One-Act Plays

22 pages

2 w, 5 flexible

Ever heard of the blue genies? Well Zeus sent mortals one hundred genies each with the power to grant ninety-nine wishes. In addition to wishes Zeus also gave the genies immortality, the ability to fly, and a few other powers. Oh, and just for fun he made them blue! 

Dorothy, a blue genie, has been holding on to her last wish because it’s become clear to her that mortals waste their wishes.  Also, by declining to grant her last wish and she won’t return to normal allowing her to keep ...

28 pages

(13 - 24 total. 2 m; 5 w; 6 - 17 flexible with doubling.)

Courtney Hanson, high school junior and avid protester, claims that her high school has turned athletics into a religion, violating the separation of church and state. After numerous meetings with the hapless school principal Courtney and her mother have decided to sue the school district. The characters interact in a series of scenes at the school, at a sports fundraiser, and at a PTO meeting. Some say Courtney has finally gone around the bend, while others say it’s high time someone stood up for academics and the arts....

44 pages

6 m, 5 w

A group of high school drama students known as the Rainbow Project is tasked with developing a show to promote the acceptance of diversity. Throughout their rehearsals, important issues like grades, jobs, family commitments, and prejudices are all explored. But art mirrors life a little too closely, and rising tensions threaten the production. In the end, they realize that with all human enterprises, “it’s about us.” This insight allows the show to go on. This drama speaks to its target audience of adolescents and young adults in their own language, wi...

36 pages

3 m, 6 w, 7-8 flexible, extras

For as long as they can remember, Alex and his friends Matt, Chad, and Chelsea have spent Friday nights fighting the undead, casting spells, and rescuing fair maidens with the roll of the dice, a little luck, and a lot of imagination.  This week they have invited a new player, Eddie, to join them. Because it’s his first time playing, he has a lot of questions through which audience members with no gaming experience can understand the action and enjoy the imagined scene that is actually a part of a fantasy role-playing game.  The teens’ goal is to return the “...

40 pages

2 m, 6 w, 3 flexible, and extras

Ethan is a typical high school junior, well ... typical with the exception of the fact that an attack three years ago left him as one of the undead.  Previously discriminated against, zombies (such an ugly word) have been now given the chance to attend public school, with Ethan being chosen as the first openly undead student in his state to do so.  As he chronicles his journey on YouTube, Ethan learns the ins and outs of fitting in when you're obviously different. This humorous story has an inclusive theme and tackles the difficulty of not feeling normal duri...

34 pages

2 m, 2 w

When high school student Garrett pays his best friend to see if his girlfriend will cheat on him, they all become entangled in a web of lies and deception, and a series of changing allegiances. Sierra, Hope, Garrett, and Nick have been friends for years, but will any of their relationships survive? Most importantly, who will end up with the Chipotle gift card?

46 pages

21 characters; 10 m, 11 f, extras, doubling possible

A high school drama teacher directs her students in rehearsing a version of Romeo and Juliet. A creative writing teacher encourages her students to compose poems that reflect their personal lives. And a man, the narrator, weaves these school experiences –and his own– into a play he has written. The result is a beautiful mosaic of the familiar lives of students and culture inherent in high schools. The play deals with tragedy, bullying, sexuality, grieving, and perseverance with vital sensitivity. A mix of ...

34 pages

Flexible cast of 19

Students with behavioral issues have been volunteered to be subjects in a government-sponsored experiment. Paid for their time and participation in the study, they will play games in an attempt to be the last team remaining. The purpose of these challenges is to test territorial and personal boundaries when placed under external duress. What happens when teammates must turn on their own? How far will they go to protect their territory? When a knife is introduced, the stakes become real… but so does the prize money. 

35 pages

3 m, 2 w, flexible cast of 25, doubling possible

Deep in the forest on a cold winter's night, an owl tells his friends about another winter's night when a shooting star lit up the sky, fell to the ground, and left a human child in a hollow tree. A woodcutter, who sees the shooting star, finds the child, takes him home, and rears him as a member of his family. The Star Child grows up to be a very handsome young man, but he doesn't have compassion or kindness. He mistreats the poor and the sick, he hurts the animals of the forest, and he shows no love for the family that raised him. Eventually he loses his ha...

33 pages

Ensemble of 10 (5 m, 5 w), 40+ roles with no doubling

On the eve of the 1954 closing of Ellis Island, two teenagers, an Italian-American and an Irish-American, sneak inside the main building to see it for themselves. They meet an older man, now a janitor after serving as an inspector on the island since the early 1900s. The teens are drawn into his stories from the past and his memories come alive with an ensemble of people from all nationalities and backgrounds. Some of the immigrants are already famous, some will become famous and many, many others are “famous” only within their own families. But they all shar...

36 pages

2 Actors

David Radman, a young journalist, must write a story about The Vaudeville Theatre, which has recently been designated for destruction.  He reluctantly arrives at the building for an appointment with the President of the Theatre Rescue Society, but is instead greeted by Charles Grimm, the janitor.  Grimm shows Radman the magic of theatre.  During a series of theatrical explorations—in which they dance a soft-shoe, eat lunch on the backdrop, explore the props cabinet, and fence—Grimm and Radman peel away years of heartache and ang...