Don't Rock the Boat! gets a premiere

So I found a school that's eager to premiere my latest play, Don't Rock the Boat! And if you're wondering why you haven't heard about this one, there's a reason for that. It was rejected by my publisher of choice, Pioneer Drama Service, back in March. Whenever that happens, I hit pause and get the play produced before submitting it to my backup publisher, Heuer Publishing. That, of course, provides an opportunity for a school to get a world premiere credit in the script, if and when it does get published.

How do I find these schools? Well, in the past, I've posted the announcement here on my blog. Oddly enough, however, I've been wildly unsuccessful in actually generating any interest that way. So this time I decide to approach a highly select group of schools that have worked with me in the past.

As it turns out, it was a real race to see who'd get the premiere of Don't Rock the Boat! Adrian McCracken at Hillcrest High School in Idaho, who'd produced my 1940's farce The Last Radio Show, was the first to respond so I gave the honors to him.

Just two days later, Trey Jackson at Caddo Parish Middle Magnet School in Louisiana, who'd premiered my one-act mystery A Fine-Feathered Murder, expressed his interest in the play. Trey was disappointed he missed out, but he loved the play so much that he was happy to be the second to produce it.

Around this same time, I also received an email about the play from a high school director in Nebraska who had come across the synopsis somewhere. It turns out she wanted to perform a slimmed-down version of the play for competition. Unfortunately, she needed it by November 3, and I told her that would be impossible as Hillcrest has exclusive rights through November 10, when they plan to perform it.

Adrian's school was the one I visited back in 2024 and I had a fantastic time there. He's currently looking into having me visit again, but even if that doesn't work out, I'm still excited to work with him because he intends to include me in every detail during the run-up to the show, from creating the promotional materials to developing the script.

In the meantime, Don't Rock the Boat! remains available for licensing directly from me.

Oh, you want to know more about the play? Well, let me tell you about it.

Don't Rock the Boat! is a romantic comedy set in the 1930's. It has a cast of 18 (4M, 10F, 4E), uses a single set representing the promenade deck of an ocean liner, and runs about 90 minutes.

Here's the synopsis:

It's hilarity on the high seas as Maisie and Lulu, two American pickpockets in Liverpool, escape the police by using the tickets they stole to board an ocean liner bound for New York. Unfortunately, they discover that the tickets belong to the princess of a small European country and her private secretary. Now Maisie and Lulu are forced to impersonate the pair for the duration of the voyage—or be thrown in the brig!

Against her better judgment, Maisie soon falls for a charming prince who's also on board. But when she learns that a matronly passenger is wearing a diamond necklace worth three million dollars, she risks everything to steal it. That's when the prince reveals that he's really a private detective who was hired to guard the necklace. Now he'll stop at nothing to identify the thief who stole it and lock him (or her!) away.

If you love those classic screwball comedies like It Happened One Night and His Girl Friday, you're going to love Don't Rock the Boat! And if you have no clue what these movies are, then you owe it to yourself to at least read the script. I guarantee it's one of the funniest things I've ever done. And all you have to do is email me a request for a free perusal script at todd.wallinger@gmail.com. Easy peasy!