Introduction and Production History
Over the years John has written four TYA one-act plays, commissioned by Green Thumb Theatre, Vancouver, to tour to schools. (TYA stands for “theatre for young audiences.”) The plays are listed here, on the same webpage, for convenience.
The production histories for these four plays are similar: they all began with tours by Green Thumb Theatre, and have then gone on to numerous productions by Green Thumb and other companies, in Canada and the United States. The play Not So Dumb was commissioned by Green Thumb and sponsored by the Vancouver Association for Children with Learning Disabilities; the other plays originated with John. The plays were published together in paperback, by Playwrights Canada Press, under the title Not So Dumb. The paperback edition is no longer in print, but the plays, like John’s other plays, can be ordered from John or from the Playwrights Guild of Canada.
All four plays are 45-minute-long one-acts, designed to tour conveniently to schools and be performed in school gyms.
Permissions
All four plays are copyright © John Lazarus.
Schoolyard Games is copyright © 1981.
Not So Dumb is copyright © 1984.
Night Light is copyright © 1986.
Secrets is copyright © 1992.
To produce any of these plays, including with free admission, you must receive permission from the author or from his agent for amateur productions, the Playwrights Guild of Canada.
Professional theatre companies interested in producing any of these plays must contact the author. Amateur, high-school, college, university and conservatory theatre companies interested in producing any of these plays must contact the Playwrights Guild. All contact information is on the “Plays” page. All plays may be used privately for classroom study, without compensation.