Children's

28 pages

2 m, 13 w

It’s Princess Daylight’s christening, and the blessings of the good fairies are interrupted by a wicked Swamp Fairy.  The Swamp Fairy vexes the princess with two evil curses: she will never see daylight, and her vitality will wax and wane with the phases of the moon. The good fairies mitigate the curses as much as they can. Thanks to their help, the princess will be awake at night, and the curse will be broken when she is kissed unknowingly by a prince. As the years go on, Princess Daylight’s curse seems to worsen. Her only joy is dancing in the moonlight.  F...

39 pages

2 m, 3 w, 1 flexible

Based on the Grimm Brothers Folktale. Queen Ysabel of Oldmark sends her daughter, Princess Jorinda, to marry King Ferdinand of Eastphalia in order to seal an alliance between the two kingdoms. Elsa, an ambitious and devious maid-in-waiting, leads Jorinda to believe that her future husband is ill-tempered and ill-favored, and convinces the princess to trade roles: Elsa poses as the bride, and Jorinda is given a position as a lowly goose girl. Ferdinand, of course, proves to be neither ill-tempered nor ugly. In fact, there is a definite attraction between Ferdi...

38 pages

4 m, 2 w, plus extras

Pantalone and his company are traveling the countryside sharing their plays with anyone who will listen. It has been a long journey and the patience of the company is starting to wear thin. They finally take a rest and Pantalone decides to share some of his favorite stories from Aesop. Unfortunately, he is constantly interrupted by the squabbles and needs of the other company members. If he could only get everyone to work together, Pantalone could finish telling his story!

Join us as our troupe of players presents some of ...

18 pages

3 m, 2 w, extras, if desired.

Four Warriors, each with superior abilities, are sent to the Highlands by their respective villages to seek a military vantage point. Each warrior discovers a large rock that will help destroy their enemy and each encounters an old man who helps them learn to live in peace. This allegory of urban street gangs examines the lunacy behind "dying for one's colors."

44 pages

14 or more (minimum cast of 8 with doubling)

All the deer inhabitants in Bucksville are lamenting there hasn't been a spring in fifteen years! Coincidentally, that was when our hero, Peter, an orphan bunny, was discovered in a basket and adopted by a family of deer. As the only bunny in Bucksville, Peter feels out of place, and despite words of comfort from his mother, decides to set out on a quest to find spring. His travels bring him to the land of Omalet, where he's delighted to discover other bunnies. They are painting eggs in preparation for the annual test to reveal if spring is inside any of them...

32 pages

Flexible roles for 30 or more

Here’s the story of Howard Carter's famous discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922. Carter and others with him are astounded by the treasures buried for over 3,000 years. Before long the visitors discover the story of this little-known king through the writing on the walls of the tomb. These hieroglyphs come to life, teaching us all about Ancient Egypt including King Tutankhamun, Queen Hatshepsut, Egyptian society, the gods and pyramids. This musical was written specifically for young voices, ideally, Grades 5 through 9. Grades 3 and 4 could participate ...

55 pages

Widely Flexible

The music is stunning in this story set in Athens around 400 BC. Despite the city's wealth and splendor, the Athenians have recently been defeated by the joint Spartan and Persian armies and now reluctantly, after years of superiority, have to put up with foreign interference. Anxious to find out what is in store for their great civilization, Socrates, Plato and Hippocrates set off to see the great Oracle at Delphi. The Pythia tells them to seek advice from Zeus himself at the great statue in Olympus where they will discover their destiny. Lots of fun songs, ...

52 pages

7 m, 5 w, 7 flexible

Norse myths come alive in this amusing and highly entertaining hour-long play. When Baldur, the god of nature, is killed, he has a chance to come back to life, but declines because he feels his life wasn't very important. And it's up to Siggy, a fast-talking coward, to change Baldur's mind! We see Baldur's life and all the heroic acts he's done. But instead of getting respect from everyone, all he earned was the wrath of Loki, the god of mischief. When Baldur is accidentally killed, his mother bargains with Death, that if all things on Earth will shed tears f...

