Full Length (11-20 Actors)

59 pages

6 m, 7 w

The drama is based on an actual trial that occurred in Franklin County, Virginia in 1851. Indiana Choice, a black woman, claims that she and her three children are free. She sues Gresham Choice, her alleged owner, for not only her freedom but that of her three children. Gresham, a prominent citizen with political aspirations, denies Indiana is a free black. The events of the trial are recalled by Margaret Oxley who attended this trial as a child. Oxley is especially fond of Jubal Early, the lawyer for Indiana. As the trial progresses, a variety of witnesses a...

69 pages

5 to 6 m, 7 w

Wouldn't it be great fun to direct William Shakespeare's "Hamlet"? That was what Margo Daley always thought...until she is hired to do just that by the Peaceful Glen Memorial Players in their theater, a renovated funeral home. They DO have a couple of conditions, however. Margo has to make the play a melodrama, so the audience will know when to throw the popcorn. And they can't be too loud because the lady who lives under the theater bangs her cane on the stage. Oh, and Margo has to insert the sponsors' names into the play and, by the way, has to take place i...

51 pages

2 m, 6 w, 5 flexible, extras, doubling possible

Hazel is a teenage witch who’s somewhat different from every other witch in Frogshire Forest. She can brew a mean cup of coffee but can't brew a potion to save her life! And she’s an accident waiting to happen when she tries to fly on her broom.  While Hazel dreams of becoming a barista, her mother, the head witch of the forest, wants only for Hazel to focus on her witch studies and preparations for the upcoming annual festival, the most important event in the forest. She would forbid Hazel from trying to fly into a coffee shop in the city—if she knew about i...

58 pages

9 – 46 performers possible

We all know the nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle," but when you stop to think about it...how can a cow jump over the moon? If a cat could play the fiddle, wouldn't it be all over the internet? Why is a dish running away with a spoon? What’s the little dog actually laughing at? And how do they all connect with each other? This family comedy offers seven different outlandish tales speculating about what might be “The True Story of Hey Diddle Diddle.” It has a completely gender-flexible cast of 9-46 actors and runs about 55 minutes in length. Its target audience...

43 pages

9 - 22. (7 m, 9 w, 6 flexible. Minimum of 9 actors with doubling)

Welcome to present-day Sleepy Hollow. This famed little town now has traffic lights, modern plumbing, even a Dunkin’ Donuts – but traces from its past remain. A troupe of actors takes us on a tour of Sleepy Hollow, but the participants begin to suspect that there is perhaps more truth to the legend than they realized. This inventive adaptation delivers a faithful retelling of the classic short story within a contemporary framework. The past clashes with the present, as the young square off with the dead, and the Headless Horseman is thrust into a 21st century...

62 pages

5 m, 6 w

You ever wonder what goes on in a teachers' lounge? Here is your chance to snoop on a gang of educators who'll do anything to relieve the boredom. Whether it is planning ambushes for the principal or dressing up as Vikings, this particular group is beyond compare. That is, until they find out one of them has written a book and used the rest of the staff as examples! Accusations fly like spitwads. Hand-to-hand combat breaks out just when Superintendent Brooks shows up ready to fire Principal Carp and just ahead of a newspaper reporter who asks, "Don't you want...

69 pages

3 m, 7 w, 1 flexible, optional doubling

Mary Beth Langmeyer is charged with first-degree murder after she shoots her husband while he sleeps. She claims he had been physically and emotionally abusive during their marriage, and that she feared for her life if she reported it. The case becomes a battle of personalities between the district attorney and the defense attorney as they stretch the limits of civility and flirt with contempt charges. The jury of five women and one man deliberate, ultimately finding themselves deadlocked. In the end, the audience votes as to whether the lone male juror will ...

