Dan Kehde is a playwright, librettist and director who, for the past 15 years, has served as co-founder and managing director for The Contemporary Youth Arts Company of Charleston,WV, an organization dedicated to giving young artists hands-on opportunities to bring new works to the American stage. A nearly unfunded, for-profit theater company, CYAC has produced over 50 new works in the past 15 years including 15 new Scarpelli-Kehde musicals, more than thirty new plays and eight touring social action one-acts. Together with his persevering wife, Penny, Dan continues to work with the young people of CYAC while constantly striving to challenge the ever-changing lists of new actors that come into the company. Dan is currently working on new pieces of musical theater with composer/collaborator Mark Scarpelli, as well as continuing to create and produce three or four new plays of his own each year.
69 pages
9 m, 9 w
When Jeremy Wong, a 15-year-old gay student, is savagely beaten and killed by two fellow students, the whole school reels from the blows. Reporters from all over the country descend on the town. Deep divisions among the students emerge as the student council debates whether or not to hold a memorial service. The brutal murder forces each student to search his or her own conscience and beliefs. Some react with denial, some make excuses, some are outraged, and some are frightened. Others respond with courage and caring, while a few start to question and change ...
5 pages
By Dan Kehde
44 pages
4 m, 4 w, extras
Sam and Billy are two wheelchair-bound kids who have been mainstreamed into a regular high school. Billy is a poet who, under under the pseudonym of "Minotaur" for half man, half beast, exchanges romantic e-mails with Miranda, one of his classmates. Sam is a rebel with devastating wit, who fights against the double standards that excludes them from some activities. When Billy reveals who he is to Miranda, she is stunned at first, but they become friends, and he asks her to the prom. Sam attends with a teacher. But when Sam goes to the chem lab to smoke a ciga...
50 pages
Resource Book
The thoughts, hopes, fears, dreams - the important things in the lives of teens - are explored honestly in this collection of 18 monologues. For humor, two of our favorites are "Studs," about trying to don a tux for the first time while running late for the prom, and "Bubbacar," about a teen's first car which is so ugly it should only be driven at night. We can all identify longing for Saturdays after tough school days in "Making It to the Weekend," or laugh at the frustration in "The Proper Way to Wear a School Uniform." In addition to those typical "teen pr...
48 pages
Resource Book
These 21 monologues for teen actors are wise, witty and full of twists and surprises. Each opens a unique window on either a familiar fairy tale character, an unusual historical figure, or a present-day youngster. There's Snow White's teenage daughter who's shocked to discover that her mom lived with dwarfs and worked as a maid! Or Lizzy Borden confessing her crimes to her last victims, knowing they will never tell. Or the high school girl whose breakup with her boyfriend leads to tragedy. There's also the narrator of the title monologue who can't understand ...
60 pages
Monologue Collection
Here is another monologue collection written by the ever-popular Dan Kehde who, because of his full-time work with teens in theatre, can give an honest voice to their thoughts and emotions. These serious, and at times, humorous monologues tell the stories of more than 20 teens and their struggles to cope with a variety issues. In "Will's Excuse," a student pens his own unique version of the "dog-ate-my-homework" excuse - a classic of which even Shakespeare would be proud! In "Notes From a Best Friend," a student faces feelings of grief and guilt after her bes...
76 pages
Resource Book
These 22 dialogues present unique acting challenges that will stretch your teen thespians. The anthology is divided into two sections. "Then" features historical pieces such as Mary Surratt shortly before her execution for her involvement in the assassination of President Lincoln, and Marie Antoinette's maids on the eve of the French Revolution. "Now" offers contemporary situations such as the excitement and anxiety of a first date, how to deal with one's reputation, and difficulties with parents. Each scene requires investigating the characters' specific tim...