One-Acts

52 pages

Flexible cast, approx. 11 m, 14 w, extras, doubling possible

This play forces us to examine the points in our lives when we make decisions - right or wrong, good or bad - that will define our own future as well as the lives of others. Built upon a series of monologues and scenes, the play depicts young adults dealing with the reality of HIV and AIDS. For some it's simply a threat -something not to be let out of its cave. For others, the monster has become an unwanted part of their daily existence. This uncompromising drama uses vivid and timely dialogue. A perfect competition piece, it features minimal staging, a choru...

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...

48 pages

18 flexible parts, doubling possible

The play takes place during a graveyard shift in a big city police booking room where alleged criminals' mug shots are taken by two cops, a hardened veteran and a rookie on her first night. Some of the "criminals" include an African-American graduate student who infiltrated a meeting of the Klan; a drunken driver who caused a fatal accident; a pistol-packing pizza delivery woman; a husband who helped his dying wife commit suicide; a raving husband obsessed with the talk-show host who has influenced his newly liberated wife; and others. Pathetically, tragicall...

45 pages

3 m, 11 w

What happens when a high schooler brings a pistol to biology class? In this tense drama, Wesley, a 17-year-old boy with a handgun, holds 13 of his fellow students as voluntary hostages as he tries to come to grips with the events that brought him there. In the 24 hours that follow, the tension of the stand-off outside mixes with the casual attitude of the students inside. By the end, we see these rich characters relate their own experiences with violence, parental authority, peer pressure, high school and the pains of outgrowing childhood. Finally, too, we le...

57 pages

2 m, 6 w, 1 flexible

Darby is a senior in high school, editor of the school newspaper, and dating the homecoming queen. Everything in his life is wonderful with one secret exception. Darby has been HIV positive since a blood transfusion he received as a child. His friends learn how to deal first with the news of his infection and then with his death when the virus progresses into AIDS. Full of the humor and romance typical of people their ages, the play ends with a dramatic scene that has garnered standing ovations in prior productions. Interior set.

64 pages

5 m, 5 w, extras

Chris, an all-American student, is healing. Having survived a shooting at his old school, he is starting to get on with his life. He has moved to a new school and meeting new friends: Allison, a girl with a big heart; Trent, the most popular kid in school with problems at home; and Randy, the kid no one seems to like. While dealing with everyday issues like homework and relationships, Chris and the others find themselves in the middle of an ongoing battle between Randy and Trent. What starts as name-calling escalates to a fight and then turns much darker when...

52 pages

7 m, 7 w

This play is a new twist on the old-fashioned fairy tale. Two emperors from tiny, neighboring kingdoms are good friends but compete in wearing the latest fashions. Because they each continually want new, sumptuous wardrobes, their kingdoms are broke! Even their wives have to resort to doing dirty castle chores because there’s no money to pay any staff. Finally an elaborate ruse is planned where both emperors are taught a lesson about vanity and trying to impress others by clothes. If there were flashlights and spotlights in this historic time when men wore be...

69 pages

9 m, 9 w

When Jeremy Wong, a 15-year-old gay student, is savagely beaten and killed by two fellow students, the whole school reels from the blows. Reporters from all over the country descend on the town. Deep divisions among the students emerge as the student council debates whether or not to hold a memorial service. The brutal murder forces each student to search his or her own conscience and beliefs. Some react with denial, some make excuses, some are outraged, and some are frightened. Others respond with courage and caring, while a few start to question and change ...

46 pages

4 m, 3 w

Reality TV has discovered one of the most daunting, desolate, and demanding terrains on planet Earth: America's public schools. Six students from Desert Wasteland High School, sporting various backgrounds and personalities, have been selected for "Senior Year Survivor." Who will be left standing after the slew of competitions and challenges? From homecoming, SAT's, college applications and class rings, to announcements, prom and yearbook, these senior students are braving the whole gauntlet leading up to graduation! The audience gets to participate as judges,...

62 pages

Interracial cast of 4 m, 3 w, 2 flexible, 1 child

Cole, a slave, struggles with the prospect of escaping--the personal struggles and danger it would mean for his family. Escape would also mean forgoing all the trust and faith his “owner,” Mr. Jones, had invested in Cole. After much thought, and arguing with his wife, Cole agrees that an opportunity for freedom is worth sacrificing his fairly contented life as a slave. Their plan of escape, however, is found out. Cole must come face to face with Mr. Jones and suffer the consequences. The cost is great. The slave gives his life for individual freedom. The slav...

64 pages

9 m, 10 w

Brett Spencer yearns to do more, to be more. So she and her best friend, Nora, form this kind of group thing to help them and their friends get through their senior year of high school without losing their minds. No rules, not even a name, it's just a place to meet and be yourself. Their friends join them - Paige, who tries not to overeat because she feels so empty inside; Juice, just out of a treatment center; Danny, who hangs loose, hangs tough and just hangs on; and others who are seemingly always on the outside looking in at the popular kids...until they ...

52 pages

Flexible casting: 2 - 6 m, 8 - 17 w

Alden and Sidney find themselves developing an unlikely friendship having been marked as outcasts by the “in crowd” at school. We see through their eyes what it is like to be ridiculed and picked on, what it feels like to have your “friends” turn on you because of one simple misstep. But just when life seems most bleak, enter a hero: a quirky, awkward, fun-loving, larger-than-life, sure-to-make-you-laugh superhero for the new millennium: Empathy Girl! Though unable to fly, lacking superstrength or speed, and a little hypoglycemic, Empathy Girl isn’t without a...

56 pages

With doubling: 4m, 4w, plus ensemble to play various small roles

When Mandy Kate, a young slave girl, overhears a threat to sell her brother-in-law Robert, she rushes to warn her sister Sarah. The family plans to escape together, but Mandy Kate is inadvertently left behind when trying to help another slave, Old Job. Together the old man and young girl must set off on their own. They disguise themselvesOld Job as a woman (Josephine) and Mandy Kate as a boy (Abe)and are initially helped by a clever country boy and his eccentric elderly aunt. Mandy Kate and Old Job are later guided through several stops on the Underground Rai...

37 pages

4 m, 3 w

Monsieur Harpagon is a miser, through and through. Although he has his beloved treasure buried in the garden to protect it from thieves, he abhors waste such as warmth and food! He tells his children, Elise and Cleante, they may only marry with his consent, and he looks for spouses for both of them with the help of Madame Frosine, a matchmaker. She quickly finds a future spouse for everyone, including Monsieur Harpagon. Little does he know Cleante has fallen for Marianne, who Harpagon himself plans to marry, and Elise has fallen for the penniless Valere. The ...

60 pages

Monologue Collection

Here is another monologue collection written by the ever-popular Dan Kehde who, because of his full-time work with teens in theatre, can give an honest voice to their thoughts and emotions. These serious, and at times, humorous monologues tell the stories of more than 20 teens and their struggles to cope with a variety issues. In "Will's Excuse," a student pens his own unique version of the "dog-ate-my-homework" excuse - a classic of which even Shakespeare would be proud! In "Notes From a Best Friend," a student faces feelings of grief and guilt after her bes...