Broadway Licensing Global is making it even easier for high schools to perform the Tony- and Olivier-winning play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Newly released production resources will give schools and youth theatre groups valuable tips and tricks on achieving the play's illusions and scenic design. A director's guide is also now available.
Similar resources covering the show's costuming and lighting are planned to release later this year.
The tools are designed to be used with the play's high school edition, which became available for licensing earlier this year. Jamie Harrison, illusion designer for the worldwide professional productions, has crafted the Illusions Guide, which includes ground rules and concrete staging ideas for the most complex illusions called for in the script. The guide has been designed to allow schools with even limited technical capabilities to create stunning effects.
The Scenic Design Guide is the work of the worldwide production's scenic designer, Christine Jones. Included are insights on budget and resource management, a scene breakdown, and prop list to simplify complex compositions.
The Director's Guide has been written by John Tiffany, the Tony- and Olivier-winning director of the worldwide production. The resource offers Tiffany's vision, tips, and script annotations for character development and staging, along with a plan for putting up a production in a limited time frame.
“At the outset of our partnership, BLG and the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child team aimed to prioritize educational theatre programs and facilitate their ability to bring this story to life,” says BLG Chief Executive Officer Ted Chapin in a statement. “The introduction of these supplemental guides underscores our commitment to supporting schools in creating a remarkable theatrical experience, regardless of their budget or resources.”
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child School Edition was been developed by the work's original creative team, including playwright Jack Thorne, Tiffany, producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender, and with sign-off by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. The adaptation, announced last year, shortens the piece's run time, along with offering solutions that make the professional production's high-tech wizardry possible regardless of budget size. Licensing packages also include music and a media kit. Purchase a perusal script here.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is based on an original story by Rowling, Thorne, and Tiffany. The play takes place 19 years after the source material book series, and follows Harry Potter's son Albus and his friendship with Scorpius, the son of rival Draco Malfoy, in their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The original West End production premiered in 2016, receiving 11 Olivier Award nominations and winning nine, including Best New Play. The Broadway transfer opened at The Lyric Theatre in 2018, then received 10 Tony Award nominations and won six, including Best Play.
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