One-Act Plays

30 pages

7 m, 4 w (or with doubling, 4 m, 3 w)

Adapted from the original play by Moliere. Monsieur Argan is an imaginary invalid. Indeed, he is a hypochondriac suffering pains in every part of his body. He wants his daughter, Angelique, to marry the stupid son of a doctor, and not Cleante, the man she truly loves. Argan's second wife, Beline, would like to put Angelique in a convent. But through the tricks and hijinks of Toinette, the maid, and Beralde, Argan's brother, all of the schemers are exposed and in the process the cast and the audience have had a rollicking good time.

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 ...

28 pages

5-6 m, 4 w, optional extras

The Imarovas were once the royal family and held sway over the social and political arenas of the country. But a new regime gained power and the Imarova children became captives in their own home. They live under a repressive guard, yet each sibling remembers or knows a different kind of love: romantic love, paid love, love of a child and pet, and most of all, Anabella’s childlike, colorful love of life itself. It is only their family wealth and figurehead status that keep them from joining the work colonies. Today is Anabella’s fourteenth birthday and as the...

34 pages

3 m, 2 w

Helen Stone, a frightened and distraught young woman, has come to Sherlock Holmes for help following the recent death of her twin sister Julia. The young women were living with their stepfather, the austere and heartless widower, Dr. Roylott. They had returned from India to Stoke Moran, his family’s dilapidated country mansion, where wild exotic animals and gypsies now wander the grounds. Helen tells Holmes and Dr. Watson that the night Julia died, her sister had run from her bedroom screaming “the band, the speckled band.” Julia was soon to be married and wo...

23 pages

2 m, 7 w, doubling possible

Adapted Renee Rebman from the story by Edith Wharton. A period piece set in the 1920s, this play provides an opportunity for two old friends, Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade, to sit in an outdoor cafe in Rome and reminisce about the past. Now both widowed, the women begin to examine their strangely intertwined lives. A dramatic and emotional confrontation reveals a startling secret that is explored through well-staged flashbacks. A twist of fate long buried in the past leads to a surprising ending that will leave their friendship marked and the women changed forev...

32 pages

3 m, 3 w, extras, doubling possible

Jennie Wade was the only civilian killed during the Battle at Gettysburg. A stray bullet came though the door of her sister's home and struck Jennie while she was kneading dough to feed the Union soldiers. "A Rose in Its Time" is a moving portrait of this spirited young woman who loved life, cared for others with a rare generosity of spirit, and delighted in her family and her fiance with all her heart. Jennie's sister, Georgia, tells the story in the play just as she did in real life, keeping the memory of Jennie Wade alive for the rest of her own years and ...

46 pages

12 to 20+ flexible characters

Here's an enjoyable, approachable introduction to William Shakespeare. In Scenes 1 through 4, we discover his world and his realities, his life and his times. In Scenes 5, 6 and 7, we are treated to one abridged scene from "Romeo and Juliet" and two abridged scenes from "A Midsummer Night's Dream." All together, the man and his work come alive for both the actor and for the audience. Performance time about an hour. (A longer version of this play, "The Bard!", also includes abridged scenes from "The Twelfth Night," "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and "Macbeth." S...

32 pages

11 m, 9 w, 1 flexible, doubling possible

Friendships are tried, prejudices are revealed, and self-interest is (dare it be said) exposed in this fast-moving comedy! A small Iowa town deals with the weighty issue of whether a stone statue violates the morals ordinance. Chorlis Deets, longtime resident of Lambs Corner, has a new lawn ornament in honor of his departed wife: a stone statue of Aphrodite, painted pink and "situated" on a swing in his front yard. An emergency meeting of the city council is called to deliberate whether or not to forcibly remove the statue. Many townspeople have their say, fr...

28 pages

4 m, 4 w

The room is a refuge, a rather undefined space with no pressure from the outside world. But how long do you need to feel safe before stepping out? Each character must make that decision himself: Ben, the abused child; Cherelle, acerbic but filled with apathy; Tony, who hides his shortcoming with a smart mouth; Sandi, whose pushiness covers low self-esteem; Jon, who has a real edge of menace, and others. An intriguing drama with no set requirements.

36 pages

With doubling: 2 m, 4 w.

Before putting "Through the Looking Glass" down on paper in 1860s, Lewis Carroll told a colleague’s young daughter, Alice Liddell (the real Alice in the books), the story of talking chess pieces. The novel, of course, was a sequel to his earlier one, "Alice in Wonderland." This play is set in the early 1920s as a now elderly Alice Liddell reflects on the telling of the story. Faithful to Carroll’s expression of childhood fears of growing up, this adaptation keeps the Victorian charm and merriment by maintaining Carroll’s scenes intact. The audience is transpo...

41 pages

6-16 m, 5-15 w, flexible casting, some doubling possible.

This one-act version of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth maintains the Bard’s original dialogue but changes the setting to a post-apocalyptic world affected by nuclear fallout. The setting allows for many opportunities for creative staging, props, music, and lighting. Three witches arise from piles of mannequin parts, looking as if they were just pieced together. Use of a shadow scrim intensifies the violent and edgy nature of the play. About an hour.

40 pages

6 m, 4 w, 4 flexible, extras,

Mild-mannered suburbanite Rob Clark is shocked when Eugene, an unlikely angel, tells him that he is going to have a baby. Rob and his wife, Cindy, have wanted a child, but they never expected Rob to be the one to get pregnant! Their family physician, Doc Mitchell, an old-fashioned doctor who'd rather be fishing, confirms the pregnancy, but Dr. Stern, a cynical psychologist, says everyone is nuts! Meanwhile, Rob and Cindy, who are trying to come to terms with the situation, are besieged by a parade of curiosity seekers, led by Dr. Stern, while Doc Mitchell com...

25 pages

2 m, 3 w

An award-winning play about a relevant problem, teen suicide. Without even any skid marks to show he tried to brake his speeding car, the invincible Dave is dead. Although the school play has been cancelled, the other kids try out a few dramatic scenes to see if they can't pull something together. Dave is "with" them, making his usual wisecracks. As the kids start to work through their grief and shock, they unite, realizing how precious life is. And Dave is left alone, wishing for another chance.

19 pages

11 parts, approx. 6 m, 5 w

Seven teens are brought to police headquarters to tell what they know of their friend's deadly encounter with drugs and alcohol at a party the night before. Through police questioning and the attorney's defense, we find that while no one gave Julia Dark the drugs, no one stopped her from using them either. Some of the "friends" include the cheerleader, the smart aleck, the football player, the president of the student council, and others. The teens know all about the dangers of drugs, but they don't understand the responsibilities of friendship. A compelling ...

36 pages

1 m, 11 w

A hilarious calisthenics session, funny prayers to the Goddess of Softball, and a mimed ball game that's as exciting as any real one provide the comedy in this poignant one-act. Al's Pizza Pounders haven't won a game all season and it doesn't help when Dabney is taunted about her "secret," that her father is in prison. An unlikely friendship keeps Dabney from quitting and helps the team win the final game.