About the Play:

Bright Ideas has become a favourite of acting teachers for Female/Male Scenes.

Bright Ideas is a full-length drama by Eric Coble. Loosely based on Shakespeare's "Macbeth," Bright Ideas is a hilarious play about a mother and father who are obsessed with getting their three-year-old son into a highly-exclusive toddler prep school. They will do ANYTHING to get him in, and eventually they go too far, resulting in madness and a murder most foul. Particularly suitable for schools and play contests.

Bright Ideas is about a couple aspiring to transcend their own impoverished backgrounds by getting their almost-four-year-old son into the best pre-school. How far would you go for your child? For Genevra and Joshua Bradley, the question is no longer hypothetical. Their three-year-old son, Mac, is next on the waiting list to get into the Bright Ideas Early Childhood Development Academy – and everyone knows once you're in there, your life will unfold with glorious ease. Josh and Gen have had to scramble all their lives to get this far… and now they are one fatal dinner party away from the ultimate success as parents: The Right Pre-School. Bright Ideas is a dark comedy that mirrors Shakespeare's Macbeth as Josh and Gen follow a path toward destruction in pursuit of their somewhat irrational desires, or at least irrational expectations. You may never look at pre-school – or pesto – the same way again!

Bright Ideas premiered in 2002 by the Cleveland Play House at the Drury Theatre. From Cleveland, it moved Off Broadway in 2003 at MCC Theater in New York City, and went on to have dozens of successful productions throughout the U.S. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and is a popular choice for high school and community theatre productions.

Cast: 3 female, 2 male (doubling)

What people say:

"Eric Coble's deliciously black comedy benefits from hilariously funny, psychologically astute portraits…the near surreal spoof hits home with ribtickling acuity…." — The New York Times

"Funnier than anything on Broadway!." — New York Post

"A tidy little gem of comic insanity." — Variety

"A tour de force with physical and verbal comedy to spare." — The New Yorker

"A comedy that is, of all things, genuinely funny." — New York Newsday

"Wickedly funny." — Broadway.com

About the Playwright:

Eric Coble is an American playwright and screenwriter. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and raised on the Navajo and Ute reservations in New Mexico and Colorado. Before turning to playwriting, he received his BA in English from Fort Lewis College in Colorado, and his MFA in acting from Ohio University. He is a member of the Playwrights' Unit of the Cleveland Play House.