Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with play

Recent plays?

beerbajay — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:53:24 -0800

What plays from the last 50-odd years should I read? Satire, black comedy, or scathing political criticism a plus. Also plays challenging the bounds of normal theater. Or, you know, whatever's good.

Indoor kitty =/= couch potato. Make it so!

Tequila Mockingbird — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:33:52 -0800

How can I make sure my new 3-year-old (indoor) cat gets enough exercise? She's my first, and the concept of fetch is understandably beneath her. When she doesn't have any interest in dangling feathers on a string, what options do I have? What should I get for her? How do you exercise your cat?

Pumpernickel was adopted from a shelter a little over a week ago, and turned me into a cat person within seconds. I've got a large cat tree for her that she delights in exploring, and I want to make sure she remains healthy and at her proper weight. It's just that the toys I currently have don't seem to entice her each time, and I myself am having difficulty thinking up games for a critter that doesn't run around barking. Are laser pointers worth a try, for example?

I should mention that she's the only pet (aside fish), and getting a second cat is just not possible. I know this is often the very first suggestion, but among other things, when she was adopted we were told that she does better as the only cat in the household.

Thanks, roommates of other cats!

let's NOT do goldilocks, for once.

acidic — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:26:11 -0800

Help me, a teacher, help my energetic, funny and amazing 10-year-old EFL students write and direct a pair of plays. I've been put in charge of a drama club at my school in Korea. We've got 4 weeks to brainstorm, write, rehearse, and film two plays. I have six students, and while they will each act in both plays, they will be written by groups of three. We did some brainstorming and we came up with the following ideas:
1) A crew of superheroes and magical people who have lost their powers-- a comedy
2) A normal school populated by a group of scary people (zombies, ghosts, etc)
but these aren't set in stone. They're a VERY, VERY active group of kids-- at any given moment usually four of them are jumping on their desks. They wanted to do a fighting play (with fake guns?) but I wasn't sure if that was appropriate.

Their English is not strong, so I'm planning to write a plot and help them develop it into a simple script. Trouble is, I know next to nothing about creative writing (especially for children), and I have never really been involved in anything dramatic. How do I develop these ideas into storylines that use all 6 students equally? How long should the script be if we're to tackle it in a month? We have fifteen 40-minute sessions, and the kids are quite hard to control.

(I'm not NECESSARILY asking for you to come up with a brief storyline, but if anything cool comes to mind......)

What to do at Grandma's house

yawper — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:30:43 -0800

What kind of activities can a 5-year-old do alone to entertain herself? My daughter goes to my mom's 2 days a week, from 9 am to 3 pm. She’s getting really, really bored. My mom is an amazing grandmother and does all the things grammies should do. My daughter loves her to bits. But she’s old school. Just as she never played with me – she expected my brother and I to entertain ourselves/each other – she doesn’t play with my kid. She’s not elderly or inactive, and she talks and jokes with her. But doing crafts or baking brownies is not her thing, and that’s not going to change. And money is tight right now, so paying to put my daughter in daycare is not an option either. Nor do I want to enroll her in classes or organize playdates that would require my mom to drop her off/pick her up/otherwise intrude on her schedule. She is already helping me out a ton (in this and many other ways) so I don’t want to impose on her any further.

So, what’s a bored 5-year-old to do? I need ideas for activities OR toys/products that will stimulate her imagination and keep her entertained for half-hour stretches. Things that she can do almost completely independently (my mom would help her set up, or answer questions for her etc). Here are the things she’s getting maxed out on:

TV or computer time (she’s not a big fan of these to begin with)
Books (she’s just in the beginning stages of learning, so it’s mostly looking at pictures and making up stories)
Colouring/activity books
Jigsaw puzzles
Play-Dough
Playing with dolls (CRAZY about dolls but tires of playing them by herself)
Leap Pad (we have an older version; can anyone recommend the best newer equivalent type of toy?)

I am fully open to old-fashioned suggestions, like paper dolls and basic science experiments. We lean more towards that kind of stuff in my house than gadgets anyway.

Also, my daughter does go to school the other 3 days of the week and gets plenty of social activities on the days she’s not at her grandma’s.

Peter Brady Can't Play Ball In the House, but My Dog Wants To!

xingcat — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:03:49 -0800

Are there any non-Kong dog balls that my Lab won't destroy? My 4-year-old black Lab loves to play ball, but when she has a ball inside the house, it takes her an average of 15 minutes to destroy any ball she'll play with.

