61 pages
4 m, 10 w
When movie mogul Mandrake Masterfiend, producer of the schlockiest horror movies in history, invites some of Hollywood's craziest characters to his birthday party, the evening's a killer--literally. That's because he also invites Rona LaMona, the most vicious gossip columnist in the business who writes weekly under the title "The Poisoned Pen," to stir up the pot a bit. Though the actors, designers, and directors of some of Masterfiend's greatest successes enthusiastically reenact some great scenes from his movies, they suddenly find themselves playing suspec...
69 pages
with doubling, 7 m, 7 w
Leo Mintz, a one-time big shot Broadway agent, now represents bird acts, roller-skating kids who recite poetry and flea circuses. However, Leo's problems are just starting when a known gangster Louie DeMarco "persuades" Leo to represent his protege with no discernible talent, the lovely Christine. As if this weren't bad enough, Leo promptly falls in love with her. "They should just type up a label which reads 'East River' and slap it on our foreheads!" scowls Liz, the secretary and bouncer for Leo's agency. Then, to throw everyone off the track, Leo stages a ...
64 pages
Widely flexible cast (16-40 actors)
Here is a collection of stories to make your blood turn cold. "Urban Legends" starts with a whirlwind tour that covers many of the famous and infamous urban legends we’ve grown up hearing and fearing. It then delves deeper, dramatizing full stories in chilling detail. In “The Survivor” we meet the sole survivor of a plane crash who has lost his only love, but while the other bodies have been retrieved, hers will never be found. “On Second Hand” features a young man who has a close call with death and suddenly his life is literally flashing before his eyes. “W...
47 pages
Large, flexible cast. Approx. 20 actors.
In pageant, verse and fearsome argument the gods on Olympus set the great Perseus myth in motion. When the Oracle tells the human king, Acrisius, that his grandson will kill him, the old miser locks his daughter, Danae, up in a tower guarded by fearsome dogs. Zeus comes to her and devours the dogs and soon Perseus is born. Acrisius locks mother and baby in a chest and sets it afloat on the sea. The gods see the chest safely to the isle of Seriphos where Perseus grows into a local hero. The jealous king sends him on an impossible quest: to bring in the head of...
62 pages
5 m, 5 w, 3 flexible parts, and extras
Would you like to hear the legend of Robin Hood? If your answer is "I Sherwood," then hitch up your gauntlets and get ready to laugh. You see, it's a little-known fact that the famous English bandit was a bit of a klutz. As a kid he practiced with a bow and violin instead of a bow and arrow, so naturally to fight the king's injustices he needed his famous band of women. Women? That's what you get when you send Little John to do the recruiting! But just as the ladies are persuaded that after they steal from the rich they have to give the goodies to the poor, R...
90 pages
Flexible cast of 13 to 40
When Fred is forced to go to the library to do a report, he meets the Book Master, a magical character who introduces him to some of the most popular fictional characters ever created. Before his eyes, sections from several great books are acted out. You can choose whichever 6 to 8 scenes of the 9 included to comprise a full evening's entertainment. Scenes include "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "Little Women" (Americana); "Jane Eyre" (Gothic); "Dracula" and "The Monkey's Paw" (horror); "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "A Thousand and One Arabi...
51 pages
2 m, 2 w, 10 either (expandable to 20)
Magic, mayhem, and madness unfold in this classic story of love, revenge, and forgiveness. Based on The Tempest by William Shakespeare, Bitterroot is a modern adaptation set in the American West. Prospero and his daughter Miranda have been stranded in the Montana wilderness for twelve years. When fate brings Prospero’s evil brother to Montana, Prospero must decide whether to exact his revenge or forgive his enemies. But can Prospero accept that his daughter wants to marry the son of an enemy? And can he forgive himself for th...
64 pages
8 m, 4 w, 4 flexible, doubling possible
Far from being a demure woman quietly sewing a flag, the epic life of Betsy Ross and her survival during the Revolutionary War and the British occupation of Philadelphia is brought vibrantly to life in this full-length play. It is a romantic story of heroism against the background of a great, world-shattering war for independence. The story is told through the eyes of John Claypoole, boyhood friend of Betsy's, in love with her from the start, who is also a soldier in Washington's army. Wounded at Germantown, John became a sailor and ended the war in the Briti...
