School

70 pages

5 m, 5 w, extras

It is the summer of 1969 -- Vietnam, drugs, and a "Helter Skelter" killing spree. In a world seemingly out of control, five young friends struggle desperately with personal demons. Kyle tries to keep a dead man's promise; Chance is being driven closer to a deadly encounter; Kelly fights to hold together her disintegrating family; Angie tries to escape from her world of silence; and Dylan is terrorized by his dead grandmother. The children turn to a mysterious gravedigger who teaches them how to live. One of the most moving plays you'll ever present. Exterior ...

70 pages

4 m, 5 w, 1 flexible, optional 1 boy

Armed with a sharply judgmental attitude and a pair of binoculars, homeowner Leona Crump is consumed with anxiety over her new neighbors. Will they be California beatniks? Or paroled drug pushers? Or more frightening yet, perhaps someone with children?! Her worst fears are realized when an odd-ball "hill-folk" family move in across the street. She quickly realizes that neither God, nor her favorite telephone psychic, has prepared her for the series of showdowns set to take place in her living room. Gafina Hambefferschmidt, an obnoxious, gum-chewing woman, tog...

58 pages

1 m, 7 w, 28 flexible

"The Birds" was originally written by Aristophanes as a satire on man's society. In this loose adaptation, three children embark on a journey that leads them to the Great Bird's Nest in the Sky. There they hope to live away from all the constraints of home and school, but instead of living "free as a bird," they find the birds trying to outdo humans in a far more complicated society. The cast is a mixture of children, meddling gods and goddesses, and a rich array of bird characters. Aristophanes' humor and satire are left intact as the play pokes gentle fun a...

47 pages

7 m, 5 w, 2 boys, 2 girls

Here is an hour-long, light-hearted comedy about lonely millionaire Jonathan Bingsley, whose life is turned upside down when, against his better judgement, he allows six energetic orphans to stay at his home. To complicate matters, his long-time maid and butler disappear under mysterious circumstances. Jonathan's sister convinces him to use her lazy son and his wife as replacements with disastrous (and hilarious!) results. So Jonathan is forced to hire questionable substitutes, who create chaos of their own.

36 pages

4 m, 3 w

Father O'Sullivan is desperate. But who wouldn't be? The bank is about to foreclose on his church buildings and orphanage. He's got young people struggling with questions of love, developers struggling to turn the house of God into the Condos of God, a gangster struggling with the English language, and a bookkeeper who's just a struggle for everyone. Plus, he's hosting a Bingo night as a last chance to raise enough money to get himself out of this mess. So, what happens when his bookkeeper is killed and the money is stolen? It's time for Father O'Sullivan to ...

64 pages

Widely flexible cast, from 12 to 40+

You ever have a "Big Day"? We all have. Not quite like this group, however. Take the case of Butch and Murph, who decide to hold up a bank only to find that Murph is the "one millionth customer!" amid a flurry of confetti. Or little Phoebe, whose class assignment was to write a 500-word essay on her "Big Day" in which she tells of her birthday party where the dog set the couch on fire. We see the invention of the wheel and what it was REALLY for. And then there's Lucille, who gets her first driving lesson from her father ... the church pie sale being only one...

64 pages

8 m, 4 w, 4 flexible, doubling possible

Far from being a demure woman quietly sewing a flag, the epic life of Betsy Ross and her survival during the Revolutionary War and the British occupation of Philadelphia is brought vibrantly to life in this full-length play. It is a romantic story of heroism against the background of a great, world-shattering war for independence. The story is told through the eyes of John Claypoole, boyhood friend of Betsy's, in love with her from the start, who is also a soldier in Washington's army. Wounded at Germantown, John became a sailor and ended the war in the Briti...

28 pages

3 m, 7 w

Summer St. Silver, an ultra-avant-garde director, is asked by Ms. Francis, the overly positive counselor of the middle school, to bring its students together by putting on a play for the state competition. Summer accepts, not knowing the trials and tribulations she will endure. It’s an ultimate clash of personalities from the hilarious auditions, the disastrous rehearsal process, to the cast’s big blowup. Each character offers his or her unabashed thoughts and ridiculously critical opinions in the form of “confessionals” to the audience. When Summer decides t...

25 pages

4 m, 3 w, 1 flexible

In this audience-pleasing comedy, Aristotle, the dentist's son, and Jennifer, the habitual screwup, are fighting over the last copy of a self-help book that they are sure contains all the answers to their problems. He just knows "Success in Excess" will help him avoid a bleak future of looking into people's mouths, while she is equally desperate, thinking it will help her avoid a future of always putting her foot into her mouth. But other patrons at the bookstore, including the clerk with an attitude, create amusing situations leading up to the moment when Ar...

60 pages

Flexible cast of 10 or more

This adaptation has kept alive the monsters and dragons that inhabited the original poem. However, it is told from the point of view of a Scop (Shope), a teller of tales, who had traveled and fought with Beowulf. The Scop is now a prisoner of the Saxons and while a prisoner tells this tale of courage to a priest who eventually agrees to preserve it by writing it down. The tale the Scop tells is substantially the same as the poem we know, however, the Christian ethic is removed and the tale is presented, as the playwright believes it originally was, with the g...

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...

36 pages

3 m, 7 w

The fairy tales of Cinderella and Snow White are lassoed together in this high-kicking western melodrama! Goldie Miner had to give up her infant daughter, Ashabelle, 18 years ago to eke out a living panning for gold, but she thought she left her with a good family. Now she's returned with plenty of gold for her daughter but finds Ashabelle wears patched clothes and does all the stepfamily's chores. When Ashabelle isn't allowed to go to the ball, her mother fixes her right up, including a pair of new boots. The next morning Earnest Lee Feelgoode finds the bell...

30 pages

5 m, 3 w, 15+ ensemble

Death and Strife, along with the Chorus of Darkness, serve as narrators in this foreboding tale, the story of Romeo and his first love, Rosaline. Although their families have been at war with each other for centuries, the young couple are so enamored with each other, they are ready to defy their families and face the inherent danger. But Death and Strife will cleave their tentacles onto the dreams and aspirations of this mortal pair. Filled with moments of bittersweet tenderness and joy, the play unexpectedly turns dark when Rosaline betrays Romeo and arrange...

68 pages

7 m, 2 w

At the height of WWII with a frantic need to produce food, yet faced with a critical shortage of labor, American farmers were compelled to accept help in their fields from prisoners of war. While farmers’ sons fought men just like them in trenches and tanks in Europe, the presence of these POWs in rural America led to plenty of emotional conflict at home. Isabelle Hunt knows her husband Fred needs help with their beet crop, so he grudgingly allows German POWs from a camp nearby to work the family’s fields. Fred is furious over the food and privileges the POWs...

42 pages

5 m, 3 w, 1 flexible

A wacky cast of actors is rehearsing for its big community theatre production of "You Only Die Twice." Marge Cunningham, the author of this "spell-binding murder mystery," runs the Enchanting Dreams Bed-and-Breakfast, which doubles as the community theatre. When she receives word that a top Broadway producer is coming to town to hopefully "discover" some fresh acting talent, she notifies the cast, and they go into high gear to perfect the show before opening night. They decide to stay in character and run their lines as much as possible before the performance...