School
Tempest
Adaptation Shakespeare by Patricia B. Melehan
58 pages
9 m, 8 w, 5 flexible, extras
Adapted from the play by William Shakespeare. A ship at sea is suddenly swept up in a fierce tempest. The King of Naples, the Duke of Milan, and others become shipwrecked upon a mysterious island. Unbeknownst to them, the island is ruled by Prospero and Prospera, the rightful Duke and Duchess of Milan. With their magical powers they have cast the royals upon the island with an ultimate plan. But will Prospero and Prospera's scheme be cut short by their own prisoner/slave, Caliban, who along with the drunken butler, Stephano, have hatched a scheme of their own...
Louisa's Little Women
Classic by Beth Lynch and Scott Lynch-Giddings
75 pages
6-12 m; 9 w; 6 or more women as extras
By itself, the sweetness and wholesomeness of "Little Women," the story of a tomboy and her three sisters coming of age during the Civil War, might be a little too saccharine for a cynical modern audience. But this warm, intelligent play is grounded by scenes from Alcott's real life, as a daughter of an abolitionist father, as a published author in a male-dominated business world, as a volunteer nurse during the war, and as a suffragette. Woven into her novel, we see just how radical these independent girls were for their time.
It's a Howl
Comedy by Tim Kelly
70 pages
Flexible cast, approx. 8 m, 14 w, extras
Teenager Jane Hastings inherits remote and creepy Wolfbane Abbey. It's a combination school and clinic for students who have trouble "adjusting." No wonder - they're werewolves! The doctor who runs the Abbey decides Jane must be driven out of her mind so he can be trustee. This isn't as easy as it sounds - even though the place is filled with more horrors than a wax museum. With two friends, Jane does her best to sort out the Abbey's problem and "curse." The characters are great fun to play in this fast-paced spoof, including bewildered police, a werewolf hun...
Magic Island
Mystery by David Meyer
59 pages
Flexible cast of 21 (from 12 m, 9 w to 7 m, 14 w)
Maxwell the Magnificent, the famous magician, has just completed a gruelling world tour. His entire production company has returned to Max's private island estate to collect final paychecks and head for home. It is here, while checking over props, that Max comes to the reluctant realization that his continuous bad luck on tour was by design. Someone has been sabotaging his act! It's hard to guess who it might be because as the faithful butler intones, "To know Max is to loathe him." So Max and a police-inspector friend arrange a special command performance wh...
Life on the Mississippi
Classic by R Rex Stephenson
64 pages
Company of between 18 - 35 actors
Here is a combination of three of Mark Twain's books blended into one story that continues Huck and Tom's great adventures. Huck and Tom are called to Arkansas because something mysterious is happening to Uncle Silas. As only Huck and Tom can, they set about solving the mystery that involves twin brothers, the maniacal Widow Dunlap and her nere-do-well son. This story is as poignant and humorous as Huck Finn, but without any of the racial overtones that in some areas has made Twain a controversial author. About 90 minutes.
Swamp Romp
Farce by Burton Bumgarner
59 pages
7 m, 9 w, 6 flexible
Life is anything but dull in the Great Okeeadokia Swamp. At Lester's Bog Mart Convenience Store, locals gather to purchase supplies, check out video rentals (a wide selection of three) or try Lester's delicious "Almost Fresh Catfish" or "Kind of Fried Chicken." The local book club has been working on "War and Peace" for months, and they're up to page 5. Young local resident Everett Mudd is trying to make a low-budget independent horror film which he wants to enter in the Sundown Film Festival. Five biology students become lost in the swamp when their professo...
Jooba Gumba Wondy
Comedy by Andrew M Frodahl
41 pages
6 m, 6 w, 10-16 flexible, doubling possible
Senior class president Todd is looking forward to the class trip to France…at least he thinks he is. His prim girlfriend, Dailyn, has been planning it for years. At the last minute, Principal Kinkade has another idea. She manipulates Todd into suggesting the remote luxurious island of Jooba Gumba Wondy. With the lure of nightlife, sand, and paradise, Kasey, Lindsey, Duncan and Jared are quick to agree. When they all arrive, however, they find that it’s anything but a five-star resort! On a hunting expedition to find breakfast, the teens are separated, attacke...
One Doggone Wish
Comedy by Tim Kelly
64 pages
7 m, 15 w, optional extras
Coco is a lovable French poodle who dies of a broken heart after being DOGNAPPED! Every pooch in doggie heaven gets one wish, and Coco’s wish is to return to school on the day of the mid-term dance. Her former owner, a teacher named Steve Ritter, taught Coco to “sing” and he planned to have her entertain. Coco was anxious to make him proud. Keeper, the basset hound in charge of such things, grants the wish but sends two other dogs to keep an eye on Coco as French poodles are inclined to be somewhat frivolous. The two other dogs are Alice, a blood-hound, and R...
Ho Hum High
Comedy by Robert Frankel
72 pages
Flexible cast, approx. 9 m, 13 w
At Hollister Hummelforth High, better known as Ho Hum High, the geeky trigonometry teacher carries around a rubber chicken, the science teacher talks to her pet shrimp, and the principal is straight from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. No wonder the kids only show signs of life when they're placing bets on who will fall asleep first. So when Hal, the slowest, most naive student in school, assumes Pete's flat 7-UP is really "smart juice," Pete plays along. When the principal sees the "effects" of the juice on Hal and other students, he thinks the spark of learning h...
Cinderella's Shakespeare
Comedy by Lindsey C Craig
25 pages
5 m, 8 w, 8 flexible
Cinderella (that isn't her real name!) labors away for her wicked aunt and evil cousins, sneaking free moments whenever she can to read. Her aunt believes learning just monopolizes the time a woman can spend being beautiful and burns all the books in their cottage. Cinderella manages to save a copy of "Romeo and Juliet," but eventually even that is burned. With a little help from a silly fairy godmother, Cinderella attends a palace ball and impresses the Prince with her intellect. After she flees the ball, the Prince pursues her, looking not for a woman who c...
Days of Our (School) Lives
Comedy by Jack Nuzum
58 pages
8 m, 9 w, 5 flexible, extras
It's half-time at the big basketball game but Trish, Joannie, and Crystal ignore their pep squad duties to gossip about the latest surprising developments at their school. The new female teacher seems to have a persistent five o'clock shadow and the English Department has taken over the administration. The new leader, Mr. Dickens, is a Shakespeare fanatic who is in league with the evil custodial staff, who in turn spend their time collecting gum wads and blackmail evidence on the teachers. All the classic conventions of soap operas are here: memory loss, mist...
Mummy Dearest
Comedy by Craig Sodaro
73 pages
8 m, 11 w, 3 flexible
A student archeological dig has yielded a lot of experience and many artifacts, but little excitement. That all changes when one of the girls finds a scroll she hopes to bring back as a souvenir. But when Benny, the guide, reads the scroll for her, they find out it's a curse. Soon, strange things start happening: Queen Nefutari's mummy, whose tomb the kids had been exploring, suddenly begins to walk. Then the headmistress is murdered in the very manner prescribed in the curse. The first-time-on-a-big-case inspector who arrives can't handle anything and keeps ...