Tennis balls are her favorites, because she can spend 5 minutes removing all the fuzz, and then she chews them in half and rips the ball into tiny rubber confetti.

We've gotten her Kong balls, which she doesn't seem to be able to destroy, but she doesn't like playing with them, either. It seems to be a mouth-feel thing with her, where if it's too solid, she has no interest.

We've tried mini-tires, squishy foam balls (which she loves, but it only takes her slightly more time to chew apart), "indestructible" fabric toys, and she can kill them all dead.

Any hope for a ball-playing but very strong-jawed dog?

how can I play with my dog?

canine epigram — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:18:42 -0800

how do I teach my dog to play? We adopted a retired greyhound from a rescue group, and he's an adorable and very mellow boy. He loves his walks (and gets very excited about going) and trips to the dog park (although he's still trying to figure out what to do with other dogs besides sniff them).

Sometimes he grab a squeaky toy out of his basket, squeak it madly and catch it when we toss it around. Then, just as abruptly, he'll be done and walk away without a second glance. If he's not in the mood, he'll just look at you quizzically.

We plan to take him to obedience class soon, and have started some basic clicker training (which he enjoys.) What can we do to teach him how to play or engage his mind in a small condo (or local dog park)? chase a ball? a toy?

Obviously being a greyhound, no rough and tumble games.

I'm looking for a playful way of interacting with him, rather than just filling a kong with treats and watching him go at it (still funny!).

Help me, hivemind! Bonus for grey-specific knowledge.

Linux fun composer for 8 year old?

Sch01ar — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:14:35 -0800

Does anyone know any simple Ubuntu music software for me to have fun composing with my eight year old son? A few years ago there seemed to be lots of simple generative and quasi random music sequencer programmes around (admittedly I'm thinking mac and PC and I've since switched to linux) But now my son is old enough to play and create I can't find anything :(

Browser based ones would be fine, but what I've found seems a bit buggy.

Thanks in advance!

S

Taking high schoolers to Broadway?

airguitar2 — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:52:46 -0800

How can I bring my low-income high school students to an off-Broadway show? I teach creative writing at a public high school in NYC where most/all of the students are low-income. We're studying drama in creative writing, and I'd like to find a way to bring them to a real play-- maybe Our Town, or Broke-ology, or A Boy And His Soul. I'm wondering: are there programs for which my students would qualify? We obviously can't afford to pay full price for tickets. Do any shows have rehearsals we might simply be able to sit in on? Are there shows that allow students to attend special performances?

Does anyone have experience doing this? Thanks!

How do I convince my cat her litter box is not a good hang-out?

scrute — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 20:11:25 -0800

My cat loves her litter box.... too much. How do I get her to stop playing in it? It's not that she is playing with the messes in her litter box (although she will if she can't find any of her toys), it's that she insists on taking her balls into her litter box to play. I'm a little grossed out by it and wonder if it's spreading germs all over my apartment when she takes the balls out and rolls them around the rest of the place.

I don't know if it's relevant, but she didn't use a litter box until she was almost a year old (2 months ago). For the previous 10 months she was living in a country with 'wet' bathrooms and would go either in the drain or directly beside it (litter was unavailable and/or prohibitively expensive). She took to the litter box immediately, but now seems to think it's an okay place to hang out.

Any suggestions for at least getting her to stop taking her toys in? I've tried covering it and it doesn't really work.

Is there really lasting love at first sight?

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 05:17:41 -0800

How did you know getting engaged impulsively was a good idea? I met this wonderful woman a few months ago. I am 24 and she is 21 were both about to finish our BA's this winter. I feel like I have found something unique and special in this girl and could see myself being with her a long time. It has been four months, but that "so happy I'm going to puke because the butterflies won't stop flapping" does not ever stop. Our relationship feels like it is beyond gut level infatuation; we are compatible on so many levels that I doubt that I will ever find this mix in a single person again.

We have both dated and had our hearts broken. I dated a woman for 4 years and we were dead pragmatic about the idea of getting married. We had the logistics down, but the real gut level part of it just was not there.

I know is snark bait, and I am not interested in people telling me how naive I am. I understand marriage is an economic contract with the state and not a love certificate. I am asking partly because we had discussed how we both kind of like the fun of long engagements. In addition, she is in Paris for this quarter and I would like to surprise her by proposing to her in Paris. Neither of us have any interest in eloping.

What I am interested in are stories of people who found each other and quickly decided that they had found someone whom they wanted to share their life. I would like to hear both from MeFites who found this to be the best or worst decision of their life. How did you know this would be a good idea? Was it a good idea? Any anecdotes about quick engagements or marriages are welcome. In particular, I would love to hear stories about couples who ended up staying together for decades.

