One-Act Plays

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  Lost in the Woods

Comedy by Stephen Murray

30 pages

7 w, 7 flexible, ensemble of 8 or more


A group of students enrolled in a technology-free wilderness camp find themselves lost in the middle of the woods. As darkness falls, a mysterious counselor that wasn’t introduced at orientation finds the students and sets up camp with them. Around the campfire, the students and counselor share ghost stories and tales of the mysterious creatures of the forest, like sasquatch and the chupacabra. But not all creatures are big and scary. Gnomes also appear and explain that they are guardians of the woods. Will the campers ever get out of the woods? When the real...

  The Hearing

one-act by Brent Holland

30 pages

1 w, 12 flexible


A famous doctor, who is destined to make a world-changing discovery, has been killed in a car accident, and two angelic members of the “Representatives of Order” have 48 hours to assemble a group of possible candidates to reverse time and save the doctor’s life. The price? Three of the candidates must be willing to serve as a substitute, trading their lives for his.  What would you do for the greater good? The eight people must quickly decide during a hearing where the “Forces of Chaos” are working against them, and all are adjudicated by the ominous “Judgeme...

  The Amazing Angel-Man

Drama by Julian Felice

36 pages

Cast of 12 plus ensemble. Most roles are gender flexible except for those noted. Doubling possible.


James, a young boy, suffers from Angelman Syndrome. This neurodevelopmental disorder causes problems with speech and mobility forcing him to spend his life in a wheelchair. The story shifts from James’ imagination where he dreams of being a superhero called “The Amazing Angel-Man” to the real world, where the realities of his condition have a serious impact on his family, particularly his father. As the play progresses, these two separate worlds start to overlap, leading to an uplifting resolution that upholds the values of hope and imagination. The play was ...

  All Chime In

Comedy by James A. Gustafson

24 pages

10 m, 10 w, 1 flexible


Things have been going so well in Rob and Jen’s relationship that after a few months of dating, Rob is ready to propose. His plan seemed simple enough. He’d take Jen to dinner, propose marriage, she’d say yes, and they’d live happily ever after. What he didn’t count on was everyone in the restaurant chiming in! Between the old ladies at the table next to him and the divorced man on the other side both offering varying opinions on married life, Jen can hardly answer. Throw in a sassy waitress, more eavesdropping diners, Rob’s ex-girlfriend, a lawyer, a wedding...

  Las Soldaderas

Drama by Nelly E Cuellar-Garcia

27 pages

9 women and large ensemble of 15+


Set in the Sierra Madre Mountains, this historic drama follows the lives of an intrepid band of female guerilla fighters who choose to pick up rifles to defend the poor and disenfranchised from the clutches of the corrupt Mexican government and their soldiers. The play explores what it means to be a woman, known as a “soldadera” (female soldier), in the face of great adversity, for they battle not only the enemy but also their own memories of loss, love, family, and betrayal. Each character allows a different facet of womanhood to shine -- innocence, first lo...

  Help Wanted

Comedy by James Rayfield

23 pages

Widely flexible cast of 10 or more


OK, teens, listen up. If you want to drive a car, go to college/grad night/prom, get a class ring or new clothes, you're going to have to - find a JOB! All the fun, frustrations and foibles of part-time jobs are explored in these scenes and monologues, from making a hamburger (first the lettuce then the onion!), to figuring our what garbled language is being spoken in the drive-thru, to presenting a phone sales pitch before the person hangs up with a thud! There are also some moments of comic fantasy as teens try to picture their dream job, as surfer and comi...

  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.

  Don't Say Macbeth!

Comedy by Burton Bumgarner

36 pages

Widely flexible cast from 9 to 40


A poor student is struggling to read Shakespeare's great tragedy, "Macbeth," while in a coffee shop next door to a theater. The student gets a study boost from waitress, who was an English major, and four customers, who are actors, as they act out the Scottish tragedy in fast-paced farce. Soon, a pompous actor who has just finished a Shakespeare matinee next door, enters and tells of the "Scottish curse," and all of the unfortunate events that surround the play's past productions. Actors portray characters throughout history including Shakespeare, King James,...

  The Trial of Existence

Fantasy by Brent Holland

35 pages

2 m, 2 f, 7 either


Portrayed in a fantasy-based courtroom we see ominous “Judgement” begin the Trial of Existence. Every 100 years the “Forces of Chaos” can choose to test humanity and a single candidate is chosen to stand trial. Should this candidate fail, all mankind will cease to exist. While Michael and the “Representatives of Order” see the best in all of us, they must quickly name a candidate and in finding Erin, they put their faith that she is the one to represent us all. The test is 24 hours of challenges in pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth. If at a...