Resources and Collections
Great Moments in American Oratory
Reading by Val Cheatham
10 pages
4 narrators
In this dramatic reading we are reminded that America has been ever dedicated to the freedom of speech. Included are some of our country's most historic quotes. This reading is certain to create or renew a sense of pride in our country.
The Greatest of All Time
Resource by Alexis Kozak
48 pages
Resource Book
Do you go nuts trying to find scene study material for your students? Are you dissatisfied with the scenes you do find? Are they too long, too short, too silly, not silly enough, too serious, not serious enough? Written by popular playwright, director, and teacher Alexis Kozak, this collection of twenty-five award-winning four-minute scenes is based on overheard classroom conversations. In “Regarding Jane” one male student has a plan for meeting girls -- it’s in the pages of a Jane Austen book, and in “Allegiance” two students debate the real words to the...
Happily Ever After
Skit by Claudia Haas
11 pages
2 m, 5 w
Five well-loved fairy tale princesses have had it! Married one year, they are definitely not living happily ever after. Rapunzel is tired of her long hair, Pia is tired of peas under her mattresses or any other test, Cinderella is tired of cleaning, and Aurora of Sleeping Beauty fame is just tired period! Snow White, leader of the princesses, helps them present their cases to King Frog while Prince Charming tries to defend himself and his brothers. But why should the princesses wait for the king's decision? They take matters into their own hands to live happi...
Happy Prince and Other Storytelling Tales
Storytelling by Evan Guilford-Blake
43 pages
From 2 to 12
There’s nothing like real, live storytellers to catch the imagination of youngsters. With these six tales, each told by a pair of storytellers, students can go on an enchanted voyage, whether they’re in a classroom, cafeteria or theatre. Let your young audiences, from grades 2 through 9, connect, learn, and be entertained through these inventive scripts in one of the oldest forms of entertainment -- storytelling! Running from 6 to 12 minutes each, they include: "Anansi and His Children,” the classic African folk tale of a man and his unusually named children;...
House That Sarah Built
Skit by Christina Hamlett
11 pages
6 m, 7 w, extras
Overcome with guilt over her late husband's creation of the Winchester rifle, Sarah Winchester became quite eccentric and to appease her ghosts, started building a mansion in San Jose, CA. She feared that if ever construction stopped, so would her life. Here's an excellent choral speaking piece as the maids, butlers, and workmen tell Sarah's story speaking in rhymed meter, echoing the rap tap tap of the never-ending hammers.
Important Things in My Life
Resource by Daniel S Kehde
50 pages
Resource Book
The thoughts, hopes, fears, dreams - the important things in the lives of teens - are explored honestly in this collection of 18 monologues. For humor, two of our favorites are "Studs," about trying to don a tux for the first time while running late for the prom, and "Bubbacar," about a teen's first car which is so ugly it should only be driven at night. We can all identify longing for Saturdays after tough school days in "Making It to the Weekend," or laugh at the frustration in "The Proper Way to Wear a School Uniform." In addition to those typical "teen pr...
Improvisation: A Guide to Unlock Your Acting Power a Workbook for Teachers
Resource by Rod Martin
68 pages
Resource Book
Participating in improvisation is fun...it has to be for students to be so enthusiastic about it. But what do they learn? They learn to have the power to create. They move from puppet to playwright they no longer mimic the words and ideas but find a language of their own they initiate and shape the ideas of their scene they create the characters, the comedy, the conflict. They are empowered they are set free to experiment with ideas and language and relationships. Here is a sequential structure of lesson plans for teaching acting through improvisation to stud...
Kidskits
Comedy by Eva Vowles
56 pages
Flexible Cast
Welcome to “Kidskits,” a collection of ten humorous skits for stage or classroom. The short, reproducible skits can be put together with a limited number of rehearsals and require little in the way of props, costumes, lighting or sound. To avoid the problem of memorizing lines, students may hold their scripts for most performances. A touch of melodrama can only enhance the scripts’ inherent silliness. Suitable for children of various ages and reading ability, including classes of emotionally and/or physically challenged students. Skits include:
Life and Death, Laughter and Love
Resource by Dennis Bush
32 pages
Monologue Collection
Step out of your comfort zone and take a creative risk with these 20 monologues. With a rich variety of strong characters, these short monologues were specifically written to challenge and inspire actors. Playwright Dennis Bush says many of them are based on remarks overheard at parties, in waiting rooms or while shopping. While each is titled after the speaker's name, most can be adapted to the opposite gender. Some subjects include losing a father to cancer, telling a boyfriend to take a hike forever, speaking to a sister on her wedding day, and knowing fam...
Louder Than Words
Resource by Linda Dumas
64 pages
Mime book
Even the shiest student will enjoy acting in these mimes created by a teacher and test performed by students. All mimes give complete music suggestions. Act I contains over 20 mimes of varying cast sizes, a lip sync and a narrated mime, several solo mimes, and several group mimes. Act II contains 20 more advanced mimes, strobe light mimes, silhouette mimes, as well as several solo and group mimes.
Middle School Awakenings
Resource by Deborah L. Jacobson
63 pages
Resource Book
The middle school years are a time of individuality, of finding out who you truly are inside. Here is a collection of 60 monologues where the characters talk, think, and feel like real-life pre- and early teens. The monologues, which each run from two to three minutes in performance time, highlight the most unpredictable, explosive and often humorous years of young adulthood, those middle school years. This collection is perfect for acting exercises, auditions, showcases, and variety shows.
Multiplicity
Monologues by R. James Scott
60 pages
Resource Book
Looking at life not frontwards, not backwards, not sidewards, but slantwards, this collection of haunting and poetic monologues will have your actors deeply involved in character and committed to what is wanted the objective. Many of the characters they paint, from a presidential assassin to a human duck, are intriguing, quirky, and entertaining. There is a clear through-line of thought. These monologues run from 2 to 8 minutes in length and are ideal for community theatre auditions or for college classroom work.
My Life - Socially Distanced
Resource by Steve Flowers Jon Jory Steven Stack Dale Lisa Flint
37 pages
2-15
ABOUT THIS COLLECTION
2020 was an unprecedented year for all of us and teens are still processing our new reality. This collection of four plays-- heartfelt, silly, absurd, and dramatic -- cover a range of emotions and are perfect for virtual or in-person classroom, competition, or stage. So dive in, get creative, and keep acting!
* The scenes on reproducible pages may be produced in class royalty free, but a reasonable royalty fee is due when performed in front of an a...
My Stupid Cat Named Max...and Other Plays for Young People
Comedy by Nick Sweet
26 pages
Flexible cast
These four plays are ideal for young actors in school, for children's theatre groups, or even for summer camp talent shows. With plenty of rhyming and choral recitation, they can be presented easily with only a few rehearsals. Though each requires strong leading characters, any number of children can participate. Included with each piece are suggestions for simple staging, but feel free to use your own creative ideas. 30-40 minutes. Each play is 7-10 minutes long.
"Lost in the Forest...
Mystery Plays on the Air
Skit by Alice Duckworth
20 pages
Resource Book
Turn down the lights in your classroom and let your actors raise some goosebumps as they read and create the sound effects for these radio plays. "The Pool" (5 characters) is about a hidden pond with enticingly deadly waters "The Mask" (4 characters) is about a tribal mask which has powers to change looks and "The Message" (7 characters) is about a fax machine which sends warningsby itself.