One-Acts

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...

36 pages

7 m, 4 w, plus ensemble

Here is a retelling of Shakespeare's tale of the decline of an honorable man into darkness, a study of how far an individual is willing to go in the pursuit of power. This adaptation includes new scenes between Lord and Lady Macbeth and uses an interactive ensemble to play a variety of roles. Only the director’s imagination will be the limit for this piece. It can be staged as elaborately or as simply as desired. The truth is in the words. It was written to be performed at any venue, any time period, and with a multi-cultural cast. Movement, music, and passio...

33 pages

5 m, 5 w

The employees of Sly-Tech Corporation are bored, uninspired, and unhappy with their jobs, which consist of generating reports no one will ever see. They don't know from one day to the next who will even own the company or if they'll have jobs. When a perky young woman fresh out of college is hired to be their manager, they are exasperated. They are even more incensed when she insists on starting off the day with team-building exercises to enhance their P.M.A. (positive mental attitude) and making them hold a teddy bear when they wish to speak at meetings. Whe...

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...

46 pages

12 to 20+ flexible characters

Here's an enjoyable, approachable introduction to William Shakespeare. In Scenes 1 through 4, we discover his world and his realities, his life and his times. In Scenes 5, 6 and 7, we are treated to one abridged scene from "Romeo and Juliet" and two abridged scenes from "A Midsummer Night's Dream." All together, the man and his work come alive for both the actor and for the audience. Performance time about an hour. (A longer version of this play, "The Bard!", also includes abridged scenes from "The Twelfth Night," "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and "Macbeth." S...

35 pages

Flexible cast. Approx. 2 m, 7 w, 2 flexible.

Faith and Ivy are best friends for life…and beyond. On the surface, they don’t have much in common. One is respectful, the other sarcastic. One is studious, the other a troublemaker. One is a friendly actress, the other a reclusive poet. And, oh yeah, one is alive, the other, not so much. Ivy has been dead for weeks, and only Faith can still see or hear her. How can a ghost help Faith achieve her goal of landing the lead in the school play? And for that matter, why is Ivy still hanging around, anyway?

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...

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,...

36 pages

5 m, 4 w, 1 flexible

Follow the adventures of two Victorian street urchins—annoyingly enthusiastic and melodramatic—who still await with joy the return of their missing father after many years. As they gratefully and cheerfully accept their circumstances of foraging and freezing, Pip and Mimsy, accompanied by friend Fimm Bimbles, have a chance encounter with an evil and hypnotic puppet named Begeloits, who draws the unwitting children into his nefarious plan to kill the Queen. Coincidence and fate lead Pip and Mimsy to Court where they are reunited with their miserly Uncle Scroog...

49 pages

4 m, 4 w, 1 flex

Failing the literature test, students Brandon, Abbey, Tyler, Hannah, Steve, Kristen, Nick and Lily decide to impress their teacher by performing "Great Expectations." Will Mrs. Eliot go for it, especially after being told by Tyler that he’d rather be at the dentist? With only eight actors, the students dash from one role to another trying to re-enact major scenes to show off their knowledge of the great work. When the plot gets too complicated for the classroom, the students stop and just explain it in their own hilarious terms. And when the action gets to be...

69 pages

3 m, 7 w, 1 flexible, optional doubling

Mary Beth Langmeyer is charged with first-degree murder after she shoots her husband while he sleeps. She claims he had been physically and emotionally abusive during their marriage, and that she feared for her life if she reported it. The case becomes a battle of personalities between the district attorney and the defense attorney as they stretch the limits of civility and flirt with contempt charges. The jury of five women and one man deliberate, ultimately finding themselves deadlocked. In the end, the audience votes as to whether the lone male juror will ...

32 pages

5 m, 4 w

Have you ever asked yourself, “What was I thinking?” Well, Spencer and Olivia are doing just that – while on their first date!  Their conscious minds (played by two separate actors) are present on stage, sharing their thoughts (often contradictory thoughts!) on the conversation. Things get off to a rocky start, the usual awkward silences ensue, but the complications really begin when both their exes show up. Furthermore, Olivia produces her checklist of grueling questions for Spencer to test whether he is “boyfriend material.” The date concludes with Olivia m...

35 pages

3 m, 3 w, 5 flexible parts

An undercover policeman is sitting on a park bench impersonating an old woman in the hopes of catching a purse snatcher red-handed. To his surprise, there is more than one purse snatcher, or so he thinks. Passersby, including a jogger escaping a vicious dog, a harried business woman, a male model and others, become victims of wacky experiences leading to more than one suspect being handcuffed to the park bench. On top of that, three mental patients have gone missing from the hospital located close to the park, and the old lady the undercover cop was impersona...

24 pages

Flexible casting

The effects of drunk driving are brought home in these two very short one-acts combined under one title. In "Only Seventeen" (3 m, 4 w, 2 flexible), Corey Martin is dead from drinking and driving. At his funeral he desperately calls out to his family and friends,"I can't be dead. I'm only 17!" but no one hears him. A fellow student delivers a eulogy full of irony as Corey's friends and family think aloud about the senselessness of his death. In "The Waiting Room" (3 m, 6 w, 4 flexible), young people find themselves in a dark room, unsure of where they are or ...

32 pages

Widely flexible cast of 9 - 24

When a stray kitten turns up at her sister’s wedding reception, Avery decides to give it a temporary home in her family’s laundry room. When she checks in on the kitten later that night, Avery discovers that a portal to outer space has opened in the wall, a T-Rex is trying to eat the washer and dryer, and the kitten can breathe fire. Then a unicorn shows up. And some aliens. And a few mythological deities. Avery is convinced it has to be a dream—but it’s not. Her life is about to get a whole lot more interesting, and she may never be able to complete another ...