One-Acts

20 pages

2 m, 1 w

Part of The Half-hour Classics Series. This adaptation of "The Marriage Proposal" shows how hilarious and ridiculous a situation can become when the excitable and "ailing" Lomov comes to propose to the attractive, but equally excitable, Natalia. They soon enter into rowdy quarrels about land boundaries and hunting dogs. Will they marry? Will they fight their way through life? This adaptation has been created especially for high school students.

28 pages

1 m, 2 w

Katherine Bourgeois, a senior at college, has flunked algebra, a course she needs to graduate. She complains to Dr. Hoffmann, the chairwoman of the math department, who tells Mr. O'Leary, Katherine's instructor, to go over the final exam and give her another test. Mr. O'Leary tries to do this, but Katherine evades the work - she apparently has something else in mind. What is she really offering him for a grade? When Dr. Hoffmann returns, a sobbing Katherine accuses Mr. O'Leary of sexual harassment. Dr. Hoffmann offers Katherine an incomplete, but she’s not in...

29 pages

4 m, 5 w

George and Dana each had such high hopes for their high school popularity and love life back when they were in junior high. But the reality is they now have their lunch stolen every day and are subjected to catty comments by the sports jocks and cheerleaders. Laugh and cheer as George and Dana's daydreams for wild success come alive as they imagine themselves as successful business people, Nobel Prize-winning scientists, famous actors and authors, and secret CIA operatives foiling hijacking attempts. Meanwhile, their tormentors' biggest achievement is to memo...

35 pages

2 w

Tina has fallen hard for Greg, an upperclassman, but her best friend, Margie, is worried about the relationship with its subtle and not so subtle bullying. Greg meets Tina after every class, gets her to quit the soccer team because it takes too much time away from him, and basically manipulates her to do exactly what he wants to do. Soon his controlling personality leads to violence, and Tina's family gets a restraining order against him. But he's determined to see Tina one more time. With Margie as our narrator, we see how a girl's youthful dream of love can...

30 pages

5 m, 5 w

A series of short scenes tells an unusual tale of love. A young woman named Vanesa endures unsuccessful dates that include a mummy, a ghost, and a zombie. Across town, Zack, a vampire, encounters a series of human women with equally monstrous results. Are the characters fated to search fruitlessly or destined to discover their hearts’ desire? Find out if romance rules…or if love bites!

33 pages

1 m, 2 w

This play deals with the heartache and the trauma of being old, being alone in the world and forgotten. Mrs. Delmonico, a former actress, lives in a tenement building in New York. She exists mostly in her imagination and takes her torment out on her neighbor, Mrs. Quinn. They are unable to get along in any way until this Christmas Eve when Mr. Gartch, one of the roomers whom they have never met, happens upon the scene. He becomes their catalyst - motivating them to look at things differently. Because of his being so positive and hopeful, and because he is ano...

15 pages

2 m, 4 w

Ryan's drinking at the school dance leads to a fatal car accident, leaving his family and friends to deal with the aftermath. His sister, Megan, is flooded with anger and grief, lashing out at everyone. She places blame for Ryan's death on herself and others. Ryan's girlfriend, Pam, suggests counseling, an idea Megan's mom supports as a final bid to keep the family together. The powerful dialogue of this play rings true and sends a message not only about the dangers of drinking and driving, but about dealing with grief. An excellent play for contest use.

20 pages

4 w

A teenage girl has been arrested after a car accident and charged with DUI. Four of her peers who were with her earlier that night arrive at the small-town police station. Julie, restlessly belligerent, is frustrated with Lindsay, who sits silent and brooding. Soon, Erin, who is impulsive, and Jen, a natural follower, join them. The girls wait anxiously, speculating about what the police already know...and what they will find out. A series of admissions and revelations force the girls to re-evaluate themselves and their role in the events, as an already tense...

15 pages

6 w

Six alert and active senior ladies go on vacation and rent a condo with only one bathroom. From trying to get all of their luggage into one minivan, deciding who sleeps where and what to eat, to finally selecting the activities, life gets wild and silly, all intensified by lack of sleep. About 20-25 minutes.

Also join the ladies in these other comedies: "Ladies at Lunch" (#1648) "Ladies at Poker" (#1816)

20 pages

1 m, 6 w

The ladies meet at Suzie's home for a game of poker which they know little if anything about. Suzie's husband, Willoughby, sticks his two-cents-worth in and the game disintegrates into a sharing of make-up and poker-bridge. As usual men are a part of the discussion!  Also join the ladies in these other comedies: "Ladies at Lunch" (#1648) "Ladies on Vacation" (#1649)

28 pages

4 m, 4 w

Adapted from the short story by Susan Glaspell. A farmer has been found dead and his wife, Minnie, is the prime suspect. The sheriff, a deputy and other men meet at the lonely farmhouse to go over the evidence while two wives gather some clothes and necessities for Minnie, who is in jail. Two neighbor ladies, the Gains sisters, arrive to see what they can learn about the disturbing events of the previous day. As the men go about the business of investigation, the women make a remarkable discovery: the motive for the crime. Set in 1917, three years before wome...

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...

20 pages

3 m, 11 w

Take seven inept campers who must win a variety show competition on which the whole camp's reputation is based and what have you got? Instant disaster! Luckily for the campers, Jo White, who would rather sing than whistle while she works, has escaped to their cabin. Hilarity and confusion follow, but the camp's reputation is saved!

26 pages

4 m, 5 w

Adapted by Philip Lerman From the classic by Euripides. The scene is the port city of Aulis, where the Grecian army waits to embark on the conquest of Troy. The army’s commander, Agamemnon, has been forced to offer his young daughter, Iphigenia, as a martyr to ensure victory in the coming war. Valiant efforts by her mother, Clytemnestra, and the Grecian hero, Achilles, to prevent the sacrifice have proven futile. Iphigenia is left to choose between a war she abhors and violent civil unrest in Greece if the war is aborted. Concluding that the welfare of her co...

16 pages

4 w

Sarah, a student at a girls' prep school, isn't going home for Christmas. Her boyfriend has dumped her, her grades have bombed, and being at home with her alcoholic stepfather is unendurable. Sarah's friends try to talk her into leaving with them, but Sarah has a different trip in mind, a permanent one where she won't feel sad anymore. Then Miranda, a hippie vision from the '60s, drops in. Her message is infused with humor but unmistakable: There's no makeup exam for suicide. Finally, she tells Sarah, "I know this for sure: You've got a great future ahead of ...