51 pages

8 m, 7 w, 9 flexible and extras, doubling possible.

The headstrong leader of a feisty gang of child thieves has a secret: the young man everyone knows as Rosario is really a teenage girl, climbing the ranks of a clandestine criminal guild. To join the illustrious Council of Convicts, she needs all the help she can get  from her followers to steal the Madonna statue off the newest church in the city. But not everyone is thrilled about her risky plan, and Rosario suffers a double betrayal. Tackling themes of sexism, loyalty, and deceit, will her dangerous ambition tear the gang apart? Approximately 70 ...

49 pages

Flexible cast of 8-10. (5 m / 1 w + 2-4 flexible)

Arlecchino, the crafty trickster, always has his head in the clouds. He doesn’t want to do any work or take any responsibility. He would rather pretend he’s an adventurous pirate on the high seas or on a remote island looking for buried treasure. Today he is leading his commedia friends to the Kingdom of Isola del Tesoro to present their play. Unfortunately, he’s lost the map! Now they are lost and only have a few hours to get to the kingdom. While the company sets up camp for the night, Arlecchino stumbles upon a treasure map to Stromboli Island. Now Pantalo...

57 pages

4-26 m, 14-24 w, doubling is appropriate.

Ivan’s greatest ambition has always been to learn the Language of the Birds. When he shows off his pet nightingale for show and tell at school, he is teased until he runs away. Seeking shelter in the forest, Ivan protects baby birds from a storm. In gratitude, the mama bird grants Ivan’s wish and teaches him to speak Bird. When his parents Mama Lou and Papa Joe find out that Ivan not only can speak Bird, but is now speaking in a heavy Russian accent, Ivan promptly finds himself sold off as a cabin boy on a ship. A band of tough girl pirates soon takes over, a...

36 pages

Approx. 3 m, 4 w, 3 flexible

Little Red loves playing in the forest with all her animal friends and doesn’t want any responsibilities—like taking food to Grandma’s house. But a hungry wolf changes that! Posing as an injured sheepdog, he’s able to trap her forest friends into a cave and con Red in to telling him where Grandmother lives. Once there he eats Grandma and Red! Luckily, the ever-cautious Sammy the Skunk saves the day with his brains and his “perfume.” Grandma and Red are rescued from the Wolf’s tummy for a happy ending, including a more responsible Red! A "country and western" ...

48 pages

18-19 roles (2 m, 1 w, 15-16 flexible)

When a pirate ship inadvertently sails over the lost city of Atlantis, an adventure-seeking girl – who happens to be the granddaughter of Poseidon himself – makes friends with a charmingly naïve sailor, causing their two worlds to collide. As the pirates continue to arrr-gue and the Atlanteans ask an endless series of questions with no answers, new friends Duffle and Pana explore strange new worlds they have never seen before. With the help of a Narrator giving advice and a friendly dog who just wants to play, and with Poseidon’s undersea magic adding to the ...

61 pages

Resource Book

Enjoy these three short plays in your middle school or junior high classroom. All three plays have roles which are mostly flexible in gender to include as many students as possible. The plays have interesting plots, easy settings, and short, easy-to-learn lines. Your student actors will have fun developing and portraying the varied characters. Young actors will enjoy performing them for their classmates and parents, too!

“Murder in the Cloister” - 9 characters+ extras. Who would murde...

60 pages

3 m, 3 w, 3 flexible, and chorus

"Rumpelstiltskin, A Medieval Musical Fairy Tale" takes place during a May Festival, somewhere centuries ago. two traveling minstrels visit a small community where, with the help of the townspeople, they stage a production of the strange tale of a small man who steals children and sells them -- Rumpelstiltskin. It just so happens that they cast a real evil magician in the title role. Music, romance and magic weave together as the townspeople unite to outwit the man who sells children, both in the imaginary tale and in real life. We invite you to join with us a...