One-Acts

44 pages

3 males, 7 females, 1 flexible, extras

Here’s the Cinderella story retold, with a little help from above! Overworked and derided by her stepmother and three stepsisters, kindhearted Cinderella can only dream of attending a ball at the castle. Suddenly her Angel Godmother appears, but she almost blows the whole fairy tale before the Godfather rushes to the rescue on his Zucchini 500. (There’s a shortage of pumpkins!) Prince Eugene dreams of finding an honest girl, but his eccentric fans make a nightmare of his party. His only hope is the sweet young woman who isn’t afraid to state her own thoughts....

17 pages

1 m, 5 w

Several new cheerleaders are having a picnic in the park to meet each other. There is bitter rivalry between Joyce and Kathleen over a boyfriend. Most of the girls are jealous of Kathleen, since she is rich and gets everything she wants - even down to ousting another girl for the cheerleading position. The girls have a plan to scare Kathleen, but she, in the meantime, has learned of their plan and plots retribution. A spine-tingling play.

38 pages

4 m, 8 w

Otto and Spider are trying to crack a safe in what seems to be a mansion. However, they have inadvertently stumbled into an exclusive girls school. The headmistress mistakes them for a visiting professor and newly-hired stable hand. The girls have a plot of their own. They've invited a TV hero to the school - without permission. The action is lively, especially when the headmistress hands Otto the combination to the safe and an envelope containing a thousand dollars.

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...

19 pages

11 parts, approx. 6 m, 5 w

Seven teens are brought to police headquarters to tell what they know of their friend's deadly encounter with drugs and alcohol at a party the night before. Through police questioning and the attorney's defense, we find that while no one gave Julia Dark the drugs, no one stopped her from using them either. Some of the "friends" include the cheerleader, the smart aleck, the football player, the president of the student council, and others. The teens know all about the dangers of drugs, but they don't understand the responsibilities of friendship. A compelling ...

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 ...

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.

40 pages

8 m, 5 w, 1 flexible

In this delirious one-act comedy-murder mystery, evil doctor Gregory Namlive uses a tycoon's questionable death (was it suicide or murder, and if murder, who killed him?) to frame his archnemesis, world-famous detective Shawn Richardson for murder. At the same time, he means to steal Shawn's unfaithful wife Susan, the town's most infamous "street walker," (known to everyone but Shawn) out from under his nose. He invites a motley crew of suspicious characters up to his mansion to hunt for clues regarding the murder. Also on the scene are a scheming butler and ...

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...

52 pages

3 m, 7 w (With optional extended ending: 7 m, 8 w)

Penny Ramsey is a young woman who, like all of us, has different sides to her personality. They are personified in the story by comically stereotypical characters, collectively known as the Egos. The five Egos make up her decision-making process, which gets a lot more complicated when Penny overhears only one side of her boyfriend Matt’s phone conversation and believes he has betrayed her. It’s a stressful time for Penny, made even more confusing by the introduction of a potential new suitor named Rick and the nosy involvement of Penny’s mother (and Matt’s bo...

36 pages

3 m, 8 w, 16+ flexible or with doubling 3 m, 6 w, 2 flexible

When Angel was a child, she knew she had wings. She knew she could fly. After telling everyone and enduring mockery, she left her wings on the ground in exchange for fitting in. Now she is in high school, and when she sees her friend Hunter being teased for sharing honest feelings, Angel is torn. Standing up for Hunter now means no longer fitting in, giving up her new possible boyfriend Isaac and alienating the few friends she has. But Angel gains one of the most important insights of all — that she is already loved just for being herself. An Angel Chorus use...

23 pages

4 w

A one-act play about cyber-bullying. For two weeks Amy’s life has been unbearable. An intimate conversation she had online with a boy she likes has been shared so many times that she is now the laughingstock of the school. To make matters worse, she has been receiving threatening text messages, and her family has been plagued by a series of anonymous phone calls which have been intimidating and offensive. The play opens as Amy sits alone in a classroom. She is soon joined unexpectedly by Kara, who is apparently looking for a prom committee meeting. However, w...

33 pages

2 m, 4 w, 2 flexible, extras, doubling possible

Here is a hip, contemporary adaptation of O'Henry's famous short story. Bonnie, Bridget and Billy Driscoll are living in a dumpy apartment, their credit cards charged to the max, trying to make it on their own in New York. When Bridget brings home Dolly, a seemingly sweet lost little girl, (perhaps a bit "high strung"), the siblings soon realize that she is the daughter of an extremely wealthy New Yorker. While Billy plays cowboys and "indigenous people" with Dolly, the sisters jokingly write a ransom note on the computer for the modest amount of $25,000, eno...

28 pages

3 m, 6 w

During the wait for the next subway train, the assembled characters think only of their own plights. There's Estelle, an eccentric woman who sits in the station doing cross-stitch and talking with Grover, a street person; Julia, a wealthy woman whose expensive car has just broken down and who is in a hurry to meet her husband; Calvin, a spoiled brat who is supposed to be meeting business associates of his father's at the airport; Marta, a recent immigrant on her way to a new job in a sweatshop; a novice nun with doubts about her vocation; Jan and Jill, musici...

40 pages

6 m, 4 w, 4 flexible, extras,

Mild-mannered suburbanite Rob Clark is shocked when Eugene, an unlikely angel, tells him that he is going to have a baby. Rob and his wife, Cindy, have wanted a child, but they never expected Rob to be the one to get pregnant! Their family physician, Doc Mitchell, an old-fashioned doctor who'd rather be fishing, confirms the pregnancy, but Dr. Stern, a cynical psychologist, says everyone is nuts! Meanwhile, Rob and Cindy, who are trying to come to terms with the situation, are besieged by a parade of curiosity seekers, led by Dr. Stern, while Doc Mitchell com...