School

36 pages

4 m, 4 w

Duke Deadheader, the most rotten rascal on the railroad, plots to relieve the simple but honest stationmaster, Ralph Roundhouse, of the company's construction funds. Aided by his beautiful, but nasty, accomplice, Flora Flagstop, he burns down the lumber mill of our hero, Stanley Studmill, cons Ralph into signing a worthless contract for ties (Ralph thought they were railroad ties), and kidnaps our heroine Rebecca Roundhouse. All appears lost, but Duke has not reckoned with the mysterious Chinese foreman, Gan Dee, nor the ever-reliable Boxcar Betsy and her cou...

31 pages

1 w, 6 flexible

The Empress of China learns about a wonderful bird in her garden and demands the bird perform that evening in court. When Miss Nightingale appears, everyone is disappointed by her drab, gray appearance. However, she makes up for it with her beautiful birdsong which even moves the Empress to tears. She decides to have a silver cage built, to keep the bird forever. Just then a gift is received from Japan -- a marvelous, jewel-studded mechanical bird which sings its own mechanical tune. With the attention on the new gift, Miss Nightingale steals away, back to th...

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.

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...

30 pages

Large flexible cast of about 25

This show spotlights some of Shakespeare’s greatest couples: Romeo & Juliet, Kate & Petruchio, Beatrice & Benedick, and more. Twists and turns abound in this story of love and whimsy, consisting entirely of Shakespeare’s actual text. The Fairies establish the world of the play. One Fairy has decided that love is foolish and “merely a madness,” but the other Fairies are determined to convince their friend otherwise. The characters display all facets of love; desperation, bliss, fear, passion and pure joy, in a collection of scenes that takes the au...

34 pages

6 m, 5 w, 1 flexible, doubling possible

Based on the story by H.H. Munro (Saki). Wealthy Uncle Lulworth eagerly awaits the next meal from his uncommonly skilled, but foul-tempered cook, Mrs. Sebastian. His niece, Ellen, visits him shortly before dinner after their aunt's funeral. As executor of the estate, Ellen has run across a series of letters to the aunt from another relative, Uncle Peter, who died years earlier under mysterious circumstances. Through re-enactments based on the letters, we learn Uncle Peter was a despicable human being and was probably killed by a "common" criminal, perhaps som...

60 pages

8 m, 12 w. (With doubling: 5 m, 9 w)

The blank page. It strikes fear into the hearts of writers everywhere, but not student Jan Clark. She thinks writing a novel is the way to an easy A in English class. After battling constant interruptions of well-meaning friends and family, Jan discovers this assignment may be more than she bargained for. All is not lost. Jan is visited by a demanding Muse, who summons a group of struggling actors to play outrageous literary genre characters. As Jan works to finish her story, the actors complain about the size of their parts, the inane dialogue written for th...

17 pages

1m, 1w

One male actor and one female actor each play two parts that's the challenge and fun of this one-act play. All the action takes place in front of a simple park setting. First a teenage boy and girl discuss their young love, he the romantic, she the practical one. She leaves (late for work) and the actress returns as a middle-aged woman, who gives the young romantic some sage advice on love from her lifetime experience. The boy rushes off to save his girlfriend's job and the actor returns as a middle-aged British man who is wooing the older woman. Their scene ...

25 pages

3 m, 4 w

Combine three guys on a hiking trip who think they've found their uncle's mountain cabin with three gals who know the cabin is part of their all girls' summer camp and you've got fun and confusion. The teens could get the problem worked out if only the camp counselor, Miss Keegle, would stop popping in, and if they could ever get Bunkie, one of the guys, to wake up and realize the girls are not a dream!

18 pages

3 m, 3 w

A psychotic murders an old man and then copes successfully with the village constable, only to be trapped and betrayed by conscience and a twisted mind. Increasing the story's playability is the addition of two nieces of the old man who suspect murder, and an innocent bride of the murderer. A smashing climax with thunderous "heartbeats" of the dead man. (Please state adaptor's name when ordering.)

19 pages

1 m, 2 w, 3 flexible. Doubling possible.

Adam, a teenager, is hearing squeaks in the walls of his room, so much squeaking, in fact, he's losing sleep. How can he get rid of the problem? He consults with two rats who advise him to use everything from a chain saw to a blow-up doll dressed to look like a rat, to the ultimate solution, playing Michael Bolton CDs! But will any of these ideas really get the rats out, or make Adam's problem worse? Just what are these squeaks anyway? It doesn't look good, and time is running out as the lovely Rachel will be stopping by at any moment!

32 pages

5 m, 7 w

Dr. Jennings has always dreamed of life as a country doctor, but life in a town without an espresso machine horrifies his family. These tensions peak when the family attends the local 4th of July parade, a staple of small town life. Viewing the "parade" from curbside as it passes, the family lists the many sins and failings of the unsophisticated townsfolk, some of which seem deserved. But the natives aren't too pleased with the way the big city folk are treating them, either. In the end, the Jennings find comfort in the hospitality a small town offers and th...