School

60 pages

5 m, 5 w

This is one club where members’ lives are not an open book! Tonight’s meeting of the Queen Anne Murder Mystery Book Club takes a dark twist when a threatening telephone call sets the group on edge. Suddenly all the lights go out and gentle Nellie is murdered. But who is the killer…and why? Do those eerie masks mounted on the wall or that unusual hanging mobile mean anything special? And then a rock with a message attached is thrown against the house jolting everyone even further. Inspector McAdoo follows the clues but soon another murder takes place. Accusati...

24 pages

3 m, 3 w, 6 flexible

Tomorrow is opening night at The Grand Old Theatre and Mastermime, a notorious criminal who distracts audiences with entrancing mime routines and then disappears with their valuables, has defaced the theatre marquee and is terrorizing the stagehands. Will hard-boiled detective Stanton Ovation and his earnest sidekick Deputy Hammet Upp capture this mute but expressive villain before he steals self-absorbed celebrity actress Ima Starr’s diamonds? Or is there more to this case than it seems? Ima’s talkative assistant Roberta, who was a forensic scientist before ...

60 pages

6 m, 5 w

Raven and Lulu are two young women seeking refuge who become unexpected guests at Dracula’s annual Halloween party. Igor the hunchback and their host, Dracula, seem friendly but chills and laughter escalate as monstrous guests arrive. It becomes clear that Zack the Zombie, Frankenstein, and the mummified Egyptian Queen Nefertiti are not in costume but are real…and possibly dangerous. An out-of-season Ghost of Christmas Past even makes an appearance and takes Dracula on a journey of discovery. Will Dracula’s affection for one of the girls keep her safe, or is ...

34 pages

8 m, 6 w, extras, doubling possible

This re-creation of Robert Louis Stevenson's well-loved action classic will delight audiences of all ages and can easily be taken on tour. Young Jim Hawkins finds a treasure map and the adventure is on. If crossing the ocean is not adventuresome enough, Long John Silver and his band of pirates plan to take over the ship and steal the treasure for themselves. With the help of a castaway named Ben Gunn and a group of islanders, the pirates are defeated in battle and the treasure is recovered by Jim and his friends. About 40 minutes.

32 pages

Widely flexible cast, minimum of 13 actors

Here are three stories to make your skin crawl and your blood turn cold. “On Second Hand” features a young man who has a close call with death and suddenly his life is literally flashing before his eyes. “Who’s Calling?” shows what can happen when a seemingly harmless practical joke is taken way too far. And in “The Con” we meet a charming couple who put their full trust in one another…for better or for worse. After leaving the show you will definitely feel the need to check the back seat of your car and look under your bed before going to sleep; but beware o...

69 pages

4 m, 6 w

Even though lovely young Julia works hard, she and her aunt will not be able to afford to keep their humble home, which sits at the edge of a garbage dump. If they lose their home, they’ll also lose the treasure Julia’s papa buried somewhere on the property that would take care of all their needs. (Hero Dan would ask his parents for money to help Julia, but alas, he too is an orphan.) As they try yet again to figure out the special riddle to the treasure’s location, a German Mennonite detective appears on the case and is soon followed by two old ladies with l...

44 pages

3 males, 7 females, 1 flexible, extras

Here’s the Cinderella story retold, with a little help from above! Overworked and derided by her stepmother and three stepsisters, kindhearted Cinderella can only dream of attending a ball at the castle. Suddenly her Angel Godmother appears, but she almost blows the whole fairy tale before the Godfather rushes to the rescue on his Zucchini 500. (There’s a shortage of pumpkins!) Prince Eugene dreams of finding an honest girl, but his eccentric fans make a nightmare of his party. His only hope is the sweet young woman who isn’t afraid to state her own thoughts....

71 pages

Flexible cast from 10 to 40

If drama has always taken a back seat to athletics at your school, it's time to bring all those sports nuts into your theatre. From baseball to football to tennis to chess and beyond, you'll find scenes about every aspect of sports -and life - the good, the bad, the ugly, and the funny! Pick and choose from 18 scenes to create a show that's just right for your team. You'll laugh at scenes like "Competition," "Coaching School," and the hysterical new game show, "Face Off." You'll be taken by scenes as "Teamwork," "Finding Time," and the offbeat "Adult Games," ...

40 pages

3 m, 5 w, 3 flexible (Some male roles have been adapted to female roles.)

On an enchanted island, a powerful man named Prospero uses his magic to create a tempest to shipwreck his enemies on his shores. Once they are on land, Prospero leads the castaways about with the help of his fairy servant, Ariel, who has long been promised her freedom. The conspiring nobles who once usurped Prospero’s dukedom are haunted by Ariel, and their plot to murder one of their own is thwarted. Meanwhile, one of the castaways, a kind prince, falls in love with Prospero’s daughter. Prospero’s monstrous servant, Caliban, meets up with the ship’s captain ...

74 pages

5 m, 6 w

"I wasn't expecting anything to happen," intones detective Ace Baxter, "and that's just when anything CAN happen!" And happen it does, as Ace finds himself in a locked room standing in front of the only exit with a murder victim who was shot in the back ... and with Ace's own pistol. Shadows loom large when you're on the lam, as Ace finds out, whether he's disguising himself as a cleaning woman to inspect the scene of the crime, or ducking Sergeant Flint, who's chomping at the bit to clamp the cuffs on Baxter. The Professor helps out when he can, vowing to al...

30 pages

5 m, 5 w

A series of short scenes tells an unusual tale of love. A young woman named Vanesa endures unsuccessful dates that include a mummy, a ghost, and a zombie. Across town, Zack, a vampire, encounters a series of human women with equally monstrous results. Are the characters fated to search fruitlessly or destined to discover their hearts’ desire? Find out if romance rules…or if love bites!

61 pages

3 m, 9 w

Tycoon Willard Witherspoon has been looking for his great-niece Earnestine since she was lost with her parents in the Amazon eighteen years earlier. Though her parents died, Willard has good reason to believe that Earnestine survived. With the help of his secretary Dudley and his housekeeper Beulah, Willard launches a search for his Earnestine so he can leave his fortune to her when he dies. After a media announcement, Earnestines appear from every corner of the country, but Willard finally settles on four to invite to his mansion for the weekend. Earnestine ...