our audiences.

– Kate Olena

Way to go, Nichols Middle School!

Get a copy of the play They Eat Sunshine, Not Zebras.

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