Overview
"Zap offers a new intriguing option for young adults tired of the usual fare performed in high school auditoriums." — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"High-school theater departments willing to experiment with something new might try this as an alternative to the same old reruns of GREASE and ROMEO AND JULIET." — KIRKUS REVIEWS
"A wildly innovative play that fuses seven different dramatic genres to get the audience thinking, and laughing." — PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE
Synopsis
"Zap offers a new intriguing option for young adults tired of the usual fare performed in high school auditoriums." — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"High-school theater departments willing to experiment with something new might try this as an alternative to the same old reruns of GREASE and ROMEO AND JULIET." — KIRKUS REVIEWS
"A wildly innovative play that fuses seven different dramatic genres to get the audience thinking, and laughing." — PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE
Publishers Weekly
In his first play for young adults, Fleischman (Breakout) brings the idea of channel surfing to stage. His opening scene has a house manager inviting audience members to use imaginary remote controls when they feel the urge to switch plays. What follows is a hilarious clashing of conventions as periodic "zap" sounds signal changes of scene and genres of play. Clips from Shakespeare's Richard III plus six invented dramas representing a 1916 English mystery, a comedy set in Manhattan in the summer of 1965, a modern performance artist's one-woman show, a 19th-century Russian drama, a Southern play in a 1934 Mississippi mansion, and theatre of the absurd are juxtaposed against each other and eventually intermingle. The fun increases as actors become perturbed and confused about getting "cut off" before their scene is finished and step out of character every so often to speak their minds. The only connecting thread between the clips is a corpse that remains onstage throughout the entire production and becomes a focal point in many vignettes. The humor of each piece marks a stark contrast with the reality of the dead body onstage. With its large cast of characters, wide variety of challenging roles and simple set layout, this play (already produced in three schools across the country) offers a new intriguing option for young adults tired of the usual fare performed in high-school auditoriums. Ages 14-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
In his first play for young adults, Fleischman (Breakout) brings the idea of channel surfing to stage. His opening scene has a house manager inviting audience members to use imaginary remote controls when they feel the urge to switch plays. What follows is a hilarious clashing of conventions as periodic "zap" sounds signal changes of scene and genres of play. Clips from Shakespeare's Richard III plus six invented dramas representing a 1916 English mystery, a comedy set in Manhattan in the summer of 1965, a modern performance artist's one-woman show, a 19th-century Russian drama, a Southern play in a 1934 Mississippi mansion, and theatre of the absurd are juxtaposed against each other and eventually intermingle. The fun increases as actors become perturbed and confused about getting "cut off" before their scene is finished and step out of character every so often to speak their minds. The only connecting thread between the clips is a corpse that remains onstage throughout the entire production and becomes a focal point in many vignettes. The humor of each piece marks a stark contrast with the reality of the dead body onstage. With its large cast of characters, wide variety of challenging roles and simple set layout, this play (already produced in three schools across the country) offers a new intriguing option for young adults tired of the usual fare performed in high-school auditoriums. Ages 14-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
Only in the twenty-first century could a writer indulge in such fancy as is found in this selection. Fleischman, well known for innovative approaches in past works, takes multi-tasking to a new level. Adolescent audiences, having lived with the remote control in one hand and a cell phone in the other, will welcome the seven plots in one between the covers of this small novel/play ensemble. Inspired by a high school marquee announcing yet another performance of Grease, the author toyed with the idea of a night of entertainment when the audience would seem to be in charge of the action, and had the power to switch from one play to another at will. The result is quick change in a range of plots from an English mystery, a comedy, a Southern, a Russian, an Avant-Garde, and of course, a Shakespearean play all linked by a Performance Art monologue. Lively dialogue interspersed with unexpected scene switches will keep the reader—or audience—at full attention. The dilemma will be whether to read or to act—that may be the question. Overall, this unique creation is for mature audiences, as some innuendo is sprinkled throughout as cast members quip intimately while still in character, sort of. 2005, Candlewick Press, Ages 12 up.—Janice DeLong