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Finding Buried Treasures

With a rich collection of over 1000 plays and musicals on Pioneer’s website, finding the perfect gem for your group isn’t easy.  Beyond the new and top-selling shows that dazzle our website, we have buried treasures galore!  Luckily, our online search engine simplifies the treasure hunt, and this article reveals seven hints for digging deeper to find the hidden jewels!

You can start your search from our home page by clicking on the search box in the center of the page.  Or, click on the green “Start a New Search” tab that appears on the right edge of every page of our website.  Either one of these brings up our Pioneer Show Selector™, where you can begin your quest.

HINT ONE:  The Pioneer Show Selector™ is actually three search engines in one, allowing you to search by TITLE, AUTHOR, or KEYWORD.  You can also specify your desired cast size and running time here. 

HINT TWO:  Don’t forget to click SUBMIT at the bottom of this box to generate your first list of search results.

The challenge is that you’ll most likely still have a long list of titles from which to choose.  Thinking of the search engine as your treasure map, you want it to be as specific as possible and right now it’s still too broad.  That’s where the left hand column becomes your best tool.

First, if you haven’t already done so, use the top of the left hand column to specify if you want to look at plays or musicals.  Then use the sliding bars to specify approximately how large a cast and how long a show you want.

HINT THREE:  The search result listing you see defaults to “Popularity,” putting all the new plays that meet your parameters at the top of the list, followed by our best-sellers.  The more productions a show has, the higher up it appears on our list.  You can change this SORT order to list titles alphabetically, by cast size, or by running time.  For instance, if you’re looking specifically for a show with 12 characters, narrow your search to a cast size of 11-15, then sort by cast size so that all the shows with 12 characters are grouped together. 

As an example, we searched for a play with a cast of 11-20 and a running time of 40 to 60 minutes, bringing up a list of 216 titles.  We know this is way too many to choose from!  That means it’s time to use the left column more extensively. 

From the results of our example, we clicked the INCLUDE box on the left side for “One Acts” and “Mystery,” and the list of possible shows narrowed instantly to 11 titles.  Next, we chose to EXCLUDE “Audience Participation.”  Yo ho ho!  Our list of shows is now less than 10 — a reasonable number to look at more closely!

HINT FOUR:  Click either the “Include” or “Exclude” box for different genres to help you define exactly what type of show comes up in your search list.  For instance, if you’re looking for a summer show, EXCLUDE “Christmas” to narrow your list.  If you want a familiar story, INCLUDE “Literary Classic or Adaptation.”

HINT FIVE:  If your search becomes too narrow, use the left hand column to de-select something, broadening your search again.  Do NOT use the back button.

HINT SIX:  The number in parentheses after each criterion that you can include or exclude indicates how many titles from your current list fit that particular parameter.  By paying attention to this number, you’ll know right away how much you’ll be able to narrow your list.

HINT SEVEN:  The sliders for Cast List and Running Time work best on computers.  They still function on tablets and phones, they just take a little more patience.  Try tapping rather than sliding for best results.

We hope these hints encourage you to try out the Pioneer Show Selector™ the next time you are looking for a show.  By sorting the plays by cast size or running time instead of popularity and by using the left column to be as specific as possible about the type of show you’re looking for, you’ll discover the depth of quality material at Pioneer Drama Service.  We’re confident the jewel of your next season — something fun for your cast and entertaining for your audience — is buried in our website somewhere, just waiting to be uncovered!