School

36 pages

6 m, 11 w, extras

Adapted from his full-length play, “Shoestring Theatre.” Sanders, the director of a small community theatre production, is very upset. The budget that is to fund his season opener is being cut by eighty percent. This play is to be an epic retelling of the timeless classic “Cinderella,” but how is he expected to pull off such a spectacle with practically no money? Then Sanders learns that Mrs. Brakes, the owner of the theatre, has embezzled the “Cinderella” money to fund a vacation for herself on the Caribbean. He decides to take matters into his own hands. “I...

36 pages

13 - 22 plus extras

Susan and Xander patiently sit through their dad’s meeting, a gathering of local dentists, where it is decided that the best way to keep patients from being scared of regular checkups is for the dentists to dress as clowns while working. Refreshments are offered, but deciding to not eat Bernice Hoffenbridle’s cookies might be the best decision the kids have ever made, especially when they hear that her new bakery is conveniently located right between the nuclear waste treatment plant and the experimental chemistry lab. But the adult dentists do indulge in the...

39 pages

6 m, 11 w, 1 flexible

Babysitter Ariel Watson is watching the 13-year-old triplet daughters of a famous scientist and his wife. What Ariel does not know is that the triplets have a time-traveling device in their bedroom, which brings copies of themselves out of a parallel universe. Soon there are nine girls in the house and then twelve. Ariel does not believe what is happening, until the visitors begin telling her, a piece at a time, that her future self has had a terrible “thumb accident.” By the end of the story Ariel is frantic to get to the future and stop herself, much to the...

90 pages

Flexible cast of 13 to 40

When Fred is forced to go to the library to do a report, he meets the Book Master, a magical character who introduces him to some of the most popular fictional characters ever created. Before his eyes, sections from several great books are acted out. You can choose whichever 6 to 8 scenes of the 9 included to comprise a full evening's entertainment. Scenes include "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "Little Women" (Americana); "Jane Eyre" (Gothic); "Dracula" and "The Monkey's Paw" (horror); "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "A Thousand and One Arabi...

19 pages

Approx. 8 m, 5 w, numerous flexible roles and chorus

"Mary Jane of Whitechapel" is set during the Autumn of Terror of 1888 when London was haunted by the spectre of a killer which, even now, we know only by the name of Jack the Ripper. Alternating between the investigation into the killings and the life of Mary Jane Kelly, the Ripper’s final victim, the play re-creates the dark atmosphere of a city horrified by blood and violence. Most of the play is based on real people and incidents: the frantic officers on the case, the scores of suspects, the vigilantes who attack foreigners, and ordinary people, scared of ...

42 pages

9 m, 9 w

What happens when a sympathetic teacher slips an advance copy of the algebra midterm exam to a struggling student and warns him not to share it with the rest of the class? In two words: cheating scandal! Come sort out the vagaries of honor, friendship and the straight skinny with the 18 members of Mr. Bolton's fourth-period algebra class. Join them as they discover the value of truthfulness, morality and higher math in a way that is at times hilarious, touching, and provocative. The one-act play is chockful of vividly drawn characters, generously explored eth...

42 pages

7 m, 6 w, and 3 men from audience

The Fool family has found gold on their homestead and now the whole county has been drawing gold diggers - including two outlaws, the evil Wiley Slithers and Dr. What, a hopeless kleptomaniac. Slithers devises a plan to get rid of Ma and Pa Fool and son Ura so he can marry the lovely daughter, Ima. However, she is stronger than a horse and refuses to marry any man until he can beat her in arm wrestling. Not only that, but Slithers and Dr. What must also outsmart the guy Ima has her heart set on, the handsome milkman, Sam Lactose. Local loonies complicate the ...

42 pages

7 m, 9 w

Unlike most villains, who only have to fight a hero in trying to win the lovely lady, Egar Duntley has to face Miss Lil's whole boardinghouse full of zany characters. There are Miss Lil's mischievous little brothers who dislike him, the deaf lady who keeps staring at him, the men-hungry spinsters who are chasing him, and others. Even more laughs come from Della, Duntley's cleaning lady accomplice. She is chased by an old boarder and served some "fruit juice" which makes her stiff as a board - a part any comedic actress will love to get her teeth into. The her...

26 pages

6 m, 7 w, additional cast possible

The dashing, fleet-footed Gingerbread Man has gotten loose at Baker Street School, proud home of the Spatula Flippers. Now it’s up to a comical assortment of nerds and cheerleaders to put the bite on him. Principal Linzer Macaroon, cafeteria lady Muffin Topp and janitor Roland Butter enlist science teacher Newton Figg’s Mad Science Club and Lorna Doone’s pom squad to use their skills, talents and knowledge to capture the slick-sneakered cookie. This fast-paced show is filled with jokes, gags, slapstick humor, chases, and a riotous climax that will have audien...

36 pages

8 m, 7 w, flexible extras

It's the late 1890s, and the little town of Astaire, Wyoming, ready to enter the new century as the "Paris of the Plains," has just elected the first female sheriff west of the Mississippi! Daisy Dandelion vows to bring about law and order with just a law book and "good ol' female common sense." The mayor, who's always looking at the “big picture," and his town council are holding a hoedown in honor of Daisy, who loves to dance. But this celebration is tap-dancing with trouble! One young woman, in a burst of defiance against husbands ruling the roost, encoura...

60 pages

2 m, 14 w

Camp Theatrix is an all-girls drama camp, providing those "wannabe" actresses, who spend most of their time waiting in the wings, real stage time and real roles. This summer's going fine until the world's leading action movie producer, Soren Antonsson, unexpectedly shows up wanting to make a big action movie at the camp. And he's gonna cast all of Camp Theatrix's students in the movie! Suddenly the "wannabes" are turning into "gonnabes" - until the girls start uncovering the real reason he's arrived. (Camp Theatrix T-shirts available for simple costuming on s...

36 pages

5 m, 6 w, 8 flexible, (doubling possible)

Reality TV stars Roy and Rita Rafferty are full of energy and excitement for their home improvement audience. However, the ratings for “Roy and Rita's Ridiculous Remodel Show!” are looking bleak. After filming only ten episodes, the network has informed them that unless they can boost their ratings – drastically! – this episode will be their last. Roy and Rita consult with their production team and, as a last ditch effort, decide to do a kitchen remodel in 24 hours and film it all live! But can they pull it off with an oddball construction crew? The electrici...