School

63 pages

9 m, 9 w, extras, doubling possible

Here are three updated tales of horror. "The Monkey's Paw," by W. W. Jacobs, tells the story of a family destroyed by a grisly talisman that promises to grant three wishes. When a college-aged daughter is crushed while chiseling a huge marble tombstone, her parents wish her alive - at first. "The Tell-Tale Heart," by Edgar Allan Poe, is set in a contemporary prison where clinical experts delve deep into a killer's scarred psyche, only to discover that the motiveless murder is anything but. "Midnight Wax," by L. Don Swartz, is the story of an ambitious reporte...

65 pages

8 m, 9 w, doubling possible

"All we want is a simple wedding," agree Mark and Colleen as they get engaged. And their simple wedding stays simple, for about two minutes. Then the families get involved. There's the McMasters, who think the Frobishers are a bunch of snooty dudes, and the Frobishers, who picture the McMasters as a crowd of hillbillies. The bride's father keeps offering the soon-to-be-wed couple thousands of dollars to elope, "No questions asked!" The bride's mother decides to call in her sister, who is a sweet, lovely woman, until she becomes "The Coordinator, " a drill ser...

60 pages

15 to 40 actors

Four students stare out at the audience. Tomorrow they start their freshman year of high school. There are so many things to worry about: class schedules, bullies, cafeteria food, dating, parents’ expectations, what to wear, and worst of all … gym class! These students need a survival guide and that’s exactly what this play attempts to do with hilariously embarrassing and awkward results. Watch as our guides take us through the gauntlet that is high school. Find out the appropriate way to boogie down at high school dances, discover creative ways to get out of...

46 pages

4 m, 8 w, 2 flexible, extras

Stan is a social pariah. He is beaten up at the school bus stop, never chosen for any team, and ignored every day at lunch. Then Chloe enrolls at the school. Being called names? No problem. She has flippant retorts and happily collects the offensive epithets in a notebook. Someone in her face? Her dad taught her how to physically twist a bully’s arm. Amid her tough, cool exterior, however, she also has compassion. Stan and Chloe become allies and gradually fall in love, and as is often the case with first loves, they feel as if everything good in their world ...

56 pages

5 m, 9 w, 3 flexible, plus extras

To prom or not to prom? That is the question! The student body leaders at Lowzund High bicker and argue about various prom themes. They finally decide to combine all of their ideas into one to create a medieval-futuristic-under-the-sea dance. But when self-proclaimed drama-geek, Dante Allegro, is rejected by the arrogant, text-messaging-obsessed cheerleader, he uses his persuasive abilities to cancel the whole event. Now, the noble-hearted student body president, Beatrix Holiday, must come up with a scheme to rescue what she believes is the defining moment in...

60 pages

7 m, 10 w

Baby-sitting the three Taylor kids isn't a job, it's a matter of survival of the fittest. They delight in terrorizing their newest sitter, explaining their secluded home is haunted by a ghost, and that an "ax murderer" has just escaped from jail and is heading their way. Adding confusion is a dizzy aunt, who pays a surprise visit; the dad's boss, whom the kids knock out thinking he is the escaped convict; the boss' domineering mother; and the sitter's offbeat boyfriend, who wants to "rescue" her. The kids lay a trap for the convict and bring about a hilarious...

74 pages

7 m, 10 w, 1 flexible, extras

Mrs. Brown has moved to Hoke's Bluff to study rural school life. She's used to schools equipped with state-of-the-art computer labs and up-to-date technology. At Hoke's Bluff, however, high tech is an intercom system consisting of an aluminum can with a piece of string attached. On the first day of school, the sheriff shows up looking for leads to cow-tipping pranks. Her study of "these people" may be more than she bargained for. But as relationships are built, Mrs. Brown not only teaches her students a few lessons, but she learns a few of her own. And when C...

64 pages

6 m, 12 w

Life isn't easy for a fashion designer who can't needle her way into a designing job. Alexandra Daniels, better known as Lexie, is stuck stitching at the famous House of Van Gore, where her friend, Mona, works in the stockroom yearning for her big break on Broadway. Although the fashion shows they work on are colorful, their lives are dull - until the late Mr. Van Gore makes a "spirit's visit" asking the two to help solve his murder. They only half-heartedly agree until Miss Rushton, the house's secretary, turns up dead in the workroom. Now, Lexie and Mona, w...

36 pages

7 m, 7 w, 2 flexible, extras and doubling possible

Katie and Max Grimm are tired of having to listen to their mom’s bedtime stories about fluffy hamsters and magic smiles. When they tell her they've outgrown them, she asks for one more chance to tell the best bedtime story ever. Their dad, who loves to write zombie fan fiction, overhears and wants in on the challenge to tell the "King of Bedtime Stories"! Katie and Max have some tricks up their sleeves, however, since telling their own scary stories at summer camp. Zombie bunnies! Evil scientists! Gloomy gamma rays! Post-apocalyptic survivalists! One thing is...

65 pages

5 m, 5 w, 7 flexible

Ernestine Webb is overwhelmed by the day-to-day pressures of managing the $77 million Webb fortune. When her slightly senile friend, Miss Pomfrey, visits bemoaning the loss of her beloved gerbil, and the heirs think it's Mother Webb who has died, Ernestine realizes that death is one way to get out from under all the hassles. She cooks up an elaborate plot to fake her demise. To see how much they've inherited, her greedy children fall all over each other in an attempt to find their mother's will and when they can't find it, they simply make up their own. Wild ...

69 pages

with doubling, 7 m, 7 w

Leo Mintz, a one-time big shot Broadway agent, now represents bird acts, roller-skating kids who recite poetry and flea circuses. However, Leo's problems are just starting when a known gangster Louie DeMarco "persuades" Leo to represent his protege with no discernible talent, the lovely Christine. As if this weren't bad enough, Leo promptly falls in love with her. "They should just type up a label which reads 'East River' and slap it on our foreheads!" scowls Liz, the secretary and bouncer for Leo's agency. Then, to throw everyone off the track, Leo stages a ...

51 pages

2 m, 2 w, 10 either (expandable to 20)

Magic, mayhem, and madness unfold in this classic story of love, revenge, and forgiveness. Based on The Tempest by William Shakespeare, Bitterroot is a modern adaptation set in the American West. Prospero and his daughter Miranda have been stranded in the Montana wilderness for twelve years. When fate brings Prospero’s evil brother to Montana, Prospero must decide whether to exact his revenge or forgive his enemies. But can Prospero accept that his daughter wants to marry the son of an enemy? And can he forgive himself for th...