By Lindsay Price

Expect the Unexpected: They Eat Sunshine, Not Zebras

The large-cast, gender-neutral play, They Eat Sunshine, Not Zebras by Dara Murphy, demonstrates that nothing stands in the way of green grass. A great ensemble piece that can lead to important discussions.

The field believes in uniformity. Lovely rows of blades all the same height. Lovely rows of blades exhibiting standard behaviour of green grassness.

Nothing stands in the way of their orderly life. Until they wake up one morning to see a yellow dandelion in their midst. Sunny (that’s the dandelion) is bright and warm and just wants to be friends. The field wants nothing to do with her nonstandard, non-green ways.

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?

Monica Andrews and the incredibly talented drama group at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Florida challenged themselves to step out of their shells and go beyond the expected – much to the delight of audiences and students alike. We’re so thrilled that they shared their experience – and some amazing photos – of their journey with us:

I selected this show to highlight the talents of both our performers and design team. As a director, I had always done lighthearted comedy one-acts and wanted to challenge myself as well as our students with a piece that sent a message about our society.

I believe They Eat Sunshine Not Zebras allowed our students to expand upon their theatrical skills and to grow (pun intended) as story-tellers. Our audiences loved it and students found it very rewarding. We are presenting this production at our upcoming District Thespian Festival and hope the judges love the show as much as our audiences did at our school.