Community Theatre Full Length

80 pages

11 m (one non-speaking), 9 w

A terrible storm is raging, forcing an odd assortment of characters to seek shelter at Moss Manor, a broken-down old inn run by Mother Moss. As fate would have it, this is the night Mrs. Moss' son, Pete, returns from the service to marry his sweetheart, Terri Cloth. Terri's uncle is violently opposed and comes to the inn to demand the marriage not take place. At the height of the storm, the lights go out and someone is murdered! Who is the victim? And if the victim is supposed to be dead, how come the guests keep finding the body in different places? Who is t...

76 pages

5 m, 6 w

In this serious drama, the fairy-tale world is under a curse: Sleeping Beauty has insomnia, Snow White is on the verge of insanity, and Cinderella has lost her faith in magic. These and other fairy-tale characters have gathered in a castle for protection from a dragon which threatens to bring their "ever after" to an unhappy end. Into the midst of their despair steps a mysterious knight. The castle is divided: some think the knight will slay the dragon others doubt salvation is possible. The action builds to a final, climactic battle between the forces of goo...

71 pages

10-15 m, 10-18 w, doubling possible

It's the 1950s and you're all set for a big night at the drive-in movie! Roll down your car window, hook up the speaker, and hear the movie manager, Mr. Gleason, announce the rules to enjoy yourself, "in the comfort of your own car!" Upcoming attractions are acted out onstage, including "Time Travelers in Space Suits," as is the latest installment of a Western serial "The Adventures of Rocky Rhode." But not all the drama is coming from the big screen. Young lovers Tony and Gloria are arguing about the main feature, the scary "The Vampire's Hickey," and countr...

72 pages

5 men, 5-6 women, 2 boys, 1 girl, 2 extras

Eddy is a struggling playwright and also a dad in charge of taking care of the house, the kids, and the mother-in-law while his wife works the daytime shift at a fast-food restaurant. And boy, does he have his hands full! The house is a disaster, and as far as taking care of the children, what can he really do? Rambunctious triplets and an adventurous teenage daughter are not meant for the inexperienced! Then there is his mother-in-law whose age seems to be affecting her mind, and a neighbor lady with opinions, but without manners. Toss in a couple of FBI age...

84 pages

13 m, 21 w. (With doubling 5 m, 8 w. )

TELL-TALE is loosely based on the life and death of Edgar Allan Poe. It is, in essence, Poe’s last confession. It takes place in the Baltimore hospital where he lies in a delirium before his death. Poe is forced to look at his life, his mistakes, his outrageous behaviors, and, in the end, he must try to find peace. This peace in death comes by way of the only peace he had in life -- telling a story. Poe starts his story by casting himself as the dashing, tragic hero, but as the play progresses, his own memories slip from his control, turning on him and forcin...

65 pages

Large, flexible cast

In Act One, "Voices From the Titanic," the stage comes alive with the passengers and crew who address the audience directly. We see the magnificent, "almost unsinkable" ship through the eyes of both the first-class and third-class passengers. When the ship's lookout, Frederick Fleet, spots the iceberg, all the officers are called upon to carry out the most dreaded command Capt. Smith ever had to issue: "Get the lifeboats ready!" The ending is an emotional powerhouse as the cast recites name after name of those who survived ... and those who did not. In Act Tw...

72 pages

Cast: 6 m, 6 w

This funny, fast-paced farce begins in 1933, at the end of Prohibition. Benito “Benny” Bellarosa, a New York gangster, is attempting to make good on his promise to become a respectable businessman and join the board of the New York Bank and Trust. Meanwhile, his rebellious daughter Rosalie concocts a plan to free herself from the confines of her room. She leads Benny to believe that she is “in the family way,” hoping he will allow her to leave the house and marry her boyfriend. Unfortunately, Rosalie’s lover disappears and Benny is left with more suitors (and...

