Play Ball! • Reflections on the Origins of Baseball

Play Ball! • Reflections on the Origins of Baseball

by E. Gray Simons III

PLAY BALL! blends history, poetry, and a fantastic sense of humor to create an exciting and hilarious play. Audiences will learn the rules and terms of baseball, while simultaneously celebrating the cultural significance of baseball in the USA. Play Ball! aims to enlighten audiences to the importance of the mascot not just as comic relief, but as a symbol of luck and hope that can bring entire cities together. Through fictional interactions with actual historical figures (from Queen Hatshepsut and her son Thutmose III to Reverend Allen and Charles Bulfinch) the audience is shown the spirit behind baseball and how it has evolved to become America’s Pastime. Grab some peanuts and crackerjack and get ready for a home run sure to delight audiences of all ages.


PLAY DETAILS:

  • 5 performers of either gender play:
    • VENDOR — serves as the Narrator (Actor 1)
    • SPORTSCASTER — Actor 2
    • REPORTER — Actor 3
    • MASCOT— Actor 4
    • UMPIRE — Actor 5
    • CAVEMAN 1 & 2 (Actors 4 & 5)
    • QUEEN — Actor 3
    • PHAROAH — Actor 2
    • PRIESTS 1 & 2 — Actors 4 & 5
    • REVEREND ALLEN — Actor 4
    • CHARLES BULFINCH — Actor 5
    • CHILD 1 & 2 — Actors 2 & 3
  • About 1 hour
  • TYA
  • Order # 3177

PERUSAL MATERIALS

  • The PERUSAL PAGES file is in PDF format and contains the first half of the play: Play Ball! PERUSAL
    (a temporary file due to a revision in the prolog)

PURCHASE REHEARSAL MATERIALS:

(Any PDF purchased will be emailed to your email address — if you need to provide that to us (not the one on your PayPal account?), email us. CDs will be mailed to a snail mail address. Do not purchase rehearsal materials or pay for royalties until you have performance clearance.)

    • Script in PDF format  — Order #3177a : $20.00 (from which you will be authorized to copy for your production)



    • First Performance Amateur/Educational Royalty — Order #3177d : $55




    • Second Performance Amateur/Educational Royalty — Order #3177e : $50




  • Professional Royalties will be quoted upon application
  • Performance License Application: No production rights can be granted until this application is filled out and sent to us. This is a filler form that after you click “SUBMIT” will send directly to our email address. Response averages 2-3 business days.




PRODUCTIONS:

  • Premiere at the Berkshire Theatre Festival — 2015-16 (BTG PLAYS! Tour)
  • The cast of BTG Plays 2015-16 Touring Show, Play Ball!. Photo by Allison Rachele Bayles.

 


BILLING CREDITS

The following is how the credits should read in all programs, posters, fliers, handbills and other promotional advertising for the show:

Play Ball!
Reflections on the Origins of Baseball

by
E. Gray Simons III

NOTE: The names of the Playwright(s), Composer, Lyricist, and Bookwriter shall be equal in size, type, coloring, boldness, and prominence. No billing shall appear in type larger or more prominent than the billing to the Authors except for the title of the play. (In a press release all type, will of course, be the same size.)

ALSO:

THIS NOTICE MUST APPEAR IN ALL PROGRAMS, ON ALL POSTERS AND PUBLICITY MATERIALS AND INTERNET ADVERTISING/WEBPAGES FOR THE PLAY:
Play Ball! is presented through special arrangement with Premiére Theatrical Licensing on behalf of Leicester Bay Theatricals.  All authorized materials are also supplied by LBT, www.leicesterbaytheatricals.com”


From the catalog of

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