74 pages

5 m, 6 w

When Letha Gordon keeps an appointment with her ex-husband, she suddenly finds herself the prime suspect in his murder. But who would want to kill the headmaster of a prestigious New England prep school? Perhaps it's his neighbors, who have had their eyes on his property. Or maybe it's the embittered housekeeper whose son was expelled from the school, the same son who is now hiding out there because he hasn't anywhere else to go. What about the music teacher who lives in a dream world of fear and fantasy? Or could it be the victim's second wife, Letha's own s...

63 pages

5 m, 7 w

It's WWII and on the Hoosier homefront, the Rev. Peter Farenkamp and his family try to do their part, especially the oldest son, David, who volunteers as a junior air raid warden. Soon the close-knit family lets Rita and Louise Baxter live with them so the two V-Girls can work at the nearby defense plant. A call from Louise's fiance, leaving for active duty in Europe, sparks in David a defiant determination to join the Army on his upcoming eighteenth birthday. But Peter, who has seen war up close, tries to stop him. Father and son clash in a powerful scene as...

66 pages

4 m, 7 w

The Dark Harbor Lighthouse, abandoned by Sheriff Wilde after his wife's mysterious disappearance, sat empty for over ten years. Now the Hanson family has moved in, but before long, strange things begin to happen in their dream house: lit candles in the windows, eerie music from the piano room, moving furniture, and a shadowy figure who walks the lighthouse tower at midnight. As Raven, the disaffected teenage daughter, and Ethan, a next-door neighbor, try to discover what dark secrets Aunt Rosemary is keeping and the true identity of little Penny's imaginary f...

68 pages

3 m, 1 w, 5 flex; total of 9 with doubling, 42 w/o doubling

Ever forced to wait and wait…and wait? Want to scream at nonsensical bureaucracy? Then you’ll sympathize with Mr. Poosch who, after he accidentally leaves his well-made coat in the country to the North, finds tremendous hurdles when he attempts to get it back. First, he cannot obtain the right paperwork to travel, and then, when he finally arrives, it is Sunday and the country is closed on Sundays. A homeless man finds the coat and finds his luck turns around while wearing it. Meanwhile, poor Mr. Poosch finds himself broke, hungry, and laboring in the street....

47 pages

4 m, 9 w

Competition, stress, excitement and jealously are but a few of the emotions these characters share as they all undergo the pressure of "trying out." Susan is bringing home a serious boyfriend for the first time, and her teenage daughter feels like she's trying out a new dad. Megan figures the lead in the school play is hers as a senior drama student until Tasha, a hotshot sophomore, shows up for tryouts. Brandon really wants a job at the burger joint where his best friend works, but is he ready for the rigors of a job interview? His friend Erik doesn't think ...

42 pages

4 m, 5 w, 10 or more optional

Brian and Sarah are making life miserable for the other students with their constant kidding, everything from switched homework to joy buzzers. Carefree Brian and Sarah apologize with a flippant, "Just kidding," but their jokes are fast becoming not funny. Their science teacher, Mrs. Keller, arranges a little sting operation. It's a beautiful plan created by a master, but little does anyone know the final practical joke is Mrs. Keller's alone! Three self-contained sections of optional dialogue among the class president contenders (the Nerd, the Babe, and the ...

44 pages

Minimum 2 m, 7 w; maximum 3 m, 12 w, 1 flexible

Getting old feels like the end … especially for Margo. She’s worked hard to build her career and her life with husband Lars. But her 30th birthday isn’t what she planned. Already late to her own party, she and Lars quickly eat the last of the food before greeting guests. In hindsight, the crab salad may have been a little off … Apparently WAY off! Now they must start over in the after-life. But before they can rest in peace they must find a house and help the occupants. With the help of a celestial guide, they view three houses. There’s the far-out beach bung...

66 pages

6 m, 5 w, extras

The stage is the actual setting of this play which evolves around a young and attractive play director and handsome basketball coach in sometimes heated, sometimes humorous conflict over the use of stage/gym facilities. The real audience actually becomes part of the play in the 3rd act by being the assembled audience for a variety show that the school is presenting. There are opportunities for several real variety numbers to be includeded. Actors planted in the audience add humor. Production can be as simple or elaborate as desired, depending on facilities, t...

