Classics

52 pages

Flexible cast, approx. 11 m, 14 w, extras, doubling possible

This play forces us to examine the points in our lives when we make decisions - right or wrong, good or bad - that will define our own future as well as the lives of others. Built upon a series of monologues and scenes, the play depicts young adults dealing with the reality of HIV and AIDS. For some it's simply a threat -something not to be let out of its cave. For others, the monster has become an unwanted part of their daily existence. This uncompromising drama uses vivid and timely dialogue. A perfect competition piece, it features minimal staging, a choru...

55 pages

6 m, 6 w

A mysterious stranger, swathed from head to toe in clothes and dark glasses, seeks a room at a peaceful English inn. He claims to be a scientist. When the curious innkeeper's wife spies upon him, she is terrified to find he has no face. The stranger then reveals he is indeed invisible and proceeds to menace the countryside. A young, handsome doctor must finally stop him. Special effects are no problem. When the Invisible Man speaks but is not seen, he is behind a screen. The fight scenes "between" the Invisible Man and the other lodgers is action your actors ...

66 pages

5 m, 5 w, 1 girl, extras

He's back! And this time he's online! Scrooge is on the net. Set amid modern technology, this new adaptation of Dickens' classic tale introduces us to Monica Banks, ever so "affectionately" called Money Banks by her overworked staff. She has no time for holidays. Scrooge first appears on the screen of Monica's computer for the start of her virtual adventure across the World Wide Web to find the true meaning of Christmas. In a blithe trip with the outrageously costumed Scrooge, Monica reviews her whole life, from a lonely childhood, to her current overworked c...

64 pages

10 m, 3 w, 11 flexible, extras

This adaptation of William Shakespeare's zesty classic comedy remains true to the original, but with its tighter construction is more easily accessible to junior and senior high school actors. Set in Padua, Italy, in the late 1500s, the story concerns the shy Bianca and the mean-spirited Katharina, the two daughters of a rich merchant named Baptista. Though Bianca is being courted by a number of young men, Baptista announces that she may not marry until Katharina is wed. None of the men in town are willing to marry Katharina, so Bianca remains unwed, even as ...

62 pages

Flexible cast minimum 4 (3 m, 1 w) maximum 37 (28 m, 9 w)

Here are ten short views of turn-of-the-century New York through the eyes of O. Henry, the master of the twist ending and chronicler of everyday people from young shop girls with enormous dreams to the ne'er-do-wells with plans for the easy life. Among the people you'll come to know and almost love are: three of the dingiest and laziest musketeers you've ever seen, plotting to relieve a hard-working wife of a whole dollar she earned scrubbing clothes; a young gentleman with a sudden insurmountable problem in giving away a "mere one-thousand-dollar" inheritanc...

41 pages

3 m, 3 w, 1 g, 2 b, 13 flex, extras

After losing her parents to a cholera epidemic in India, young Mary Lennox is sent to the English Misselthwaite Manor to stay with her uncle, Archibald Craven. Archibald, who has never recovered from the death of his wife, has had most of the mansion locked up, including his wife's beloved garden, and even his son, Colin, a sickly boy, to obliterate her memory. Mary, an unhappy girl herself, finds Colin, unlocks the secret garden and brings it to life. In her process of healing and self-discovery, she brings life back to Colin and Archibald Craven. This encha...

63 pages

14 m, 4 w, extras

Mistress Page and Mistress Ford are up to paying back the mischievous Falstaff for his duplicity. The Merry Wives of Windsor, one of Shakespeare's most popular plays, features the huge and conceited Sir John Falstaff at his funniest. Because the play is filled with a large variety of character types including two with outrageous accents, students will find this condensed version (which uses the Bard's own words), manageable, enjoyable and rewarding. About 90 minutes.

58 pages

9 m, 8 w, 5 flexible, extras

Adapted from the play by William Shakespeare. A ship at sea is suddenly swept up in a fierce tempest. The King of Naples, the Duke of Milan, and others become shipwrecked upon a mysterious island. Unbeknownst to them, the island is ruled by Prospero and Prospera, the rightful Duke and Duchess of Milan. With their magical powers they have cast the royals upon the island with an ultimate plan. But will Prospero and Prospera's scheme be cut short by their own prisoner/slave, Caliban, who along with the drunken butler, Stephano, have hatched a scheme of their own...

62 pages

5 m, 9 w, 1 flexible.

The story is really a question of belief. Does one believe in the tale of a galloping Hessian who rides through the woods ever searching for his lost head? Will the world end when a comet streaks the sky or a meteor falls to Earth? And what is it about the town of Sleepy Hollow that its residents are "given to all sorts of marvelous beliefs, the people are subject to trances and frequently see strange sights and hear music ... voices in the air." Come visit this enchanted region of the Hudson River Valley and decide for yourself if this is a place of dreamers...