Full Length (11-20 Actors)
Mobile Home, Sweet Home
Comedy by Pat Cook
62 pages
4 m, 6 w, 4 flex
“How’d you like to be on television?” This question, posed by future daughter-in-law Anne, takes Loff DuVall by surprise. After all, he and May June had been running the Hampton Court trailer park for more years than either would care to admit. The last thing he’d want now is to be in some reality TV show. In fact, he was hoping he and May June could get away for a while, take a long vacation from the place. He wouldn’t have to listen to Goose Halford’s long stories, such as how his grandpa has a metal plate in his head. “The kids used to catch him asleep and...
Taming Romeo
Comedy by Tracey Evans
74 pages
8 m, 7 w, 1 flexible, plus 3 optional roles
When resident stage manager Kate Ellinger discovers that one-time soap actor Brayden Cole has agreed to play the lead in their production of “Romeo and Juliet,” she finds she has her hands full, not only dealing with a TV star’s ego, but also with the easy-to-panic director and zany locals who make up the rest of the cast. Brayden misses the first rehearsal, and later admits he’s in way over his head. He went from waiting tables to soap opera uber-star with no formal stage training. But the other actors are more than willing to help him. Duncan, an older man ...
Break a Leg
Comedy by Eddie McPherson
76 pages
6 m, 8 w, 1 flexible
Trudy, new to the theatre scene, has just been hired as stage manager for an upcoming play at a small community theatre. The problem is Trudy is inept, clumsy, and more than that, she's a jinx. The cast agrees that Trudy is a modern-day gremlin who is cursing the show and that she must go once and for all. So, why doesn't the director fire her? Because Trudy is the theatre owner's only niece. Realizing that throwing her out isn't an option, they resolve to de-hex her instead in order to make the theatre a safe haven once again. An old book of theatre supersti...
Wannabes!
Comedy Mystery by Dan Neidermyer
60 pages
2 m, 14 w
Camp Theatrix is an all-girls drama camp, providing those "wannabe" actresses, who spend most of their time waiting in the wings, real stage time and real roles. This summer's going fine until the world's leading action movie producer, Soren Antonsson, unexpectedly shows up wanting to make a big action movie at the camp. And he's gonna cast all of Camp Theatrix's students in the movie! Suddenly the "wannabes" are turning into "gonnabes" - until the girls start uncovering the real reason he's arrived. (Camp Theatrix T-shirts available for simple costuming on s...
Opening Night
Farce by Delanie Kay Tucker
76 pages
5 m, 4 w, 5 flexible
Kathy, the stage manager, has the play’s first line: “I hate opening nights!” From that point on we see everything that could go wrong in the course of a performance happen to a group of dedicated high school actors and techies. Mistakes, miscues, dropped lines, forgotten entrances, missing props, and a tricky light board you name it, it happens in this frenetic play. As we watch chaos reign in the tech booth and with the actors backstage, we also see what calamities occur onstage in the “play within the play.” It all makes for non-stop hilarity as the proces...
Princess and the Pea
Classic by Vern Adix
51 pages
6 m, 6 w, 1 flexible
This beloved tale from Hans Christian Andersen gets an original spin when set in the kingdom of Pilsenferfer! The King and Queen think it’s high time their son Prince Albert found a bride and settled down. But shy Albert can’t stop collecting butterflies for his conservatory long enough to find and woo a royal maiden. And really, who needs to go to all that trouble when the lovely Anne, one of the Queen’s maids, shares his passion for butterflies AND sews the buttons on his coat. If only she were from royal linage like the other candidates, including the food...
Silver Lady
Mystery Thriller by L. Don Swartz
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...
Star Witness
Drama by Billy St. John
74 pages
3 m, 7 w, 3 flexible parts
Did Julie Marshall beat her fianceé to death with a fireplace poker? Her attorney, Sam Zangrillis, thinks he can prove her innocent, but District Attorney Adrienne Bancroft, a former friend and colleague of the deceased, is out for revenge. Here's a slick and suspenseful courtroom drama that will keep everyone in the audience guessing because the witnesses seem to cloud the case rather than illuminate it. Julie's main alibi, her roommate, is a single, lonely woman, possibly envious of Julie having a serious relationship. The dead man's sister, who discovered ...
Stepford Students
Comedy by Robert Frankel
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...
Stinkyman
Farce by David Meyer
50 pages
4 m, 6 w, 8 flexible parts
It's a dark day in the city. Big Al Gaydor and his gang are running wild! The police have their hands full trying to deal with the latest crime spree while the public is outraged and demanding quick action. In fact, the overworked police chief, Otis L. Vader, may even lose his job if the thugs are not put behind bars. All looks bleak until a young mystery man in black, with a curious white stripe, comes on the scene. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it is STINKYMAN! Unknown to the rest of the city or even his parents, Stinkyman is none other than the chief's ...