62 pages

5 m, 6 w

Five teenage girls get so upset with their boyfriends' ways that they form a support group, Good Girls with Bad Boyfriends. Tracy doesn't like the way Paul dresses, Katie wants Tony to be a steady boyfriend, Natalie is tired of Ralph's acting like a wild animal, Donna is fed up with jokes from Jerry at her expense, and Barbara wants to keep Frankie from flirting with every girl around. The girls go to some real extremes to change behaviors. But hey, these guys do not change - or embarrass - easily! A hilarious play that effectively captures the awkward pleasu...

72 pages

6 m, 5 w

Early morning July 1, 1863. Gettysburg, Pa. As thousands of troops from both North and South amass for what will become one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, five teenagers from several local farms escape to the safety of the surrounding hills. There's the level-headed Eliza and her little sister, Justine, who's strong-willed; Georgina, whose mother has sheared her hair to make her look like a boy; and Rachel and Jeremiah, a brother and sister from a wealthier family. As they witness the horrors of battle over the next three days, the teens are force...

62 pages

8 m, 4 w, extras

It's a time of big cars, guys in fedoras and dames who are as quick with a wisecrack as they are with a gun. Into this world walks Nick Addams, Private Eye. All Nick has to do is find out who's framing him for the murder of the husband of the beautiful woman who hired him to help her in the first place. (Got that?) Throw in a bunch of killers hired to rub out a gumshoe named Nick Adams (one D, no relation), a girl Friday who keeps saving Nick's neck (against her better judgment), and an underworld kingpin who might just have something to do with all this.

66 pages

Flexible cast of 6 to 34

Here's a comedy that takes the audience backstage to witness the worst high school auditions EVER where anything that can go wrong, does go wrong! An overzealous assistant director and a slacker stage manager, along with a wacky group of wannabe actors, are left to cast their senior show themselves. The student assistant director has big aspirations, so big in fact they are convinced the show’s success could be their golden ticket to college...and maybe even Broadway! What follows is a rollicking show full of accidental auditions, movie and pop culture hits r...

62 pages

4 m, 5 to 6 w, 2 extras

London. On a rainy evening in 1913, linguist Henry Higgins has a fateful encounter with an impertinent Cockney flower seller. When the girl shows up at  his laboratory the following day, the haughty and impulsive Higgins makes a bold wager with a colleague: employing his mastery of language he will transform Eliza Doolittle from a rough street urchin into an aristocratic lady in just six months’ time. And so begins Eliza's halting metamorphosis … but what will become of the poor girl once this “experiment” is over?

George Bernard Shaw's classic h...

60 pages

Minimum 4 m, 2 w, 2 flexible, 2 offscreen voices. Maximum 15 m, 13 w, 2 flexible, 3 offscreen voices.

Join this hilarious family as they struggle to endure being stuck at home – together! Why is the WiFi out, and will their old-school solutions work when all the needed cords are missing from the junk drawer? Will the family secure two-ply rolls of toilet paper in trade negotiations with Grandma? Wait… what has each of them been using? How many family game nights can teens endure? How are the pets holding up? What foods (or beverages!) are critical enough to make a special run to the grocery store? How do first dates and book clubs work while social distancing...

46 pages

5 m, 4 w, 1 flexible, extras

This tale of King Arthur's boyhood opens with a band of medieval actors arriving at a village. The role of Arthur falls to an inexperienced apprentice, unsure of his abilities. The play follows Arthur as he grows up in Sir Ector's castle with Merlin the Magician as his teacher. Morgan le Fay, with her servant Niniane, attempt to break through Merlin's protective barrier to harm Arthur before he ever becomes king. On his way to the climactic tournament where the new king will be crowned, Arthur must undertake a perilous journey through the forest where he meets a dragon, a damsel in distr...

