Almost Shakespeare

41 pages

5 m, 3 w, 2 flexible

Mayhem and comedy are guaranteed when a small troupe of animal actors perform "The Taming of the Shrew" for King Louie, a lion, and Queen Marie, a lioness. Bartholomew, a fox, and Cassandra, a cat, are the leaders of an acting troupe consisting of a sarcastic crow, a bumbling bear, a young rabbit, and a sleepy dog. Include a diva cat opera singer, Miss Bianca, and the fur is guaranteed to fly! As the stage story of "The Taming of the Shrew" unfolds, we see that the actors are like the characters they portray. We also see how much can go wrong when performing ...

46 pages

12 to 20+ flexible characters

Here's an enjoyable, approachable introduction to William Shakespeare. In Scenes 1 through 4, we discover his world and his realities, his life and his times. In Scenes 5, 6 and 7, we are treated to one abridged scene from "Romeo and Juliet" and two abridged scenes from "A Midsummer Night's Dream." All together, the man and his work come alive for both the actor and for the audience. Performance time about an hour. (A longer version of this play, "The Bard!", also includes abridged scenes from "The Twelfth Night," "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and "Macbeth." S...

25 pages

3 to 5 w

Things are seldom what they seem in the world of theatre. That is never truer than in "The Audition" (3 w). On the morning of a (maybe) life-altering audition, three (maybe) actresses come early to scope out the theatre and immerse themselves into the needs of the (maybe) director. As Phoebe, Celia and Rosalind vie for the chance of lifetime, secrets are revealed and plans unravel in this one-act that is never exactly as you think it to be. The play gives three actresses their own shining moments in the spotlight. Running time is about 20 minutes. In the seco...

72 pages

Flexible cast, approx. 9 m, 9 w, extras

Combine the drama of Shakespeare with the craziness of high school! Jane, a nerdy-looking new student, is all but ignored by the in-crowd. They're too involved with trying to get parts as extras for the movie that's going to be filmed there. Little do they know Jane is really the pampered, glamorous teen soap opera star, Tiffany! She's undercover to prove she can act and hopefully earn the lead in the movie. In drama class, Jane is teamed up with Tim, the class bookworm. They look like losers...until they do their Shakespeare scene. That threatens posse leade...

81 pages

Flexible cast, approx. 9 m, 9 w, extras

Jane, a nerdy-looking new student, is all but ignored by the in-crowd. They're too involved with trying to get parts as extras for the movie that's going to be filmed at their school. Little do they know Jane is really the pampered, glamorous teen soap opera star, Tiffany! She's undercover to prove she can act and earn the lead in the movie. In drama class, Jane is teamed up with Tim, the class bookworm. They look like losers ... until they play the parts of Romeo and Juliet! That threatens posse leaders Clarissa, Shelley, and Mary, and everything explodes! O...

36 pages

7 m, 4 w, plus ensemble

Here is a retelling of Shakespeare's tale of the decline of an honorable man into darkness, a study of how far an individual is willing to go in the pursuit of power. This adaptation includes new scenes between Lord and Lady Macbeth and uses an interactive ensemble to play a variety of roles. Only the director’s imagination will be the limit for this piece. It can be staged as elaborately or as simply as desired. The truth is in the words. It was written to be performed at any venue, any time period, and with a multi-cultural cast. Movement, music, and passio...

55 pages

29 or more characters, much doubling possible.

Incorporating the work by William Shakespeare. An eerie traveling carnival, run by the frightening Madame LeBeau, arrives outside of a small American town in the early 1900s. Several children sneak into the carnival and quickly discover a wicked world of darkness and mystery. Trance-like, the townspeople are soon pulled to the tent and end up as characters in the tale of "Macbeth." The Mayor and his wife become Macbeth and Lady Macbeth; Mrs. Cambridge, the local widow, becomes Hecate; and other citizens become Macduff, Banquo, Ross, the Apparition, and others...

60 pages

From a large cast of 24 or more to an ensemble cast of 5-6 m, 5-6 w.

Adapted from a novel by John Bennett. Here is an excellent picture of the Shakespearean era from a young person’s point of view without being about the Bard himself. Young Nick is so enamored of the theatre that when his strict father forbids him from attending, Nick runs away from his home in Stratford-upon-Avon. When a disreputable actor, just released from jail, discovers Nick’s beautiful voice, he calls him Master Skylark and forces him to perform with his troupe. Nick's captors treat him well, but he longs for freedom and his home. His voice eventually b...

20 pages

2 m, 2 w

Four high school students report to the school auditorium for play rehearsal only to find out the director is not coming. To add to the confusion, one of the cast members has dropped three rehearsal scripts, of which all the pages are unbound and unnumbered. The pages fly everywhere. No problem! - unless the scripts are "Macbeth," "The Taming of the Shrew," and "A Midsummer Night's Dream." As one of the students quips, "We don't know anything about Shakespeare, but it all sounds the same anyway, so grab some pages." The mayhem that results will have you wonde...

25 pages

5 m, 8 w, 8 flexible

Cinderella (that isn't her real name!) labors away for her wicked aunt and evil cousins, sneaking free moments whenever she can to read. Her aunt believes learning just monopolizes the time a woman can spend being beautiful and burns all the books in their cottage. Cinderella manages to save a copy of "Romeo and Juliet," but eventually even that is burned. With a little help from a silly fairy godmother, Cinderella attends a palace ball and impresses the Prince with her intellect. After she flees the ball, the Prince pursues her, looking not for a woman who c...

45 pages

7 m, 8 w, 5 flexible

Finding a prom date is tough in a normal world, but in a world dominated by the Queen and King of Teens and all their teen spirits, it's nearly impossible. In this side-splitting send-up of the Shakespearean classic, four teenagers only want to attend the prom with the teen of their dreams. Mia wants to go with Lyle but her father insists she go with Dean. Mia detests Dean but her best friend Helen adores him. Yet Dean wants nothing to do with Helen. Mia and Lyle decide to sneak off to attend another school's prom but to do so must sleep in the woods overnigh...

51 pages

2 m, 2 w, 10 either (expandable to 20)

Magic, mayhem, and madness unfold in this classic story of love, revenge, and forgiveness. Based on The Tempest by William Shakespeare, Bitterroot is a modern adaptation set in the American West. Prospero and his daughter Miranda have been stranded in the Montana wilderness for twelve years. When fate brings Prospero’s evil brother to Montana, Prospero must decide whether to exact his revenge or forgive his enemies. But can Prospero accept that his daughter wants to marry the son of an enemy? And can he forgive himself for th...

46 pages

21 characters; 10 m, 11 f, extras, doubling possible

A high school drama teacher directs her students in rehearsing a version of Romeo and Juliet. A creative writing teacher encourages her students to compose poems that reflect their personal lives. And a man, the narrator, weaves these school experiences –and his own– into a play he has written. The result is a beautiful mosaic of the familiar lives of students and culture inherent in high schools. The play deals with tragedy, bullying, sexuality, grieving, and perseverance with vital sensitivity. A mix of ...