59 pages

3 m, 5 w

Lord and Lady Lexington have picked a rather beastly night to throw a haunted house party in their newly acquired home, Foxworth Manor. Oddly, the guest list appears to be made up of disparate and desperate strangers. There's the pretty secretary, the acerbic gossip columnist, the local physician, the flighty real-estate agent and a handsome, but somewhat surly young man. Foxworth Manor has a tragic history, and this evening will prove to be no exception. As the storm rages on outside, the guests suddenly discover that not everyone is quite the stranger they ...

58 pages

3 m, 3 w

It's a few minutes to eight, New Year's Eve, 1940, at a radio studio and a group of beleaguered employees are desperately trying to put on a live show. It's the most important episode ever of "Invitation to Danger," but everything is going wrong -- the organist and the sound effects man have eloped, the director is missing, one of the cast has passed out on the sofa and the script has arrived at literally the last moment! Will our heroes Steve, Blackie and Pete finally uncover the true identity of the Hooded Terror or will he escape them again? Will our pluck...

63 pages

5 m, 4 w, extras

A Commedia dell'Arte troupe invades a town square on market day and performs a hilarious play. In it, two young men and their servant have come to the town to find love. And they do with two young ladies. But their father, an impoverished man, has plans to marry one to his rich, fat friend, who happens to be the father of one of the young men. The daughter would rather marry the other young man, of course. Meanwhile, a rich, widowed contessa begins to pursue the girls' father. It falls to the faithful servant to arrange all the romances, forcing him to preten...

76 pages

21 characters. 6 to 8 men, 8 to 10 women,

No modern-day monster can equal the chill factor than that of Dracula and his nosferatu, the undead who must feed on the blood of the living to exist. Their lust, shown only in the darkest hours, haunts even the bravest of us mortal souls. This adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel is done with a sure and steady hand by frightmesiter L. Don Swartz. We encounter Dracula's horror from his centuries-old castle in Europe, to the ship he travels on, and finally to his new feeding grounds near an English asylum. When Dracula causes the death of a young woman named...

64 pages

5 m, 5 w

Gerald and Cristine Dandridge always give a Halloween party for their friends. This year, however, they're having the party at their country house. It's a nice little fixer-upper with all the conveniences and one haunted scarecrow. At least, that's the story that came with the house. The night of the party things barely get under way when someone notices the scarecrow has vanished. And when it finally DOES turn up, it's carrying an axe. Yes, sir, this time it's personal! Int. set.

63 pages

7 m, 3 w

Molière’s comic masterpiece centers on the character of the French courtier Alceste and the beautiful young widow Célimène he hopes to marry. But the two have radically different personalities: Alceste is a snob who insists on telling everyone the truth as he sees it, and Célimène’s instinct is to tell people - and particularly attractive men - only what they are dying to hear. So Célimène flirts and gossips with the courtiers who come to her house while Alceste fumes in jealousy. A virtual menagerie of other characters seek to intervene, either to bring the ...

71 pages

3 m, 4 w

Carl, Lloyd and Parker, three older gentlemen who share a large home, need to rent out their fourth bedroom to help with the rent. Their problem seems answered when Will shows up...except Will turns out to be a lady. While Lloyd and Parker like her and want to vote her in, Carl barks back, "We're not voting on prom queen!" Carl's reaction is all part of a plan with Will, his sister, to let her live with them for a while. Before the brother and sister can reveal their plotting, however, the "fun" begins. It's all over the area that Carl and Will are sweetheart...

65 pages

5 m, 9 w

Here is an outrageous comedy for community theatres that puts the audience on the hot seat! A series of sixteen, quick-paced scenes illuminate the joys and tribulations of the modern theatre-going experience. In "An Audience of One," a single theatre patron delivers an impassioned monologue to convince the actors to perform the show just for her. The scene, "What the Crowd Is Thinking," allows us to hear the real thoughts of an audience sitting through an uninspired performance. In "Uber Ushers," a band of ushers, driven to the brink of madness by the boorish...