Plays of Social Significance

38 pages

6 m, 7 w, optional extras

They say Amanda's back. They say she's crazier than ever. And they say Debbie's her next victim. Caught in a whirlwind of gossip Debbie is swept away from her friend Amanda and from her boyfriend Nathan. Valley High School panics and Amanda blows her top. She may blow up the whole school if Debbie doesn't take a stand. Friendship, loyalty, relationships, gossip and the power of peers - these topics are all probed by this thoughtful play. An entangling tale of gossip and truth, prejudice and compassion. 45 - 50 minutes.

27 pages

2 m, 3w

Davey is a small freshman boy, who's got a crush on his sister's friend, Jennifer. With his idol a professional wrestler, Davey starts on a quest to get pumped up. But his behavior becomes obsessive. He has "bigorexia," a disorder that is a lesser-known counterpart to women's anorexia. Men and boys become obsessed with developing their bodies through controlled diet, body building and, in extreme cases, drugs such as steroids. Davey starts to take an over-the-counter adrenal hormone possibly connected to uncontrollable rage. The only one who believes Davey ha...

26 pages

1 m, 5 w, 1 flexible, extras and audience members

Rick, an intelligent ninth grade student athlete, has his first sexual encounter with Amanda, a senior. He has four more relationships before he graduates. By the spring of his senior year, when he tests HIV positive, he has inadvertently exposed more than fifty of his classmates to AIDS. That number has little impact on most audiences until the end of the play when fifty audience members are called to the stage from the names on cards they are handed. When the name on the card is read by the actor playing the doctor, the audience member holding the card shou...

29 pages

4 m, 4 w (all teen roles)

It’s Steph’s high school graduation party. Her friends are all around, her family will be back shortly, and she is supposed to be adding the final touches to the house. But this “commencement” is anything but easy or simple. She and her boyfriend Brandon have news that will devastate her father, has already caused an upheaval with her mother and sister, and will no doubt upset her best friend Gina’s careful plans. Everyone has an opinion about what Steph should do, but naturally everyone tells her it’s “her decision.” As the news filters through her network o...

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...

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 ...

32 pages

5 m, 9 w, extras, doubling possible

High school students Mike and Shelly are breaking up. Later, Shelly sees Mike at a party with his new girlfriend and between her depression and a few too many drinks, allows herself to be coaxed outside by an unscrupulous guy. Things go too far in the bushes and Shelly is date-raped. When she returns to school on Monday, she has a reputation and school officials want to get to the bottom of the rumors they have heard. With characters immediate and believable, this play is powerful, timely and significant.

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...

26 pages

5 m, 3 w

"Along with success comes a reputation of wisdom." But all the wisdom that Sally has learned from her school successes don't prepare her when her life seems to fall apart. After she gets an F on a paper, is harassed by the school's popular jock, and learns her parents are getting a divorce, she contemplates suicide. Her thoughts about dying are revealed in familiar quotations she repeats - quotations other students think she is writing for an English paper. But then the most unlikely person helps Sally find that "Everything is possible, including the impossib...

16 pages

3 m, 3 w

Shelby has been feeling depressed and seeing her grandmother in constant pain has upset her even more. Finally, she decides to steal two bottles of her grandmother's pain pills and commit suicide. But Grandma finds the pills and confronts Shelby - admitting that her age and illness have caused her to consider overdosing on the pills herself. Horrified, Shelby realizes she has her whole life ahead of her and both recommit to life.

17 pages

3 - 4 m, 2 w

Braz, a soft gray squirrel, easily captures the heart of Ann, a nurturing teenager who wants only to please. “I love you, Ann,” Braz proclaims, “but I need you to do a few things for me. Do you think you could bring me some nuts—cashews are my fav, Ann.” But he really isn’t appreciative of her best efforts: “Peanuts! I thought I said cashews!” he complains. In this allegory Ann makes Braz very happy, seeing to his every demand, but what is this love-professing squirrel doing for Ann? Ann has to think about this when she sits with a boy named James while an en...

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...

20 pages

4 m, 2 w

Here is a perfect play to introduce children to the Underground Railroad. Designed as a Reader’s Theatre, "The Silent War" is a story of three slaves – and eight little mice – who escape to freedom along the Underground Railroad. Uncle Amos, Belle, and Buck Henry, all slaves on a Kentucky plantation, didn’t plan to escape until they met Zakary, a Bible salesman and abolitionist. He shows them the way to cross the river into Ohio and from there travel north to other stations. Along the way, the three slaves are helped by other dedicated abolitionists including...

39 pages

3 m, 4 w

Ashley, one of the hottest girls in school, is shocked when, on their first date, Peter doesn't respond to her overtures. Peter, a pastor's son, knows the reason why: he thinks he is gay. He’s still hoping it’s not true, that no one will ever have to know he even suspected it. But what about Ashley? After storming out of his house, will she tell the whole school? Then there’s Craig, the youth leader at church, who saw Ashley rush out. He thinks Peter tried to go too far. How could he possibly understand Peter’s fears? But bit by bit Peter’s secret is revealed...

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...