One-Act Plays

27 pages

8 m, 4 w

The clever short story, "The Three Strangers," by English Victorian writer Thomas Hardy, has been skillfully adapted to a rural Appalachian setting. On a snowy winter's afternoon, a farmer and his wife are celebrating the christening of their infant daughter with friends and family. The party is interrupted by the arrival of a stranger, a poorly-dressed man seeking shelter from the cold. Soon a second stranger appears. This man is finely dressed but pompous and offensive. The guests are impressed by the humility of the first man, and angered by the arrogance ...

18 pages

3 m, 3 w, extras

According to his uncle's will, Bob, a carefree young man, must spend $1,000 within 24 hours and give an account of how it was spent to the lawyer. First he almost buys a necklace for his greedy girlfriend, then he almost gives it to a con man. Finally he gives it to his uncle's ward, Linda, and the orphans she cares for. Bob then learns if he spent his $1,000 wisely he would receive another $50,000; if not, it would go to Linda. In true O. Henry style where coincidence affects character, Bob tells the attorney he lost the money at the race track.

21 pages

14 w

Is it possible to perform a Shakespeare scenefest without male actors, costumes, or scenery? A blizzard has stranded the guys who went to pick up everything for the evening's performance. So now the gals are faced with performing alone on a bare stage. At first nobody thinks they can do it. With such different personalities, from the practical director to the spoiled daddy's girl, to the airhead and valley girl, it seems like too many egos clash. But even so, the drama students pull together to prove that the show must go on! A delightful play with such evenl...

21 pages

4 m, 3 w

Poe's familiar story is updated here, set in the modern American judicial system. As part of a competency hearing to determine the suspect's mental ability to stand trial, the caged murderer faces a panel of legal and psychological experts as his confession is videotaped for all to see. As the experts probe deeper into the killer's psyche, the apparently motiveless murder starts to come into focus and we discover the victim's "evil eye" was just the tip of the iceberg. One interior set. (Excerpted from the full-length play, "Fright Night." Please state adapto...

36 pages

4 m, 5 w, 3 flexible, doubling possible

Like Moliere's original “Tartuffe,” a supposed holy man enters the life of affluent but naïve family and almost succeeds in cheating them out of their home. Now set in current-day Dallas, the wily opportunist is finally exposed, but not before a series of humorous misunderstandings and some rollicking good fun. Grandma Perkins has nothing but praise their boarder, Tartuffe, because he is a man of such holiness and zeal. Father even wants his daughter Maryanne to break her engagement and marry Tartuffe! The siblings agree they must expose Tartuffe's hypocrisy....

20 pages

3 m, 2 w, 2 flexible

An ideal version for introducing younger audiences to one of Shakespeare's best-known comedies. A narrator helps keep the action going and explains some lesser known words. The story, of course, is this: Petruchio, who wants a rich wife, marries Katharina, "the shrew." Then he has to tame her. And that he does by spirit, good-nature, and wit. The holy terror is subdued but perhaps Katharina saw in Petruchio what she liked in a man and allowed herself to be tamed. This is a loud and energetic romp from beginning to end. Can be presented with a detailed or simp...

17 pages

1 m, 1 w, 1 flexible

As the play opens Rosie, riding a stick horse, and Oliver, pushing a wheelbarrow, are walking around a square stage. The fact that they are in the game of Monopoly should slowly manifest itself in various funny ways, but what starts as a cute comedy turns into an existential quest for self-meaning. Oliver, the idealistic one, believes that there must be a life beyond his own mundane existence. Rosie, the cautious one, is addicted to "passing go" and is afraid to leave the familiar. Their love is evident, and yet part of the conflict. Through the course of the...

24 pages

1 w, 1 flexible

This is the story of two displaced people: Esther, an escapee from a nursing home, and Nathan, a young runaway who is fresh to the streets. They break into an apartment and she feeds Nathan a meal he will never forget. Together they create memories, making up events that they each wish would have happened, from merry Christmas holidays to lazy summer days at baseball games. The more they pretend, the more we see that Esther misses her family members who have passed away and that Nathan is deeply hurt by his divorcing parents. The memories they create will tak...

42 pages

9 m, 9 w

What happens when a sympathetic teacher slips an advance copy of the algebra midterm exam to a struggling student and warns him not to share it with the rest of the class? In two words: cheating scandal! Come sort out the vagaries of honor, friendship and the straight skinny with the 18 members of Mr. Bolton's fourth-period algebra class. Join them as they discover the value of truthfulness, morality and higher math in a way that is at times hilarious, touching, and provocative. The one-act play is chockful of vividly drawn characters, generously explored eth...

24 pages

1 m, 3 w

Four young people are driving to Grandma's for the holidays through a deserted stretch of highway with an "obeyer of all laws" at the wheel. They come to a stoplight in the middle of nowhere as it changes from green to red. They stop. And wait. And wait. It doesn't change back. They know it's working. Do they run the light or wait even longer? Suddenly citizenship intersects with folly! This gentle comedy is sure to make your audience laugh.

20 pages

2 m, 2 w

Four high school students report to the school auditorium for play rehearsal only to find out the director is not coming. To add to the confusion, one of the cast members has dropped three rehearsal scripts, of which all the pages are unbound and unnumbered. The pages fly everywhere. No problem! - unless the scripts are "Macbeth," "The Taming of the Shrew," and "A Midsummer Night's Dream." As one of the students quips, "We don't know anything about Shakespeare, but it all sounds the same anyway, so grab some pages." The mayhem that results will have you wonde...

38 pages

With doubling, 10 m, 8 w, many extras.

The Civil War was unlike any other war our country has ever endured. It not only severed our nation, it severed our nation’s families. Husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters were torn apart by politics, beliefs, distance, and death. Evidence of this bitter separation can be found in the abundant journals, diaries, poetry, songs, and letters of the day. This play, a one act with music, draws from these sources to provide a glimpse into the joys and struggles of “loving” during this turbulent period. The characters are based on real people, th...

30 pages

2 m, 4 w, 7 flexible

Janet is about to celebrate her sweet sixteenth birthday, but little does she know it's going to be the worst day of her life. Things start spiraling downward from the moment she wakes up and gets toothpaste all over her shirt. This sets off a chain reaction of misfortune as she faces a variety of kooky characters insistent on ruining her big day. From her manic-depressive English teacher and a hot-headed driving instructor, to an overly sensitive drama coach and a super-creepy mortician, Janet is up to her ears in craziness. She's determined to put an end to...

32 pages

4 m, 2 w

Lord Bellinger and the Right Honorable Trelawney Hope, Secretary for European Affairs, visit Sherlock Holmes at 221B Baker street to have him find a missing document, which, if published, could lead to war. It had been kept in a dispatch box at the Secretary's home. Holmes suggests to Watson three possible individuals, any one of whom could have stolen the document to use for bribery. One of them, Lucas, is found murdered at his home, which Holmes visits with Inspector Lestrade. They find that the bloodstain on the carpet is not in the same position as the on...

41 pages

Flexible cast of 13.

Sequestered in an old theatre, nine prospective contestants must battle wits--and the witless!--to become the chosen few for the latest, greatest reality show, “Reality Frights.” As soon as the diverse contestants turn in their cell phones and introduce themselves, it’s discovered that all the exits are locked. Even Maureen, the professionally perky producer, starts to panic when suddenly there’s a blackout. When the lights come back up, one of the contestants is on the floor, bloodied and lifeless, while some monster in a mask threatens everyone. Or is this ...