One-Act Plays

26 pages

4 m, 5 w

Adapted by Philip Lerman From the classic by Euripides. The scene is the port city of Aulis, where the Grecian army waits to embark on the conquest of Troy. The army’s commander, Agamemnon, has been forced to offer his young daughter, Iphigenia, as a martyr to ensure victory in the coming war. Valiant efforts by her mother, Clytemnestra, and the Grecian hero, Achilles, to prevent the sacrifice have proven futile. Iphigenia is left to choose between a war she abhors and violent civil unrest in Greece if the war is aborted. Concluding that the welfare of her co...

44 pages

6 m, 2 w, 14 flexible

This play begins at the ending of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" but envisions a modern twist - it's a police drama, in which incompetence and political pressure rule the day. Balthasar and Friar Lawrence still flee the bloody scene in the Capulet family tomb and are apprehended by church security guards. But this time, security calls the police, who proceed to investigate the crime. The police release the friar because they can't imagine how he would be involved and instead try to pin the crime on Balthasar. The mayor, Escalus, is under political pressure ...

30 pages

5 m, 5 w, 9 or more flexible

From the short story "The Devil and Daniel Webster" by Stephen Vincent Benet. Poor Jake Stone is a total loser. When he finally loses the worst job he's ever had, he makes the claim that he would do anything to be a winner. Soon he meets Lucy, a seemingly attractive, professional woman who can make a special deal with him: she gives Jake wisdom, and he signs away his soul. Rather than waste his opportunity, Jake becomes a kind and intelligent person who gives much to the world. As the time to relinquish his soul draws near, he seeks out the counsel of Daniell...

39 pages

6 m, 11 w, 1 flexible

Babysitter Ariel Watson is watching the 13-year-old triplet daughters of a famous scientist and his wife. What Ariel does not know is that the triplets have a time-traveling device in their bedroom, which brings copies of themselves out of a parallel universe. Soon there are nine girls in the house and then twelve. Ariel does not believe what is happening, until the visitors begin telling her, a piece at a time, that her future self has had a terrible “thumb accident.” By the end of the story Ariel is frantic to get to the future and stop herself, much to the...

28 pages

3 m, 7 w

Summer St. Silver, an ultra-avant-garde director, is asked by Ms. Francis, the overly positive counselor of the middle school, to bring its students together by putting on a play for the state competition. Summer accepts, not knowing the trials and tribulations she will endure. It’s an ultimate clash of personalities from the hilarious auditions, the disastrous rehearsal process, to the cast’s big blowup. Each character offers his or her unabashed thoughts and ridiculously critical opinions in the form of “confessionals” to the audience. When Summer decides t...

20 pages

4 w

A teenage girl has been arrested after a car accident and charged with DUI. Four of her peers who were with her earlier that night arrive at the small-town police station. Julie, restlessly belligerent, is frustrated with Lindsay, who sits silent and brooding. Soon, Erin, who is impulsive, and Jen, a natural follower, join them. The girls wait anxiously, speculating about what the police already know...and what they will find out. A series of admissions and revelations force the girls to re-evaluate themselves and their role in the events, as an already tense...

32 pages

Widely flexible cast, minimum of 13 actors

Here are three stories to make your skin crawl and your blood turn cold. “On Second Hand” features a young man who has a close call with death and suddenly his life is literally flashing before his eyes. “Who’s Calling?” shows what can happen when a seemingly harmless practical joke is taken way too far. And in “The Con” we meet a charming couple who put their full trust in one another…for better or for worse. After leaving the show you will definitely feel the need to check the back seat of your car and look under your bed before going to sleep; but beware o...

34 pages

Widely flexible cast, minimum of 7 actors

This is a whirlwind tour of many of the famous and infamous urban legends we’ve grown up hearing and fearing. It then delves deeper, dramatizing in chilling detail, “The Survivor.” The sole survivor of a plane crash, a man has lost his only love, but while the other bodies have been retrieved, hers will never be found. After leaving the show you will definitely feel the need to check the back seat of your car and look under your bed before going to sleep; but beware of your dreams because these spooky tales will stick with you for quite some time. (This one-a...

35 pages

14 parts. (with doubling 2 m, 1 w, 3 flexible)

Yazoo! Get ready for one tall tale of adventure as Sheriff Cyclone Malone must protect his town, Yazoo Junction, from evil pirates! The pirate captain, along with two bumbling crewmen, has somehow managed to build a submarine – with torpedoes! – and is sailing on the river outside of town. Cyclone’s gonna need help to deal with this problem. The sweet schoolmarm (and Cyclone’s gal) Cozy Dumond tries to get a message to the neighboring sheriff, but she is tricked by the disreputable Violent Lavender, captured and tied to the submarine’s periscope. Cyclone and ...