74 pages
12 m, 13 w
Katie O'Brien and her four daughters land in America with plenty of hope and little else. They quickly fall prey to a scheming landlord, but despite this, one of Katie's daughters, Colleen, falls in love with his son -only to realize he may be as conniving as his father. Another daughter, Mary, finds herself torn between helping their desperate neighbors and keeping the trust of her family. The other daughters must cope with schoolmates who hate immigrants and a young bunch of pickpockets. Despite all the hardships, however, each of the newcomers ultimately c...
21 pages
3 m, 3 w, 4 extras
Adapted from the tale by Guy de MaupassantAn arrogant hunter shocks his dinner guests by showing them his prized trophy, a human hand chained to a board and mounted on the wall of his library. The next morning the hunter's mother demands he make amends to the guests and remove the hand. But the police have now heard about it and plan to check it out. The hunter wants to hide the hand but admits to his maid he feels safer keeping it in sight. The hand is the only thing he fears because the person it used to belong wants it back. That night the hunter finds the...
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...
57 pages
Multi-racial cast of 7 m, 7 w, 6 flexible
Jim and Lillian Fowler are having a dinner party to welcome their daughter home from college and meet her fiance. Lillian's brother, Walt, a physician, is also there, even though he and Jim get under each other's skins, especially when Walt needles Jim about losing a recent election to become prosecutor because of his conservative racial views. When Janice and her fiance David arrive, the strain increases as the idealistic young law student from "up North" treats the Wycrofts, the family who works for the Fowlers, as equals. The Wycrofts are already uneasy, f...
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...
59 pages
Ensemble of 7 - 20+
Ben Franklin has gathered his apprentices together to make a play that is the story of his life and how it parallels the beginning of a new country. The apprentices are inexperienced but very eager. One will get to play Ben as a boy, “Little Ben”; another will be the young and daring “Middle Ben.” And of course, “Big Ben” will be played by Ben himself, who will also take a few other juicy roles! The great moments of his life are enacted including the creation of “Silence Dogood,” a wildly popular fictional female letter-writer who mocks all of society and ste...