One-Act Plays
Jack's Adventures with the King's Girl
by R Rex Stephenson
32 pages
Flexible cast from 10 - 24 actors.
This play opens when a woman who is collecting mountain folktales asks the Gentry family to tell her one. But they do better than that! They act out for her the story of "Jack and the King's Girl." When a Princess has a "witchin'" put on her, Jack decides to save her and collect the reward. It isn't an easy task, especially when he has to sleep over in a haunted house. Along the way he makes some friends who have special skills, however, and ultimately they help him meet every challenge the old witch throws at him. Of course Jack saves the Princess! The widel...
Pandora and the Sickle Moon
Drama Greek by Jessica Chipman
24 pages
2 m, 3 w, and unlimited ensemble
Pandora, the first woman created by Greek gods, has opened a box releasing all the evils of humanity. She can't undo the deed so she decides her penance must be to observe the evil play out in the world. She serves as the audience's narrator in this tragic fairy tale told out of time and place. Pandora tells of Freya, a young princess who has been captured in a battle that killed her family. A classically evil queen, Skadaas, is plotting a way to stay in power. Her first-born son, Brono, does not speak and, therefore, cannot be king. Her second-born son, Vol,...
Escape Room
Comedy by Wade Bradford
30 pages
2 m, 5 w
The high school girls’ softball team has one last shot to make it to playoffs. However, that doesn’t seem likely since Wacy and Emma can’t seem to stop fighting, and Riley and Kylie are so inseparable that they don’t work with the rest of the team. So instead of scheduling extra practice hours before the game, Coach forces the girls to participate in team-building activities. That’s perfect for Professor Diabolical, as he has been rehearsing his evil laugh and is ready to have customers in his Escape Room. Unfortunately, his assistant Brad is more focused ...
Epic Fail
Comedy by Bradley Hayward
25 pages
Entirely gender flexible cast of 5-30+
Teenagers are faced with failure every day. Some mornings it feels like they have the letter F stamped on their foreheads in bright red ink. In a series of hilarious vignettes, students take on a multitude of challenges, each from a different perspective. From learning to driving a car, seemingly with mind of its own, to having an argument with a bag of chips in a vending machine, these teenagers discover that the only way to succeed is to stare failure in the face. And if they're going to take that risk, they might as well make it epic! Endless opportunities...
Sillyheart
Drama by Billy W. Boone
37 pages
5 m, 8 w, 12 flexible
In this one-act play, tragedy meets fantasy, myth meets reality. A fairy-tale world winds itself around the real drama of one little girl’s battle with cancer and her family’s anguish. As they struggle to cope with her prognosis and desperate treatment, the fairy tale characters from the little girl’s book play out their own drama. Will an evil sorceress and her dark creatures succeed in pulling Princess Caroline away from her beloved family and prince? Will little Cora’s experimental cancer treatment save her? In our imaginations, the villain is always slain...
The Pitch
Comedy by Bryan Starchman
28 pages
Widely flexible from 4-20 actors
A young, hungry writer in Hollywood finally has his chance to pitch his original ideas for movies, television shows, and commercials to a major producer. The writer’s ideas come to life on stage as he tries to sell one -- just one -- of his many wacky ideas. Consider (and laugh) as the writer presents previews of a big-budget movie entitled “Thumb Wars”; a reality show about mailmen called “Going Postal”; a game show with the revolting title “Guess What I Just Ate for Dinner”; and even a commercial for a new sports drink called “H2MayO: The First Drinkable Ma...
Antigone
Classic by David Alberts
26 pages
2 m, 4 w, 5 flexible, extras
Two brothers lie dead at the gates of the ancient city of Thebes, each killed by the other in the final battle of a bloody civil war fought for the throne of Thebes.
King Creon decrees that one brother, Eteocles, defender of Thebes, is to be given a hero’s burial. The other brother, Polyneices, leader of the rebel forces, is to be left lying where he fell outside the city gates, unburied, and unmourned. Anyone who violates Creon’s decree will be stoned to death.
The Twilight Cone
Comedy by Wade Bradford
26 pages
8 characters: 1 m, 5 w, 2 flexible
It’s Marcus’ first day on the job at The Twilight Cone, an unusual ice cream shop owned by his Great-Aunt Diane. Marcus has already been trained on the milkshake machine and scooping ice cream when suddenly his eccentric aunt needs to run to the store. She reluctantly decides to let him open the shop but makes him promise not to serve any flavor but vanilla. When five young women come in to the shop, Marcus’ promise is quickly forgotten. Little does he know that each unique milkshake flavor causes an unusual reaction. The Narrator, unnoticed by all, enters an...
