Children's

36 pages

2 m, 2 w

Four commedia dell’arte actors perform all roles in this fast-paced, hilarious play. The rats of Hamlin (dressed with black ball caps) are hungry and demand the Mayor “set things rat, rat now!” And so you can see how poor pronunciation of a simple word created a terrible disagreement between the rats and the citizens of the clean little hamlet. The Mayor, portrayed by Punchin, the dell’ arte character with the big, proud nose, asks the Queen of the Cats, the Duke of the Dogs, the Earl of the Eagles, the High Prince of the Possums, and even the Countess of Cat...

41 pages

6 - 21 performers possible

From the story by Hans Christian Andersen. "The Snow Queen" is an enduring tale of faith, devotion and the magic of friendship between a young boy, Kay, and his best friend, Gerda. One winter evening, Gerda's grandmother tells them the story of an evil troll whose magic mirror shattered into a million pieces. When a sliver from that mirror lodges in Kay's heart and in his eye, he becomes mean and ugly, and is carried off in the Snow Queen's sleigh. Gerda sets out all alone to search for Kay, and in her perilous venture meets an Old Woman who casts a spell on ...

26 pages

Approx. 3 m, 3 w.

Help! please. How do you teach civility when Miss Manners and Mary Poppins aren’t around? For three professional bedroom monsters, the assignment to change young Sheena is business as usual – almost. This case has a lot riding on it. If not successful, Fredrick will be forced to retire, nervous Igor will fail, and Petra will be partnered with a monster she dislikes. Never before has the future of this hairy team rested in the palm of a little, spoiled, rude girl – and all under the inquiring eye and note-taking hand of another monster, a snooping New Orc Time...

41 pages

1 m, 1 w, 3 flexible

Here is a troika of short, story-theatre plays that will take you on three very unusual journeys. First stop is a town where the cow-dreamer ran away... and we all know that without someone to dream cows there simply are no cows. Then we travel to a farm where the devil comes to call every day at noon. Only the dog knows who he is, and it's up to her to save the farmer and his wife. Finally, we visit a marsh and find out what happens when the Sun gets so curious about the Earth that she comes down to see what it's like for herself. Because the narration fills...

36 pages

4 – 23, optional extras

Young Erin loves to hear his father’s story of a baby dragon on Wild Island who needs rescuing. With the help of an alley cat, Erin finds himself in the adventure. Along the way, Erin realizes that he must use his wits, bravery, and cunning to outsmart numerous jungle animals including a gorilla, lion, crocodile, wild boars and a rhino! The use of masks and puppetry keep young audiences engaged as they watch Erin in his quest to set free the dragon. About an hour.

30 pages

Ensemble cast of 5 to 22 actors

Some of the gentle, humorous, and well-loved characters from the writings of Beatrix Potter come alive in this gem of a story theatre play for young audiences. The play consists of adaptations of three Beatrix Potter stories: “The Tale of Benjamin Bunny” (one of the Peter Rabbit tales); her renowned Christmas story, “The Tailor of Gloucester”; and “Grasshopper Belle and Susan Emmet,” Potter’s adaptation of the Aesop fable. Also included are two poems from the “Apply Dapply Rhymes” and a third inspired by them. The pieces are short, the action continuous, and ...

34 pages

2 m, 2 w, 1 flexible

Since its first appearance in 1898, Kenneth Grahame’s "The Reluctant Dragon" has delighted both young and old alike with its tale of the lazy dragon who shows the townspeople that they shouldn’t be prejudiced against dragons, or for that matter, people who are different. One early morning, on their way from the market, a mother and her young son pass the entrance to a dark cave where mysterious sounds are heard. They soon discover that a dragon has moved in and the son, being rather sensible, decides to visit the new neighbor. The young boy determines that th...

