School

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...

21 pages

14 w

Is it possible to perform a Shakespeare scenefest without male actors, costumes, or scenery? A blizzard has stranded the guys who went to pick up everything for the evening's performance. So now the gals are faced with performing alone on a bare stage. At first nobody thinks they can do it. With such different personalities, from the practical director to the spoiled daddy's girl, to the airhead and valley girl, it seems like too many egos clash. But even so, the drama students pull together to prove that the show must go on! A delightful play with such evenl...

59 pages

6 m, 11 w

Doc Robbins, a dentist with a heart of stone, rules the town of Last Gulp with an iron fist. Though folks treat Doc with due respect as their mayor and the only “medical” man in the territory, there’s no shortage of suspects when he dies following a swig of rat-poisoned sarsaparilla. Everybody, it seems, had it in for Doc. Bonnie Vivant wanted to turn her old saloon into a fancy restaurant, but Doc wouldn’t let her. Three old prospectors Crusty, Dusty, and Musty, all resented the fact that Doc had jumped their claims and wondered if he ever struck it rich. Af...

76 pages

7 m, 6 w, 3 flexible, doubling possible

After being part of the richest family in Boston, the adult Webb kids try to adjust to sudden poverty when crazy brother Elwood is given total control of the fortune. But they just don't know how to be poor. They try everything from renting rooms in the mansion to taking a job as a clown for children's parties. Their luck changes with the reappearance of their mother, whom they thought dead; their cranky butler, Fenwick; and the surprise introduction of Fenwick, Jr. Junior is a boorish, obnoxious lout, but is also now the sole heir to the Webb fortune. The ex...

29 pages

5 m, 5 w, 6 flexible, extras, doubling possible

How students cope with the death of classmates due to drinking and driving is poignantly brought home in this one-act. On one side, Lisa is consumed with guilt because she didn't take away her brother's car keys, even though she knew he drank. On the other, Kurt is racked with pain because if he hadn't been drinking, he wouldn't have needed his sister to pick him up and she wouldn't have been in Lisa's brother's car. Then the football team wants to erect a roadside cross in memory of Lisa's brother right next to a cross the girls are planning in memory of Kur...

71 pages

6 m, 10 w

When April McKay inherits the Smuggler's Little Theatre, her dream of launching a career on stage comes true. But no sooner does April arrive at the small tourist town to open her box office, when the dream turns into a nightmare. Her boyfriend, Grant, wants her to return to New York, where he works on Wall Street. The owner of an auto repair shop wants the Little Theatre demolished so he can expand. A mysterious teenager appears and disappears at the back of the house. During the first night of try-outs for the season opener, one of the actors drops dead. Fo...

61 pages

9 m, 6 w extras

Wilhelm Frankenstein, last remaining heir of Victor Frankenstein, has come into the possession of Victor's notes. Having recently suffered the loss of his young wife, he becomes obsessed by the idea of re-creating her by following Victor's methods. A young medical student, Jurgen Bruchner, discovers Wilhelm's plans and begs to help him. However, as the task nears completion, Jurgen begins to have second thoughts about the morality of their work. In a dramatic laboratory scene, the "bride" is created. Having been made of many different parts and memories, Wilh...

28 pages

(13 - 24 total. 2 m; 5 w; 6 - 17 flexible with doubling.)

Courtney Hanson, high school junior and avid protester, claims that her high school has turned athletics into a religion, violating the separation of church and state. After numerous meetings with the hapless school principal Courtney and her mother have decided to sue the school district. The characters interact in a series of scenes at the school, at a sports fundraiser, and at a PTO meeting. Some say Courtney has finally gone around the bend, while others say it’s high time someone stood up for academics and the arts....

43 pages

7-10 m, 6-9 w

Mercilessly teased thanks to an awkward last name, Sally Butts plots revenge on her chief tormentors, the popular Jack and Mikayla Slade. Sally and her friends – who have unfortunate last names themselves – launch Sally’s campaign for school president against Jack. To beat him, they’ll have to overcome dirty tricks, cruel graffiti, bad puns, parents who quote poetry, and an excessive amount of glitter. Can a girl named Butts really become president?  Running time: 55 minutes.

47 pages

7 m, 5 w, 2 boys, 2 girls

Here is an hour-long, light-hearted comedy about lonely millionaire Jonathan Bingsley, whose life is turned upside down when, against his better judgement, he allows six energetic orphans to stay at his home. To complicate matters, his long-time maid and butler disappear under mysterious circumstances. Jonathan's sister convinces him to use her lazy son and his wife as replacements with disastrous (and hilarious!) results. So Jonathan is forced to hire questionable substitutes, who create chaos of their own.