Wit in Romeo and Juliet

Non Prosequitur — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:50:21 -0800

Romeo & Juliet: I seem to remember a portion in the play where someone exhorts "wit" to help them out, or says they're running out of wit—but I can never find it when look through the stuff. Is it just a false memory, or maybe something mentioned very much in passing? I searched through the text again and maybe Romeo saying, "But 'tis no wit to go" is supposed to have a double meaning (we shouldn't go to the event, I have no wit remaining?)

Mercutio saying, "Come between us, good Benvolio; my wits faint": this just seems very straightforward; I'm looking for an exhortation, or a request of sorts ("help me out, Wit!")

Writer needs to spend time with an Asperger's. In Belgium.

Baud — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:19:37 -0800

Writing an Asperger character : how can I get to know enough about Asperger's syndrom ? Please bear in mind that I live in Belgium. I'm in the research phase of a writing project. One of the characters must be an Asperger's. Now...

Research so far : I've read "I was born on a blue day" and "The curious incident of the dog". But words on a page are one thing, meeting a breathing person, getting to ask questions, discovering what kind of non-verbal language they is much more interesting to me.

Now, bearing in mind that I live in *Belgium* and that most of yo are living in US/Canada i.e. an ocean away from where I live, does the hive have generic advice on how to spend some social time with an Asperger ?

I don't want to betray the Asperger and I'm not centering the text around that characteristic. it's a narrative obligation that my character is an Asperger.

Oh, and if Barry - Rain Man - is lurking here, can he please direct-message me ? (I tried to contact him through Gersher agency's email address.
---
Standard MeFi caveat : english is not my mother tongue.

how to talk to people without actually talking to people

puckish — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:10:04 -0800

Suggestions for carving out alone time visiting a partner in a different city. I've had some rough times lately, and am currently staying with my partner (working in a different city for the summer) and his friends while everything gets straightened out. At home, we usually spend a huge chunk of every day together (we both work from home) and it's really easy to go from morning coffee to work at the coffee shop to joint lunch. We're collaborating on a project right now (that's partly why I'm here) -- but right now, I can't really think about anything, and just feel like I need some alone time. This has all got me feeling kind of stressed out --- yesterday I basically hid in the room and didn't talk to anyone, and that seems like kind of a lame way to be.

Any suggestions? specifically, for ways to break up the day, so that we can work on stuff productively (and hang out, and have fun) while I can still get quiet time to get my head straight?

Precocious Children in Plays

stray — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:57:29 -0800

I'm looking for plays about precocious children. I need a monologue for an audition--the role is a very smart, very pressured, comical 12 year old. I thought the hive mind might have some ideas...I'm looking for something energetic, maybe something with that sense of being burdened that a lot of very precocious kids seem to have. Preferably female. Thoughts?

Give us a clue?

Beardman — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:09:58 -0800

Can you think of any films that include a scene where the characters play Charades, or a similar party game? I've been tasked with writing a screenplay for, and possibly shooting, a short film about a rowdy game of Charades at a party. I'd like to see how other movies have done this kind of thing, as much to avoid repetition as for inspiration. Examples from theatre or TV shows (though no game shows, please) would also be helpful. Thanks!

What is this play?

marsha56 — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 09:56:52 -0800

Need help identifying a one-act play. A couple dressed in Edwardian clothing is standing on a ship's deck on their honeymoon and are discussing their hopes and dreams for the future. At the end of the scene, they move away to go inside for dinner, and behind where they were standing, you see a life preserver stamped "TITANIC" and you realize with a shock that their lives are doomed.

I saw this as a child, mid 1960's. I think it was shown with one or two other one-act plays also, although I don't remember the others.

Hearing about Millvina Dean's death got me thinking about this.

Thanks guys!

Custom Playing Cards

NotMyselfRightNow — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:53:16 -0800

I'm looking to make a couple couple custom decks of playing cards. Google returns a ton of companies that do this. Does anyone have any personal experience and recommendations? And, any idea on what I can expect to pay?

My Kingdom for a Playdome

goalyeehah — Thu, 14 May 2009 18:05:10 -0800

Anyone know where I can buy a children's playdome? You know. The ones that are about 6-8 foot in diameter that we played on in playgrounds. Design similar to Bucky Fuller's geodesic domes. I'd like to purchase one for an upcoming event.