26 pages

Flexible cast 5 - 18

Puns and pratfalls abound in this fun, frumpled 35-minute version of three Grimm fairy tales. And with the help of a narrator, the audience can cheer the heroes and boo the villains. In "Rumpelstiltskin," a greedy king, a miller's daughter and a comical chap named Rumpelstiltskin all mix together in the story of gold spinning and name guessing. In "Rapunzel," a witch puts lovely Rapunzel in a tower where a handsome prince rescues her. But the standard happy ending is reached in anything but a standard way. In "Red Riding Hood," Little Red finally escapes the ...

32 pages

2 m, 2 w, 2 flexible

You might think it's fun to be a princess like Alwida, and to live in a castle. But her castle is so lame! It doesn't even have a moat. Tired of parents who never listen and are always telling her what to do, Alwida runs away from home in search of adventure. Instead she finds Alf, the prince from a nearby country. The two hit it off at first, until Alwida's parents ground her in her tower. She escapes, but is captured by bloodthirsty pirates. Finally! An adventure! The pirates think they've taken a frail, simple girl as their prisoner, but they are about to ...

56 pages

5 to 18 flexible roles

It's the story of Pecos Bill in the rootin'-tootin', ropin' and shootin' wild, wild West! From an infant raised with coyotes to a grown man rescuing his "furever" sweetheart, Sweet Sue, Pecos Bill has one adventure after another. He rids the town of Pecos of all its outlaws, tames some purty wild desert creatures, and rescues his Sweet Sue from a couple of mean hombres called Buck and Chuck. Pecos even takes an hour or so to dig a ditch for Sue's catfish. Lasso in a little bit of Americana in this story-theatre style play. Scenes flow together seamlessly, and...

32 pages

3 m, 2 w, 1 flexible

Get the youngsters in your audience twitching their noses, making engine noises, bowing to the king, catching imaginary gold thread, and shouting out names, especially Rumpelstiltskin! With such audience participation, this fairy tale adaptation is loads of active fun. It features a braggart father, his long-suffering wife, their poor but beautiful daughter, a strict rule-enforcing chancellor; a monarch whose kingdom depends on straw being spun into gold, and of course, the mysterious little man who is willing to perform that exceptional feat – but at a treme...

26 pages

Flexible cast

These four plays are ideal for young actors in school, for children's theatre groups, or even for summer camp talent shows. With plenty of rhyming and choral recitation, they can be presented easily with only a few rehearsals. Though each requires strong leading characters, any number of children can participate. Included with each piece are suggestions for simple staging, but feel free to use your own creative ideas. 30-40 minutes. Each play is 7-10 minutes long. 

"Lost in the Forest...

36 pages

With doubling: 2 m, 4 w.

Before putting "Through the Looking Glass" down on paper in 1860s, Lewis Carroll told a colleague’s young daughter, Alice Liddell (the real Alice in the books), the story of talking chess pieces. The novel, of course, was a sequel to his earlier one, "Alice in Wonderland." This play is set in the early 1920s as a now elderly Alice Liddell reflects on the telling of the story. Faithful to Carroll’s expression of childhood fears of growing up, this adaptation keeps the Victorian charm and merriment by maintaining Carroll’s scenes intact. The audience is transpo...

35 pages

5-15 actors.

Four spellbinding stories from Native American lore. In the first, the Raven, great trickster bird of all the Northwest Native American tribes, creates the world and the creatures in it. When Man complains about the darkness Raven fills the sky with the sun, the moon and the stars. Soon the new inventions are stolen by the greedy Ganuk. Raven turns himself into Ganuk's infant grandson to return the lights to the sky. In the second story, Raven disintegrates a giant, blood-thirsty cannibal into all the mosquitoes of the world. In the third story Raven's tragic...

36 pages

3 m, 3 w, 1 voice

Friendship, adventure, integrity, an evil mime, a mysterious butler, stolen dinosaur bones, a man with a mailbox on his head -- it’s all just a part of the fun in this one act. Follow the heroic adventures of Princess Mystic Starfish, a charming and unconventional superheroine who battles her enemies with dogged persistence by firing bubbles in an attempt to confuse them (or possibly get soap in their eyes). Despite her unorthodox methods, the Princess’ success in apprehending wrongdoers is somehow perfect. One day she is given an invitation to join the great...