Hey Diddle Diddle: The Adventures of the Dish and the Spoon
Comedy by Bradley Walton
40 pages
4-23 performers possible
A cat plays the fiddle, the cow jumps over the moon while the little dog laughs, and the dish runs away with the spoon…but then what? A group of storytellers are challenged to continue the story of the dish and the spoon from Hey Diddle Diddle. The tales that they spin find the dish and spoon fleeing from the Abominable Snowman, encountering the witch from Hansel and Gretel, becoming spies, and even fighting bad sushi! With a gender-flexible cast of 4-23, this smart, funny and easy-to-stage show will appeal to kids, teens, and adults. About 40 minutes.
Avoiding the Pitfalls of High School Dating
Comedy by Bobby Keniston
28 pages
5 m, 5 w, some doubling possible
Welcome to "Avoiding the Pitfalls of High School Dating," a seminar for high school students who have trouble going on dates. Your hosts for the evening are Lucky Daye and Starry Knight, two people who have invested their entire life savings into creating this simple system of five "never-fail" rules for dating success. Lenny and Matilda, two outcasts, have been brought in to demonstrate the system by going on a series of speed-dates to bring the five simple rules to life. Through a series of humorous and humiliating scenes and hilarious one-liners, we will s...
Burglars, Bunglers, and Neighborhood Thieves
Farce by Daniel Munson
23 pages
1 m, 5 w
When two big-time bunglers like John and Darlene attempt to burglarize an apartment, they get a coat hanger stuck in the door lock and then manage to accidentally ring the doorbell. When they do finally break in, Darlene's nervous bladder forces her to make an emergency bathroom visit. All this ruckus wakes up the bunny-slipper wearing homeowner, Erica, who discovers she is being burgled by her own husband. And if this wasn't weird enough, Darlene claims she is really a "cat burner" instead of a "cat burglar." All this, and the show has just begun! Is John re...
Queen of the Silent Scream
Mystery by Craig Sodaro
22 pages
5 m, 5 w
Norma Starr, one of the last great silent screen stars, made her share of enemies during her career and she's gathered all of them for her birthday celebration - her director, a rising starlet, her shifty agent, a handsome matinee idol, her costume designer, her maid, and her oldest friend, who carries a dangerous secret. As they all watch, Norma relishes a chocolate- covered cherry from a box given anonymously. At that moment, she dies. Det. Larry Stark, L.A.P.D., and his tactless assistant, Roscoe, invite all the suspects to a "reunion" party during which s...
Attack of the Pom-Pom Zombies
Comedy by Stephen Murray
41 pages
7 m, 16 w, 5 flexible, extras
It's the 1960s, a big nuclear blast to the past! School's out for the summer, and the teenagers of Ocean View High are ready to surf, sun and have some fun. Their favorite hangout is Barnacle Betty's Surf Club, which happens to be right next door to the evil Ivana Ratnik's nuclear power plant. But ooops! Cindy Sue, the head cheerleader, accidentally gets some nuclear slime on her hot dog instead of pickle relish, and soon the beach is overrun with pom-pom wielding zombies! Her all-American boyfriend, the beatniks, the nerds and a tough girl gang named the Bar...
Everyman 2.0
Anytime by Gwendolyn J. Kandt
23 pages
Flexible cast of 13
This play is an updated version of the classic medieval morality play. Death has come for Everyman, but Everyman pleads for time to find a companion to accompany him and help clear his book of reckoning. One by one, those he treasures most abandon him to his deserved fate. In the end, only the Son can erase his debt. The play is a powerful depiction of the gospel story, a clear display of man’s unworthiness and God’s grace. The script borrows from the language of the original but gives us a modern take on the story with humor and emotion. The cast has thirtee...
Capricious Pearls
Comedy by Virginia Kidd
31 pages
4 m, 9 w
When Boss and his gang reconvene after being dismissed from parts better left unsaid, they go over the original map Boss had drawn showing where he had hidden a valuable string of pearls in a vacant house. They find it is now a home for aged ladies - and what ladies! Grannie Carlson loves to scoot in her wheelchair, Mrs. Hildebrand has a caustic tongue, Mrs. Katts has eyesight that leaves something to be desired. How the crooks find the pearls and what they do with them make this one of the funniest plays ever.