School
Murder for Dummies
Comedy by Pat Cook
79 pages
6 m, 10 w, much doubling possible
“So you want to commit a murder.” This is the first line in a book purchased by Myron Bernhart. And here’s a guy who knows his books since he’s collected some rare ones and proud of it. That is until his nagging wife, Marge, decides to sell them. He tries to reason with her but is argued down, not only by her but the Civic Arts League, her cronies who, of course, meet constantly at their house. When all else fails, Myron realizes it’s time to take drastic action and plans it all out. Of course, his imagination tends to wander a bit--from German psychiatrists ...
The Hitchin' Post
Comedy by Pat Cook
59 pages
6 m, 5 w
Everybody knows that whatever you need, you can find it at Hurley Squonk's general store, the Hitchin' Post. Run by Hurley himself, who is always behind the counter, this sort of "everything store" serves as a meeting place for the locals. There's Pinch Burdett, who spends all his time hawking his wife's jams and making up stories; Mrs. Bastrop, a feisty lady who got thrown out of the town's softball tournament; and Gloria, or "Glow Worm," a romantic teen who camps out at Hurley's magazine stand. But the normal, laid-back pace changes when a young couple from...
Madam's Been Murdered, Tea Will Be Late
Comedy Mystery by Pat Cook
75 pages
7 m, 6 w
Have you ever wanted to stay in an old, drafty English manor with a serial murderer and a ghost running loose in the dark? Who hasn't? Houndstooth Manor simply abounds with atmosphere. "We're lousy with it," the butler intones as he casts a suspicious eye over the paying guests, wondering who is next to be murdered. Will it be the pompous, retired Major who's always going on about how he stopped some uprising "with just a few well-chosen words and a flame thrower." Or maybe the honeymooning couple who know more than they'd like you to believe. Or maybe the fo...
Deceiving Granny
Farce by Michael Taylor
75 pages
5 m, 7 w
Newlyweds Sam and Margaret Howard discover they are in line to inherit $3.5 million from his great-grandmother whom he has never met. But before she is willing to add them to her will she wants to meet Sam and his new wife face to face to make sure they are “worthy.” Of course, nothing goes smoothly, especially since Sam is hiding an expensive diamond necklace for his boss, two burglars mistake their home for another, and the neighbor’s vague grandmother has wandered off…and may be somewhere in their house! Their friends, Rob and Kelsey, go to extremes to hel...
Antigone
Classic Greek by David Alberts
26 pages
2 m, 4 w, 5 flexible, extras
Two brothers lie dead at the gates of the ancient city of Thebes, each killed by the other in the final battle of a bloody civil war fought for the throne of Thebes.
King Creon decrees that one brother, Eteocles, defender of Thebes, is to be given a hero’s burial. The other brother, Polyneices, leader of the rebel forces, is to be left lying where he fell outside the city gates, unburied, and unmourned. Anyone who violates Creon’s decree will be stoned to death.
America’s Next Top Model Student!
Comedy by Alan Heckner
40 pages
5 m, 9 w, 1 flexible
Ten students from across the U.S.A. compete for the title of “America’s Next Top Model Student” in the latest TV reality show. Host Myra Thanks and the show’s judges, M’Lady Andrews, Judge Julie, and Mr. Blaine Rose, put each student to the test in a series of bizarre and hilarious challenges that hardly have anything to do with their scholastic aptitude. One by one, the students are eliminated and “expelled” from the classroom competition. No one goes down without a fight and some are even taken away literally kicking and screaming. The off-the-wall challeng...
The Mystery Maze
Mystery by Billy St. John
77 pages
Flexible cast of 13
The event begins in your theatre which is supposed to be the theatre of Pendleton Academy. Its millionaire founder, Anthony Pendleton, has passed away and the heirs learn that if they can find and follow specific clues, they will inherit the entire estate. Then comes even more startling news. Pendleton was murdered and chances are one of those present killed him and may kill again to gain his fortune. With this in mind, the heirs leave the theatre and split into three groups to search for clues. Members of the audience must choose which group to join. Three s...
Secret Garden
Classic by C. Warren Robertson
68 pages
7 m, 6 w, extras. Doubling possible.
The classic story of two emotionally-stunted children who discover, through their love for a garden, and the teachings of a boy of the English moors, that the key to happiness lies in caring for others. The story opens as two British officers in India discover 10-year-old Mary Lennox alone, her parents having just died in the cholera epidemic. She is sent back to England to live with an uncle, Archibald Craven, whom she doesn’t know, in the foreboding Misselthwaite Manor. His son Colin is sickly and bedridden and his cries can be heard echoing down the dark h...
Fairy Tale: The Ever After
Drama by Kevin Stone
76 pages
5 m, 6 w
In this serious drama, the fairy-tale world is under a curse: Sleeping Beauty has insomnia, Snow White is on the verge of insanity, and Cinderella has lost her faith in magic. These and other fairy-tale characters have gathered in a castle for protection from a dragon which threatens to bring their "ever after" to an unhappy end. Into the midst of their despair steps a mysterious knight. The castle is divided: some think the knight will slay the dragon others doubt salvation is possible. The action builds to a final, climactic battle between the forces of goo...
Dickens of a Mystery
Comedy Mystery by Craig Sodaro
63 pages
5 m, 7 w
World-famous author Charles Dickens falls asleep during an interview with London Times reporter Edwina Drood. He dreams a variety of his characters as passengers aboard a ship heading to England, but they are now in a future he doesn't quiet understand. Miss Havisham and her adopted daughter Estella are luring Uriah Heep into a trap. Mr. McCawber is running from Madame Defarge, to whom he owes money. Captain Fagin tries to avoid the crewman Oliver Twist, who has become very adept at pickpocketing. Nancy, the barkeep, and Belle, the barmaid, are hiding secrets...
Next Victim, Please
Comedy by Rocky Soderman and Terri Ferguson
35 pages
14 characters, approx. 7m, 7 w
Here it is - an outrageous tongue-in-cheek 60-minute murder mystery that is ridiculously believable and will have your audience in stitches! It all happens when the whole arrogant family descends on Murdock Manor to witness the Colonel's reading of his final will and testament. Everyone wants a piece of the action including the big game-hunting sister, the stuffy older son, the young ivy-league son, the prissy daughter, the obnoxious grandkids and others. But the Colonel decides rather than split the estate, he'll leave it all to one person who will care for ...
Last Chance Inn, Calamity Gulch
Melodrama by Whitney Ryan Garrity
60 pages
4 m , 10 w
Ma and Pa Culpepper are in danger of losing their livelihood - the Last Chance Inn - to Horace Prickley, a representative from the loan offices of Gimme, Gimme & Gimme. In need of a son or son-in-law, the Culpeppers scheme to adopt and marry off pretty (but clumsy) orphan-turned-waitress, Patience Sweetwater. The intended groom is the newly-appointed Sheriff Virgil St. Vigil, who makes the rounds with his deputy and trusted side-kick, Princess Prettyfoot. Prickley learns of the Culpeppers' plot and enlists the aid of the beautiful Sahara Hartburn to "dist...