Community

31 pages

2 m, 6 w

On a sunny summer afternoon on the lawn of a country estate, Desiree and her guests gather for tea. Though the conversation is witty and sophisticated, one senses that underneath all the frivolity, something is wrong -- but what? What subjects has the new maid been instructed to avoid? What is implied in the guests' covert glances to one another? Why does Desiree's daughter, who is away at boarding school, write for permission to visit a friend over the holidays rather than come home? It's not until the last few minutes of the play that the audience learns th...

51 pages

3 m, 3 w, 1 flexible

The biographer of the story of Berendina (Diet) Eman is interrupted by Diet herself as he begins a lecture about the Second World War and Nazi resistance in occupied Europe. Diet explains that her efforts to hide Jewish people were not unique, but were undertaken by many ordinary people. To explain, she begins to tell the exciting stories of her Resistance work. As she does, her younger self appears and narrates stories in ways which occasionally vary from the descriptions offered by her older self. In addition, her fiancé, Hein Sietsma, appears, and all thre...

17 pages

1m, 1w

One male actor and one female actor each play two parts that's the challenge and fun of this one-act play. All the action takes place in front of a simple park setting. First a teenage boy and girl discuss their young love, he the romantic, she the practical one. She leaves (late for work) and the actress returns as a middle-aged woman, who gives the young romantic some sage advice on love from her lifetime experience. The boy rushes off to save his girlfriend's job and the actor returns as a middle-aged British man who is wooing the older woman. Their scene ...

70 pages

5 m, 5 w

"Doing a kiddie TV show is like playing the bagpipes," Uncle Neddy says. "Who knows when you make a mistake?" And whether it is hunting down an escaped snake or sawing a lady in half, he and his sidekick, Skeezix the Clown, have been at it for decades. However, when the new station manager plans to get rid of his show, it is time for action! Filled with oddball characters, from a neurotic moose-toting puppeteer to a muscle-bound yes-man, this frantic slapstick comedy races along with action on both ends of the stage. Everyone is tuning in to the final show to...

29 pages

3 m, 4 w.

Janie wants a real old-fashioned Christmas, one that brings back the spirit of the old days, but her boyfriend is too busy working at the mission to help her. As hard as she tries, everything goes wrong - the popcorn balls are too sticky, the homemade candles collapse, and the live Christmas tree falls over. Janie thinks Christmas is ruined, but it's only the display that's failed. With the help of her family and boyfriend, Janie rediscovers that the Christmas spirit is in each of us, giving and sharing all year long.

35 pages

2 m, 2 w

This show is a lively compilation of the many face of love, taken from the works of William Shakespeare. Selections range from the ridiculous to the sublime: excerpts from A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM, ROMEO AND JULIET, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, and LOVE'S LABOR'S LOST alternate with some of the Bard's most beautiful sonnets in this very funny and moving show. This is an entertaining and accessible tribute to Shakespeare and his most irritating muse, Cupid. 30 - 40 minutes.

57 pages

2 m, 3 w

Martie's idyllic memories of a poet from her college years rise again when he reappears, willing and able to continue the romance. Her regular-guy husband, who'd rather bowl than read poetry, seems a poor match against the dashing, artistic Brook Oliphant. Martie's best friend Janice, who also knew the suave poet when he was a teaching assistant, is drawn to Brook again as well, especially now that she is recently divorced. Suddenly, their nostalgic used-to-be's contend with the ordinary here-and-now -- until the women meet one of the professor's current stud...

44 pages

6 m, 2 w

Sweet and spunky Betsy Green takes care of her sister Gertrude as they eke out a living hunting mushrooms in the forests of the Northwest. It isn’t easy, especially since Gertrude lost her vision in the terrible fireworks explosion which killed their parents in Hong Kong years earlier. Since that time, a mad scientist, apparently under the spell of a mysterious Oriental cult, has been trying to kidnap Gertrude. When Betsy is momentarily distracted talking with Maurice, a handsome fruit vendor, Gertrude disappears! The lost Gertrude rings a bell to indicate he...

34 pages

6 m, 5 w, 1 flexible, doubling possible

Based on the story by H.H. Munro (Saki). Wealthy Uncle Lulworth eagerly awaits the next meal from his uncommonly skilled, but foul-tempered cook, Mrs. Sebastian. His niece, Ellen, visits him shortly before dinner after their aunt's funeral. As executor of the estate, Ellen has run across a series of letters to the aunt from another relative, Uncle Peter, who died years earlier under mysterious circumstances. Through re-enactments based on the letters, we learn Uncle Peter was a despicable human being and was probably killed by a "common" criminal, perhaps som...

50 pages

4 m, 3 w

Three women with three different generations of memory are bound together by the specter of the Holocaust. Set in the reality of Manhattan, Shaina, a young medical student and member of the “third generation,” serves as the center of conflict with her mother Renee, a physician, and her grandmother Rosa, a survivor of Auschwitz and the Lodz ghetto. Rosa’s wartime experiences and the secrets she still keeps fascinate Shaina, who deserts her boyfriend and education to travel to Poland and explore her family’s history. Upon her return, the relationships among all...

75 pages

4 m, 4 w

The tranquil charm of a quaint lodge is threatened when a mysterious spacecraft lands nearby. Evil Queen Uforia has come to Earth to capture every able-bodied man and return with them to the waiting Uforian females. Her powerful ray gun is capable of “zombifying” anyone who stands in her path. What can the humans do? Lodge owner Lottie Putnam only feels courageous in the kitchen, while her teenaged niece Bianca wants to run away with the handsome Peyton Mayhew, an escaped convict. Handyman Caleb is helpless and hopeless, especially around one of the guests, t...

24 pages

2 m, 1 w, 5 or more extras as non-speaking soldiers

Following the end of the Civil War, Jed and Ben have arrived outside their home in northern Pennsylvania after having traveled on foot for nearly a thousand miles. The younger brother, Ben, espoused to the beautiful Mary Shae, refuses to go into town for fear that in his crippled state he will not make a suitable mate for the love of his life. In the end, Mary Shea and Jed succeed in persuading Ben to return home and marry her.

71 pages

5 m, 4 w

Corryann Driggers, "sixteen and never been kissed," feels trapped living in the poverty of the Camelot Court trailer park in rural south Florida. When Russian missiles are discovered in Cuba, just 90 miles away, everyone in Corryann's small world begins acting on their fears, missed opportunities, and failed dreams. Violence follows, and Corryann's loss of innocence mirrors that loss for an entire nation. (Produced by the Group Repertory Theatre; Los Angeles.)

69 pages

21 m, 2 w, 1 g, 1 b, extras

African slaves being transported by the Cuban schooner Amistad were inspired by their leader, Cinque, to rise up and seize the ship. Instead of gaining freedom, however, the slaves are imprisoned on land where their lives are in balance during the following trials. A tour-de-force in character study focusing on Cinque, the enigmatic leader of the slaves; Lewis Tappan, the world-renowned abolitionist; ex-president, John Quincy Adams, who eloquently defends the slaves in the landmark Supreme Court case; and Margru, who turns from an innocent slave child into a ...

36 pages

4 m, 6 w

Melodrama meets the high seas when J. P. Morganfeller, mysterious millionaire, carries his priceless painting, the "Mona Lisa Unbuttoned," aboard ship. A villainous art thief and three lady cat burglars (thinly disguised as high society types) steal it and throw all the blame on officer Vance Trueblue, who must solve the case to keep his sterling reputation and his true love, Dimity Darling. About 40 minutes.