54 pages
5 m, 7 w, optional extras
It is Petrea’s birthday slumber party, but she doesn’t feel like celebrating because she will soon be going away to boarding school. Her girlfriends play a hypnosis game to make her feel better, but are then shocked to find that Petrea really believes she is Peter Pan! When a group of boys arrive to crash the party, everyone becomes involved in a charade of Neverland characters, gender-bending their way through a scene with boys pretending to be mermaids and fairies and girls acting as pirates and the “lost boys.” Only a clever boy, disguised as Wendy, can sn...
67 pages
5 m, 10 w, and 5 - 10 flexible
Connor's summer is off to a rough start: the camp bus almost crashes, his cabin mates don't trust him, and the girls on the other side of the camp constantly outsmart him. But when he and his friends Tasha, Parker, and Kimberly investigate the mystery surrounding the "Ghost of Dead Billy," they begin a hilarious adventure that is worlds away from a typical campfire story. This haunted camp comedy with a sci-fi twist has it all: ghosts, aliens, robots, plant zombies and, of course, dodgeball.
67 pages
Widely flexible cast (5 -14 m, 9 - 31 w)
Horror movies can be lots of fun! Join producer C.C. Bellows as he meets five directors whose movie pitches come alive onstage. Of course, C.C. knows that audiences only really like what they’ve seen before, so each of the directors has tweaked a famous horror film. “The Calamityville Horror” tells the story of a family who move into a house that’s haunted by circus animals. In “Saturday the 14th,” a group of college kids hope to find the famous ghost, Jacob Voorbees, a hockey player who fell through thin ice. In “The Extortionist,” a young girl is possessed ...
68 pages
7 m, 5 w, and 7 flexible
Deep in the heart of West Virginia, there’s a little hillbilly town called Gizzard, and in that town you’ll find Leroy’s Clip n’ Dip… the world’s first beauty parlor/auto garage. Now, folks in Gizzard aren’t exactly beating the Clip n’ Dip’s door down, so to pass the time, Otis Hooper and his mechanic buddies Crisco, Clyde and Floyd, have started a band called Truck Stop Chili. Clementine (Otis’s sweetheart.) and her beauty parlor pals, Mazola, Darlene and Helga the masseuse, all grit their teeth, cover their ears and tolerate the racket, until the day Hollyw...
61 pages
3 m, 9 w
Tycoon Willard Witherspoon has been looking for his great-niece Earnestine since she was lost with her parents in the Amazon eighteen years earlier. Though her parents died, Willard has good reason to believe that Earnestine survived. With the help of his secretary Dudley and his housekeeper Beulah, Willard launches a search for his Earnestine so he can leave his fortune to her when he dies. After a media announcement, Earnestines appear from every corner of the country, but Willard finally settles on four to invite to his mansion for the weekend. Earnestine ...
71 pages
6 m, 13 w
When the owner of a small local television station decides to jump on the bandwagon and produce his own reality show, sparks fly about the million-dollar prize. Harold Fastbuck sees an opportunity to make millions with the TV show, which casts the haughty Tuttletons of Park Avenue, New York, with the down-home Hatter family of Hog Holler, Kentucky. The families think they only have to live together in the Hatter cabin for a month, but unbeknownst to them, they must also endure a series of challenges. Being the lying cheater that he is, Fastbuck intends to mak...
65 pages
Widely flexible cast from 12 to 50
Here's an energetic, engaging look at how theatre developed, from the first actor to speak aloud to the idea of using scenery. The play then segues into a variety of scenes from the great plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes. The easy-to-present scenes show how ancient Greek plays, both tragic and comedic, became classics because they were insightful and entertaining. Features a special music and sound effects CD (#8128T) to immerse your audience into the theatre of 2,000 years ago, available when you order your cast set. "The script is w...