Time to Heal
Drama by Burton Bumgarner
57 pages
Multi-racial cast of 7 m, 7 w, 6 flexible
Jim and Lillian Fowler are having a dinner party to welcome their daughter home from college and meet her fiance. Lillian's brother, Walt, a physician, is also there, even though he and Jim get under each other's skins, especially when Walt needles Jim about losing a recent election to become prosecutor because of his conservative racial views. When Janice and her fiance David arrive, the strain increases as the idealistic young law student from "up North" treats the Wycrofts, the family who works for the Fowlers, as equals. The Wycrofts are already uneasy, f...
Too Free For Me
Drama by R Rex Stephenson
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...
Ivan and the Birds
Comedy by Alaska Reece Vance
57 pages
4-26 m, 14-24 w, doubling is appropriate.
Ivan’s greatest ambition has always been to learn the Language of the Birds. When he shows off his pet nightingale for show and tell at school, he is teased until he runs away. Seeking shelter in the forest, Ivan protects baby birds from a storm. In gratitude, the mama bird grants Ivan’s wish and teaches him to speak Bird. When his parents Mama Lou and Papa Joe find out that Ivan not only can speak Bird, but is now speaking in a heavy Russian accent, Ivan promptly finds himself sold off as a cabin boy on a ship. A band of tough girl pirates soon takes over, a...
Khrushchev and Me
Comedy by Burton Bumgarner
51 pages
8 m, 6 w, 2 flexible, extras
The year is 1960 and the fear of nuclear war is foremost in the minds of Americans. This is the year that the O'Brien family leaves New York City for a better life in the suburbs. Children Angie and Ted are worried about fitting in at their new school. Amy, the youngest child, worries about the world situation. Unfortunately, the O'Briens move across the street from the Meyersons, who prove to be the worst neighbors in the world. Amy imagines that Khrushchev, who seems to be the cause of so much tension and fear, would probably be a nicer person if she could ...
Life on the Mississippi
Classic by R Rex Stephenson
64 pages
Company of between 18 - 35 actors
Here is a combination of three of Mark Twain's books blended into one story that continues Huck and Tom's great adventures. Huck and Tom are called to Arkansas because something mysterious is happening to Uncle Silas. As only Huck and Tom can, they set about solving the mystery that involves twin brothers, the maniacal Widow Dunlap and her nere-do-well son. This story is as poignant and humorous as Huck Finn, but without any of the racial overtones that in some areas has made Twain a controversial author. About 90 minutes.
Master Skylark of Stratford
Classic by Sylvia Ashby
60 pages
From a large cast of 24 or more to an ensemble cast of 5-6 m, 5-6 w.
Adapted from a novel by John Bennett. Here is an excellent picture of the Shakespearean era from a young person’s point of view without being about the Bard himself. Young Nick is so enamored of the theatre that when his strict father forbids him from attending, Nick runs away from his home in Stratford-upon-Avon. When a disreputable actor, just released from jail, discovers Nick’s beautiful voice, he calls him Master Skylark and forces him to perform with his troupe. Nick's captors treat him well, but he longs for freedom and his home. His voice eventually b...
No Purpose Room
Comedy by Guy Guyon
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...
Nuptialknots.com
Comedy by Craig Sodaro
64 pages
7 m, 10 w
Rhoda Raines desperately needs money to pay the rent on her beauty parlor, so she decides to check out a computer dating service in hopes of finding a rich man to marry her spoiled daughter Olive. She logs on to www.nuptialknots.com., and no sooner than Rhoda can say, "Wash, rinse, and set," prospective grooms are dropping in all over the place. There's a "British aristocrat"; a Hollywood producer; a guy who thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt; an old codger; and even an undercover cop. Mix in Ronnie Harper, the owner of the local Kwiki Mart (who really loves Olive),...
Beowulf
Classic by Gayanne Ramsden
60 pages
Flexible cast of 10 or more
This adaptation has kept alive the monsters and dragons that inhabited the original poem. However, it is told from the point of view of a Scop (Shope), a teller of tales, who had traveled and fought with Beowulf. The Scop is now a prisoner of the Saxons and while a prisoner tells this tale of courage to a priest who eventually agrees to preserve it by writing it down. The tale the Scop tells is substantially the same as the poem we know, however, the Christian ethic is removed and the tale is presented, as the playwright believes it originally was, with the g...
Box Office Poison
Mystery by Craig Sodaro
71 pages
6 m, 10 w
When April McKay inherits the Smuggler's Little Theatre, her dream of launching a career on stage comes true. But no sooner does April arrive at the small tourist town to open her box office, when the dream turns into a nightmare. Her boyfriend, Grant, wants her to return to New York, where he works on Wall Street. The owner of an auto repair shop wants the Little Theatre demolished so he can expand. A mysterious teenager appears and disappears at the back of the house. During the first night of try-outs for the season opener, one of the actors drops dead. Fo...
Catering to Murder
Mystery by Craig Sodaro
65 pages
5 m, 9 w
Joanna Garner, a caterer, has good reason for being over-protective of her 16-year-old daughter Holly - reasons she has told no one. As guests begin to arrive at an exclusive party which Joanna is catering with Holly's help, there's a phone call. A hideous, disguised voice tells Joanna she must do exactly as she's told or Holly will die. Joanna desperately tries to get Holly out of the mansion, but another call from the voice reveals her every move and gives her further instructions about adding cyanide into the food she is preparing. Which one of the wealthy...
