One-Acts

28 pages

6 m, 5 w doubling possible to 4 m, 3 w

This powerful one-act is based on the first pages of Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables." The year is 1815 and Jean Valjean has been imprisoned nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving family. Now, after being released, Valjean finds it impossible to find lodging or food. Society has treated him like an animal and he feels like one. Finally he finds refuge at the Bishop's home. The clergyman welcomes him with kindness and even trust, using his best silver candlesticks at the evening meal, much to the dismay and warnings of the susp...

27 pages

3 m, 4 w

When Chris, a high school student, isn't able to attend the funeral of his best friend, James, he decides to hold a farewell party at the gravesite. Attending the party with Chris are six of James' closest friends: Katherine, an intelligent but "ditzy" girl; Sarah, the new kid at school; Betty and Larry, soon to be married; Lisa, James' ex-girlfriend; and Tillman, the class brain. The group quickly discovers that they don't know each other very well - James was the common bond between them. As the play progresses, each person reveals what he meant to them. To...

42 pages

4 m, 3 w, 7 flexible parts, some doubling possible

Shakespeare's classic romantic comedy follows the adventures of best friends Valentine and Proteus and the intrigues that ensue when Proteus, engaged to Julia, falls in love with Valentine's beloved, Julia. Reduced from the original 2 ½ hours to 45 minutes, this competition-length adaptation is for teachers who would like to present Shakespeare but feel intimidated to find ways to make it accessible to their students. This adaptation is fast, funny, easy to stage and easy to understand, even for middle school students.

17 pages

1m, 1w

One male actor and one female actor each play two parts that's the challenge and fun of this one-act play. All the action takes place in front of a simple park setting. First a teenage boy and girl discuss their young love, he the romantic, she the practical one. She leaves (late for work) and the actress returns as a middle-aged woman, who gives the young romantic some sage advice on love from her lifetime experience. The boy rushes off to save his girlfriend's job and the actor returns as a middle-aged British man who is wooing the older woman. Their scene ...

26 pages

8 characters: 1 m, 5 w, 2 flexible

It’s Marcus’ first day on the job at The Twilight Cone, an unusual ice cream shop owned by his Great-Aunt Diane. Marcus has already been trained on the milkshake machine and scooping ice cream when suddenly his eccentric aunt needs to run to the store. She reluctantly decides to let him open the shop but makes him promise not to serve any flavor but vanilla. When five young women come in to the shop, Marcus’ promise is quickly forgotten. Little does he know that each unique milkshake flavor causes an unusual reaction. The Narrator, unnoticed by all, enters an...

26 pages

7 m, 7 w

Twelve teachers hold a closed hearing to decide the fate of a high school student accused of showing up drunk at a school play rehearsal and destroying a valuable prop. If they decide to expel her, the vote must be unanimous. However, the teachers have different backgrounds, varied experiences, and assorted motivations. From the thoughtful remedial education teacher to the quick-to-judge assistant coach, how will such a diverse group make such an important decision? About 40 minutes.

28 pages

Flexible cast of 18-28

In this comical yet surprisingly educational parody of "Twelve Angry Men," a certain wolf is on trial for blowing down a pair of houses owned by the Three Little Pigs. A jury of swine must now decide if they will oink in favor of conviction, or declare the wolf not guilty. Throughout the deliberation, most of the angry pigs believe the wolf is big and bad. However, an ensemble of storybook characters helps the pigs review the testimony, and Pig #8 asks some tough questions. Questions that will make the rest of the pigs realize that the witness testimony of Li...

33 pages

1 m, 4 w

Boy, did the "evil" stepsisters and stepmother get a bum wrap. Now they tell their side of the story - about how Cinderella martyred herself into subservience and gave up control of her life, waiting for the right man to take care of her. The two stepsisters, Anastasia and Drizella, used education (master's degrees in finance and chemical engineering, respectively) to come out on top. But Cinderella has made herself so hapless, hopeless, and helpless that when the big ball comes, Mama has to pretend to be a fairy godmother ("Whatever that is") to convince her...

20 pages

3 m, 6 w, some doubling possible

Adapted by Philip Lerman From the classic by Euripides. Troy lies in ruins after its defeat by the Grecian army. All the men have been killed, and the women wait to be transported to Greece, as slaves or concubines. Hecuba, Troy’s former queen, learns the disposition of her surviving family from the Grecian soldier Talthybius. In parting scenes with her daughter and with her son's widow, Hecuba’s spirits are lifted by the courage of these young women. After a blunt exchange with Helen, whose illicit romance with Hecuba’s other son Paris led to Troy’s destruct...

39 pages

6 m, 11 w, 1 flexible

Babysitter Ariel Watson is watching the 13-year-old triplet daughters of a famous scientist and his wife. What Ariel does not know is that the triplets have a time-traveling device in their bedroom, which brings copies of themselves out of a parallel universe. Soon there are nine girls in the house and then twelve. Ariel does not believe what is happening, until the visitors begin telling her, a piece at a time, that her future self has had a terrible “thumb accident.” By the end of the story Ariel is frantic to get to the future and stop herself, much to the...

25 pages

6 m, 4 w

Edgar Allan Poe is called an American literary genius and here are three of his short stories dramatized for Reader's Theatre. “The Masque of the Red Death" is a fantastic tale of how, after half the people of his country have died, Prince Prospero gathers knights and ladies to his castle and locks the doors to avoid the devastating “red death” disease. In "The Cask of Amontillado" we find that if a man seeks revenge, there are many ways to do it. In "Lionizing" Poe mocks authors who get recognition when they write nothing but trivia and nonsense in flowery a...

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...

59 pages

6 m, 7 w

The drama is based on an actual trial that occurred in Franklin County, Virginia in 1851. Indiana Choice, a black woman, claims that she and her three children are free. She sues Gresham Choice, her alleged owner, for not only her freedom but that of her three children. Gresham, a prominent citizen with political aspirations, denies Indiana is a free black. The events of the trial are recalled by Margaret Oxley who attended this trial as a child. Oxley is especially fond of Jubal Early, the lawyer for Indiana. As the trial progresses, a variety of witnesses a...

37 pages

4 m, 6 w, 1 flexible

Adapted from the short story by H.H. Munro (Saki). When an old friend invites Jake, a science writer for a newspaper, to spend a weekend at a gathering of prize-winning scientists, he sees a way to write an impressive article and move on to being a sports writer, his real goal. At the gathering we meet a botanist, who has invented a rapidly growing vine that the Defense Department can use as a weapon of mass destruction; a systems engineer, who has invented a new software language only engineers can learn; a physicist, who has written a textbook that is a com...

21 pages

3 m, 2 w

High school senior Eric Nilsson is a patient in the hospital when, late one night, his three closest friends sneak in to visit. There's Bruce, the class genius; Shawn, the class clown; and the lovely Jenny, who brightens any room she's in. But their jokes and antics do little to lift Eric's spirits. It is only when they talk about their drinking before the car accident all four of them were in that Eric finds the courage to face the question why he alone survived. This play is a favorite with SADD chapters.