One-Act Plays

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.

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...

28 pages

1 m, 6 w, ensemble of 15 or more actors

Set in Madame Claudette’s Shadow Circus of 1915, this stirring play follows the life of a foundling infant who grew up to be known as the “Prince of Clowns.” Alfie’s life is narrated by the Bearded Lady, who offers us an insightful philosophy of life. Meet dynamic characters such as the Fortune Teller, Madame Claudette herself, and the refined young woman, Nedda, who is running away from a dark past. Nedda and Alfie become a popular circus act and live peacefully. However, Alfie’s family is threatened ten years later by the villainous mobster Olympia.  Nedda’...

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...

52 pages

4 m, 4 w

Waiting in line? Waiting your turn? You don’t have time! Here’s a comedy in six scenes for those who are time-challenged. In the first scene a desperate woman has only 20 minutes to get to the airport to catch her flight and no matter what her beleaguered taxi driver says or does, they remain stuck in a traffic jam. In a different scene, things start to get physical at a restaurant when a couple with dinner reservations (and theatre tickets!) see others entering and being seated before them. In another scene, a jumpy hypochondriac is forced to wait in a docto...

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...

40 pages

5 m, 9 w, 1 flexible

Ten students from across the U.S.A. compete for the title of “America’s Next Top Model Student” in the latest TV reality show. Host Myra Thanks and the show’s judges, M’Lady Andrews, Judge Julie, and Mr. Blaine Rose, put each student to the test in a series of bizarre and hilarious challenges that hardly have anything to do with their scholastic aptitude. One by one, the students are eliminated and “expelled” from the classroom competition. No one goes down without a fight and some are even taken away literally kicking and screaming. The off-the-wall challeng...

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,...

42 pages

5 m, 4 w, 4 flexible, extras

Dreamy young lovers Lelio and Silvia must keep their love a secret from their fathers, who are fierce rivals. Will a scheme featuring the loveable Arlecchino (whose main occupation is taking money from others) and a quartet of bumbling bandits save the day? Middle and high school actors will revel in this fast-paced, uproarious one act complete with screwball antics and a cast of madcap characters including two saucy servants, a lovable miser, and a host of zanies. It is this type of slapstick humor that makes the performance style of commedia dell'arte a per...

34 pages

Flexible cast from 18 (with doubling)

The stage comes alive with passengers and crew of the Titanic, speaking to us directly about the disaster. We see the magnificent vessel through the eyes of both the first class passengers and the third class. When Frederick Fleet spots the iceberg, all the officers are called upon to carry out the most dreaded command Capt. Smith ever had to issue: "Get the lifeboats ready!" The ending is an emotional powerhouse as the cast recites name after name of those who survived à and those who did not. Representational sets. (Excerpted from the full-length play, "Tit...

31 pages

2 m, 2 w, 5 flexible

Leaping llamas! "The Fourth Wall," a play within a play, begins as a murder mystery, but the murder victim won't keel over. The playwright forgot to give the characters names, and a rude audience member keeps interrupting the show. Even the ending of the play stinks! Everyone is supposed to die and then the character Death is supposed to do an interpretive dance. Thankfully, the audience's agony is cut short halfway through when the actors break character because Death accidentally kills the Host and then leaves the set to move his car. Without Death, how can...

40 pages

6 m, 9 w, and ensemble of 10, doubling possible

Eight diverse candidates who are running for student body president have two minutes to present their platform and to convince fellow Roosevelt High students to vote for them. From the narcissistic varsity cheerleader, to the disdainful brainiac, and from the star quarterback to the tongue-tied farm boy, every candidate is unique. Their speeches veer from the serious to the hilarious and, with several mimed action scenes, even reach the absurd! During the question-and-answer segment of the forum, however, one student asks the candidates to do something about ...

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...

28 pages

5 m, 8 w

Although Elizabeth Bennet wishes to marry for love, her parents and suitors see the matter entirely in terms of wealth and status. Then there's Mr. Darcy, whom Elizabeth keeps at more than arm's length for his rudeness and arrogance. Will there ever be a match? Will anyone ever show compassion for Mrs. Bennet's poor nerves? Will Elizabeth be forced to remain in the poverty-stricken filth in which she has been brought up? A perfect choice to perform in conjunction with English literature studies, or any time for that matter. Simple staging. All in under an hou...

19 pages

2 m, 3 w

Josh has a box in his basement containing a number of objects that have meaning for him. As he takes them from the box characters appear who seem to know him, and yet not know him; characters from the past who are still, for Josh at least, very much in the present. Jane, Chloe and Rob don’t know each other, but they all know Josh, and as the story progresses we learn the awful fate they all share, as he moves through the ritual which seems so familiar to him. The appearance of Leah, Josh’s sister, seems at first to comfort him, but then agitate him. Despite L...