Sunrise Boulevard
Drama by Craig Sodaro
64 pages
6 m, 14 w
"Leave It to Daddy" is the most popular family sit-com of the '70s. So it's a national tragedy when the actor playing the father is murdered by none other than his TV wife, Norma Dreadful. Even though the law cannot find enough evidence to convict her, the public does, and Norma goes into seclusion in the very house where the show was filmed and the murder took place. Twenty years later, two young journalists finagle their way into the house and get Norma to tell her side of the story. The country has forgotten and forgiven, and Norma is even offered a role i...
Tell-Tale
Drama by Rebecca Gorman O'neill
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...
Theatre of Fable
Fairy Tale by Jules Tasca
62 pages
Flexible casting
Here are two richly imaginative one-act plays which need the barest minimum of rehearsals. All the action is mimed by actors wearing masks as readers speak the dialogue. In "The Vinegar Man" (4 m, 5 w, extras), a successful wine merchant is devastated when his young wife dies. Ignoring his infant son and the loyal nanny, he turns sour, like the wine he allows to turn into vinegar. But like Scrooge, the Vinegar Man is saved from his own bitterness. In "Finding Happiness" (12 characters, extras), simple Fantodd is sent into the forest by his unhappy father to f...
What Part Will I Play?
Drama by Mary Hall Surface
43 pages
13 females (also two offstage voices, 1 m, 1 f)
This play gives a voice to young women's hopes and dreams, fears and failures, fantasies and hard-knocks. The girls arrive at a theatre to audition for a promising new play. Each girl has come with her own ambitions, even secrets. But upon arrival, the girls learn that the director will be late. The stage manager takes them through a series of improvisations. But the girls, confused and anxious, are soon left to "wait." Each one must decide how she will respond to the situation and to each another. As the play progresses barriers are broken down, friendships ...
23 Flights Home
Drama by Joey A. Chavez
47 pages
10 m, 15 w, or with doubling 6 m, 6 w
This is Ruben Delgado’s final day in New York City. He left home eight months earlier to seek his fame and fortune, convinced he could sell his 896-page novel, but all he found was rejection. As he retrieves his single box of possessions and his original manuscript, he sees his car being towed. In an attempt to stop from losing his means of escape from the city, he tosses his unbound manuscript out of his 23rd floor apartment window. As sheets of paper rain down on the city, we are transported into the novel one page at a time. There are now three interwoven ...
Half Frozen
Comedy by Craig Sodaro
48 pages
3 m, 7 w, 2 flex
Poor King Augustus and Queen Regina! Their kingdom is half frozen because of a curse placed on their daughter, Princess Mirabelle, and nobody seems to know how to break the spell. When the Princess’s latest suitor, Prince Tomaso from a neighboring kingdom, is frozen by her touch, matters are no long inconvenient—they’re downright dangerous. Tomaso’s father threatens war if his son is not returned safely. As a last resort, the Queen texts a writer who gives advice in her “Leave It to Lilith” daily column. Lilith says the easiest way to break the curse is to go...
Almost Wanted: Dead or Alive
Comedy by Craig Sodaro
61 pages
6 m, 12 w
When a bunch of temperamental artists seeking quiet at Rancho Artisto encounter the fun-loving college workers, watch out! After an episode of the popular TV show, "Most Wanted: Dead or Alive," the kids suspect one of the guests, a little old lady who specializes in American primitive, is really Granny Ghoul. And it's just too coincidental that the nervous host of the show is found knocked out cold and stuffed in the lobby closet! Add an overbearing mother, an insistent art critic, and art thieves for an aerobically-paced comedy.
Empathize It!
Drama Humor With Humor by Michelle S Uyemura
52 pages
Flexible casting: 2 - 6 m, 8 - 17 w
Alden and Sidney find themselves developing an unlikely friendship having been marked as outcasts by the “in crowd” at school. We see through their eyes what it is like to be ridiculed and picked on, what it feels like to have your “friends” turn on you because of one simple misstep. But just when life seems most bleak, enter a hero: a quirky, awkward, fun-loving, larger-than-life, sure-to-make-you-laugh superhero for the new millennium: Empathy Girl! Though unable to fly, lacking superstrength or speed, and a little hypoglycemic, Empathy Girl isn’t without a...
The Forest of the Dead
Horror by L. Don Swartz
75 pages
6 m, 8 w
A cold-blooded killer stalks the dark woods surrounding Chestnut Hollow. As the body count rises, three families drawn into the Sheriff's investigation refuse to accept the possibility that the murderer is one of their own. A group of young friends, abandoned by the rational-thinking adults, are left alone to confront Chestnut Hollow's most sinister secret. "The Forest of the Dead" tells its suspenseful tale with Hitchcockian touches and a dash of dark humor. Unit set.