Hoodie

Hi Lindsay,

I have just come back from my drama group performing Hoodie as part of a one act play festival competition. I have no idea if they will receive any awards yet and I really don't care because I am just so happy with how they worked as an ensemble and the excellent feedback from the adjudicator and the audience members.

People loved your script and it was absolutely perfect for our group of 11 - 13 year olds. With a 'Clump' that ended up only having 6 members, I wasn't sure how it would go but the great part about your script is that the lines can be delegated to as many or as few people as possible. I also had to make a couple of changes as to who played each role (things like my Woman 3 suddenly becoming unavailable and me then having to give those roles to the other 'Women') but the play is so flexible it worked perfectly! I wanted my Hoodie character to be a strong performer but then felt this role was a bit small and so I cast him as Jonas too and WOW! the change in his two characters was outstanding.

Anyway I really just wanted to say thank you so, so much for a brilliant script and I will try and send you some photos as soon as possible! We really appreciated the opportunity to perform your wonderful play.

I have taught theatre for over 30 years to all ages – 5 year olds through adults. I have had many experiences with students and plays, but our experience with HOODIE was simply astounding. We had very little time to prepare, but the students were so into it, loved the play so much, they worked hard and made it happen. The peals of sustained laughter from teachers and students alike was a great tonic for the actors. The quiet final moment was, in a room with 350 youngsters, totally quiet. And then there was a spontaneous standing ovation from the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students! How cool is that?

Following the performance I got emails from faculty with words like "incredible," "excellent," "very meaningful," "impressive," and "Bravo." I can't tell you how many times faculty members have stopped me in hallways to say what a wonderful play for their students to see. One even asked me if the playwright was a middle school teacher because no one else would be able to understand middle school angst so deeply.