One-Act Plays

27 pages

5 actors

“Reading Shakespeare in class is akin to going to a restaurant and eating the menu. Shakespeare is meant to be acted and attended, not just words on a page.” With this belief in mind, playwright Rosina Mason Whitfield created this lively and shortened version of the Bard’s classic. It is specially designed to be played by 5 actors as a touring show to introduce middle and high school students to the wonder of Shakespeare in a way that is enjoyable and accessible. The show did in fact tour for two years to schools in Pennsylvania where students always loved th...

27 pages

1 w, 4 flexible

Jocelyn has just applied to become Earth's first interplanetary foreign exchange student on the planet of Castino. Before she can actually start classes at the school for extraterrestrials, however, she must convince a panel of aliens that she is worthy of the honor. Even more of a challenge might be to convince these aliens that humans are a race they want to allow into their social circle. Jocelyn realizes right away that she might be in trouble when the aliens appear to have trouble grasping the meaning of the human word "war." Here is a comedy that examin...

37 pages

1 m, 3 w, 13 flexible

Mega-millionaire Ronald Frump (known as "The Ronald"), a tough businessman, has purchased a company called All the Fairy Tales in the World, Inc., and it isn't making a profit. With the assistance of his loyal (and wimpy) secretary, Miss Filposh, he brings in a group of recent college graduates to try and spice up the story of "Little Red Riding Hood." The graduates use "Macbeth" as the basis of their version and arrive at "Macwolf." Unfortunately Little Red, now a tough Jersey girl, isn't afraid of anything, and the tale falls flat. Next, Frump brings in a g...

39 pages

5 m, 6 w, 2 flexible

Here’s unconventional, humorous, and easy-to-stage treatment of the famous fairy tale. Rather than one huge ball to find his future Princess, the Prince has met eligible ladies of the kingdom at smaller, separate gatherings called “Choose a Princess Parties.” Now, after 118 parties, where the Prince has danced with “364 clods,” the Zanzibany family has finally received its invitation. The formidable sisters Wartzella and Bageena, along with their domineering mother, go to the party escorted by Cinderella’s meek father and their clumsy farmhand. Cinderella is ...

25 pages

4 m, 3 w, 1 flexible

In this audience-pleasing comedy, Aristotle, the dentist's son, and Jennifer, the habitual screwup, are fighting over the last copy of a self-help book that they are sure contains all the answers to their problems. He just knows "Success in Excess" will help him avoid a bleak future of looking into people's mouths, while she is equally desperate, thinking it will help her avoid a future of always putting her foot into her mouth. But other patrons at the bookstore, including the clerk with an attitude, create amusing situations leading up to the moment when Ar...

28 pages

4 m, 4 w, 3 flexible

In this rowdy farce, the ambitious, but foolish, Monsieur Jourdain wants to socialize with the nobility, even though he knows nothing of proper language or social graces. From his highbrow music, dancing, and philosophy teachers to his obsequious tailor, Jourdain makes a fool of himself with his ludicrous attempts to be important. His behavior even allows him to be exploited by an unscrupulous friend who continues to borrow money. Happily, Jourdain’s weakness is played to full advantage when, after an elaborate masquerade, he finally gives his daughter’s hand...

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...

23 pages

4 m, 2 w

Adapted by Burton Bumgarner from the tale by W.W. Jacobs. A wife demands that her husband leave the house unless he can get help for his gambling problem. He murders her with a paring knife and tries to hide her body from the maid. While he's still frantically searching for his wife's car keys to dump her body, a burglar breaks into the house. Thinking fast, the husband tries to cover up the murder by framing the burglar. The husband calls the police and while waiting for them, scuffles in the darkness with the burglar and plants the knife on him. But things ...

32 pages

5 m, 9 w, extras, doubling possible

High school students Mike and Shelly are breaking up. Later, Shelly sees Mike at a party with his new girlfriend and between her depression and a few too many drinks, allows herself to be coaxed outside by an unscrupulous guy. Things go too far in the bushes and Shelly is date-raped. When she returns to school on Monday, she has a reputation and school officials want to get to the bottom of the rumors they have heard. With characters immediate and believable, this play is powerful, timely and significant.