56 pages

5 m, 7 w, extras

Teachers, listen up! Wouldn't it be great to have your students behave like model citizens? To always get your way? To get competing requests for more homework? Well, it's not a dream -- just join us at Stepford University. Like its movie namesake, "The Stepford Wives," things aren't exactly as rosy as they appear. You see, resident know-it-all Greg has created a de-agitator, a handy gizmo that zaps students into line. In exchange for cushy semesters, he's given it to Ms. Holcroft, the feisty econ teacher; Ms. Graham, as old as the dinosaurs; and Ms. Yearling...

56 pages

With doubling: 4m, 4w, plus ensemble to play various small roles

When Mandy Kate, a young slave girl, overhears a threat to sell her brother-in-law Robert, she rushes to warn her sister Sarah. The family plans to escape together, but Mandy Kate is inadvertently left behind when trying to help another slave, Old Job. Together the old man and young girl must set off on their own. They disguise themselvesOld Job as a woman (Josephine) and Mandy Kate as a boy (Abe)and are initially helped by a clever country boy and his eccentric elderly aunt. Mandy Kate and Old Job are later guided through several stops on the Underground Rai...

48 pages

5 m, 5 w, 4 flex, 2 silent and flex. (With doubling 3 m, 3 w, 1 flex, 2 silent and flex.)

These two science fiction plays are inspired by H.G. Wells' works, The Stolen Bacillus and The Flowering of the Strange Orchid, and Alexandre Dumas' novel, The Black Tulip. In BACTERIAL BROADSIDE, two students working on a science fair project get involved in a potentially deadly heist when unscrupulous villains steal an experimental sample from the famous bacteriologist, Professor Parvulus. Will the world population become infected or will certain guilty parties be easy to spot? This play proves that the little things in life, like Gulliver's Lilliputians, a...

54 pages

6 - 21 performers possible

This Hans Christian Andersen story is a challenge full of treasures for the unpacking. Kay and Gerda are the best of friends until a piece of an enchanted mirror finds its way into Kay’s eye, causing him to see the world in a cold-hearted way. Soon taken by the Snow Queen, Kay forgets his happy life. Gerda must go on her own journey to find him, and along the way she meets a lonely old woman, a helpful crow and his sweetheart, a robber girl with her reindeer, and a mysterious man who has been with her all along. Overjoyed to find Kay in the Snow Queen’s palac...

62 pages

Widely flexible cast of 32. (Minimum: 2 m, 1 w, 2 flexible.)

Ever wonder why your cat acts like he's king of the world? Or why flamingos stand on one leg? Have you ever imagined what a spider would have to say to a fly just before devouring him, or what "small talk" sounds like when a cannibalistic female praying mantis goes on a date with a naive male praying mantis? Well, Bryan Starchman has given the animals of the world a voice in this hilarious comedy. Focusing on simple costumes and sets, a large flexible cast, and ten whacky scenes, your audience will get to see and hear what animals really think about us humans...

71 pages

5 m, 6 w, 18 flexible or with doubling 3 m, 3 w

Snow day! In this collection of hilarious scenes we see how an unexpected day off from school can be an answer to a prayer…or not! Sweethearts Mark and Jessica aren’t feeling very sweet when, after a whole night of decorating the gym, the winter homecoming dance is canceled. Meanwhile, Paul is thrilled to get an invitation from Mary to go sledding, if only his overprotective mother will chill. Then there’s poor Julie – will she ever figure out how to get her tongue unstuck from the frozen flagpole? Woven throughout the many scenes, Trenton, a student, and Mr....

47 pages

Flexible cast of 9 m, 10 w, extras (or as few as 3 m, 3 w)

The early history of flight, alcoholism, the pressure of fame, dreams failed and fulfilled, and the never-ending need for courage are the themes of this play. It’s 1932 and Amelia Earhart is on her first great flight: a solo across the Atlantic. Her tiny cockpit becomes filled with specters of memory as she relives fragments of her life, fragments which challenge her right to fame and her ability as a pilot. Scenes flow seamlessly as she interacts with her family, including her alcoholic father, with other flyers, and finally with millionaire publisher George...

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...