Help me play better with my kids

yawper — Tue, 12 May 2009 11:40:47 -0800

Please help me think of some new, interesting, positive role-playing scenarios for my girls to use with their dolls and stuffed animals. I have two little girls aged 4 and 6. They love to play dolls, and they love it even more when I play with them. Problem is, I don’t enjoy that stuff and am not naturally good at it. I play along sort of half-heartedly and let them take the lead in making up the scenarios, but we inevitably end up with a reenactment of our regular lives (complete with the dolls fighting over toys, giving each other the silent treatment, etc!). Some of the stuff we’ve done include: teacher/students, doctor/patients, and of course, parents/kids but these get boring and repetitive.

I’m looking for some fun, fresh ideas for scenarios they could use. Bonus points if the play helps reinforce positive behaviours or teaches a lesson. Mega bonus points if the scenario actually gets and keep my interest!

They play with Polly Pockets, Littlest Pet Shop, My Little Ponies, and stuffed animals. So mostly animals, but they “act” like people. The scenarios don’t have to be animal-centered. Also, right now boys are "ick" plus they are quite young so I want to steer away from any romantic-type boy/girl interactions.

Thanks for any ideas you can give me!

More mandolin music, please

billtron — Sat, 09 May 2009 09:55:49 -0800

I really like Paul Kelly's mandolin recording, "Varmland Waltz," on the muji website. Help me learn to play similar music, either from sheetmusic or by ear from recordings, on my mandolin. I've got jig skillz and reel skillz, so I can handle music that's intermediate to challenging, I guess.

What command and conquer style computer game should i play?

freddymetz — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:50:49 -0800

What command and conquer style computer game should i play? I enjoyed c+c generals but im looking for a new strategy type game to try. The new c+c 3 is a bit too laggy on my laptop though.

What similar games could you recommend? Ive heard of games like age of empires but i havent tried them.
Older games are okay too, as my pc, (which runs vista and windows 7 okayish) isnt very powerful graphicwise.

chad vangaalen's echo trian

madmamasmith — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 20:20:56 -0800

does anyone know the guitar chords/ tab for Chad Vangaalen's echo train? PLease....

A better way to pause

aerotive — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 11:03:24 -0800

I'm looking for a way to pause/unpause VLC using the middle mouse button even if VLC doesn't have focus. Any ideas? I often use VLC to play one-off audio files, podcasts and such. The system is a media PC hooked up to a big-screen TV in my living room. I'll frequently start playing a file remotely from my den using a screen-sharing app, then listen to it in the living room. I like to avoid having to constantly turn the TV off and on solely to press pause.

So using a utility called X-Mouse Utility Control I've configured all middle-button clicks to be converted into a Enter key click, and I've configured VLC to recognize Enter as pause/unpause.

Problem is this all breaks down when VLC doesn't have focus. Is there any way to make this work when some other app has focus? Or another utility or program that would work better?

This is on Windows Vista.

Need play area for child but too windy!!! What items can we put in back yard!!

lynnie-the-pooh — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 08:14:51 -0800

Need ideas for outside play area that is super windy! Hi, my daughter will be five soon and our back yard has nothing in it because it is super windy. We bought a trampoline last year and had it for two weeks, then it became a pancake due to the wind. My husband is reluctant to get a swing set, sand box or another trampoline. What ideas do you have that will secure these items to the ground? The swing set could be cemented into the ground. But if the swing is bent or broken over during the storm, we will have pieces of swing stuck to the ground by cement. And with the sand box, we are afraid the top will fly off and we will have sand all over our back yard. If my husband puts a cement block on the top of the cover, I will not be able to get it off every day, as I have a bad back. The trampoline we had was secured to the ground with anchors, but the netting around the trampoline acted like a sail in the wind and it just went up and then down like a pancake. Surely there is some way my child can have items in her back yard to play with?? We live in Iowa in a neighborhood, but behind us is a farm, so the wind is hard and very open by us. I'm looking for ideas, my daughter would be so happy if we could figure it out.
Thanks,
LYNN

Don't be silly, Toto. Scarecrows don't talk.

liquado — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:42:22 -0800

San Francisco filter: I'm going to be there in two weeks, and am looking for advice on getting a single ticket to see Wicked at the Orpheum -- get them ahead, or try and get them that evening? Any advantages/experiences with the show, the venue...? Caveat: I want a reasonably decent seat. Not interested in the nosebleeds. Price is always an issue, but I'm not averse to paying for a good seat.

(Also, if you have any suggestions for cool things to do evenings in SF from the 22nd to the 28th of Feb, I'm all ears, too....)