35 pages

7 m, 9 w

Members of the Dream Big Society are meeting in Hawaii's Paradise Hotel for the fourth annual convention, where they can find motivation to achieve their personal dreams, no matter how impossible they may seem. And wild dreams they are: Yvonne wants to be the Queen of England, CJ wants to be a samurai, Dora wants to train dolphins even though she can't swim, and Cory wants to be a rock star, though he can't sing a note or even play the air guitar. Clare, whose only dream is to have a happy family, discovers and is befriended by the society after being jilted ...

69 pages

9 m, 9 w

When Jeremy Wong, a 15-year-old gay student, is savagely beaten and killed by two fellow students, the whole school reels from the blows. Reporters from all over the country descend on the town. Deep divisions among the students emerge as the student council debates whether or not to hold a memorial service. The brutal murder forces each student to search his or her own conscience and beliefs. Some react with denial, some make excuses, some are outraged, and some are frightened. Others respond with courage and caring, while a few start to question and change ...

44 pages

3 m, 5 f, 5 flexible, many extras

An optimistic and friendly Grévy’s zebra sees a reward poster for a rhino horn nailed to an acacia tree. She quickly hatches a plan and convinces a feared lioness and a hesitant, red-billed oxpecker to sneak out of the wildlife conservancy and save the endangered black rhinos. Soon these three endangered species and unlikely friends head into the perilous bush, which is filled with poachers hiding behind every tree. With the help of the lioness’ old friend, a puff adder and her snakelets, they save not only a herd of rhinos but a tigoni reed frog, a mama elep...

71 pages

7 m, 9 w, doubling possible

Based on the stories by Mark Twain. This collection provides an evening's entertainment, but individual selections can easily be performed independently. "The 1,000,000 Bank Note" (two acts for 5m/5w, 60 minutes) features two wealthy British siblings who bet whether a destitute man can survive a month in London if they give him a £1,000,000 bank note, which he can neither account for being in his possession, nor turn into cash. Two one-act plays, "The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut" (1m/2w, 20 minutes) and "An Encounter With an I...

24 pages

4 main characters, additional cast of 13 or more.

In this new version of the fairy tale, all the characters are likable - the greedy king is now a kind ruler looking for money to save endangered species and the passive young woman who must spin straw into gold is resourceful and self-reliant. Even the funny little character, whose name reflects his rap-style speech, is likable, just lonely. Luckily, the Hunters-of-the Perfect-Wave help the play have a happy ending.

70 pages

Minimum cast of 13 with doubling: 6 m, 6 w, 1 flex

Dusty Junction is in big trouble! The roaming outlaw Ugly Monroe is terrorizing the citizens. First he shoots stable owner Joe and steals his boots; next he shoots the sheriff and steals his badge; and then he shoots the doc and steals his stethoscope. As the loyal community struggles to hold itself together, timid Deputy Shawn needs to step up and prove he is not Deputy Nancy-boy! He is bolstered by Marlene, the kindly saloon owner; Mindy Sue, his fiery sweetheart; and even Bobby Joe, the cute little boy…er, girl…well, child. The final straw breaks when Ugly...

77 pages

Flexible cast, approx. 4 m,12 w, extras

When a cyclone hits Emerald City High School, things really get crazy! Dorothy, who refers to the other students as Munchkins, demands that a girl named Toto, whom she insists is her own dog, lead her to the Wizard of Oz who will help her return to Kansas. Following the yellow broken tile floor, Dorothy, Toto and other weird students experience several exciting adventures. But to resolve the drama, Toto provides Dorothy with a bus ticket home and helps solve the other school problems. These students not only read "The Wizard of Oz" for class, they lived it!

62 pages

8 m, 8 w

Freshman Bobby Hill drinks a potion that turns him from a know-it-all teen into a 25-year old man everyone thinks is the school's new assistant baseball coach. Bobby suddenly finds himself running the team, using an expense account and avoiding the coach's man-hungry daughter. "All I wanted was to play baseball," he whines to Wally, another teen who spends more time on the psychiatrist's couch than behind the plate. During the big tournament, Bobby wants to help the losing Zephyrs win, but it's every man (and boy!) for himself as he ducks newspaper reporters,...

35 pages

Flexible cast of about 15. Doubling possible, extras if desired.

Mark Polluter is an environmental disaster, and Mother Nature's overseer, a former school teacher, plans a little revenge. With a smile on her face, she turns him into a tree, then a fish, and finally a bird. In each transformation, Mark is visited by a few of the species, like Sally Starfish, an actress, and St. Louee Cardinal, a baseball-playing bird. As one of them, Mark learns firsthand the nasty effects of his human carelessness. Easy, fun costuming and lots of comedy makes this topical play perfect for touring.

61 pages

6 m, 12 w

When a bunch of temperamental artists seeking quiet at Rancho Artisto encounter the fun-loving college workers, watch out! After an episode of the popular TV show, "Most Wanted: Dead or Alive," the kids suspect one of the guests, a little old lady who specializes in American primitive, is really Granny Ghoul. And it's just too coincidental that the nervous host of the show is found knocked out cold and stuffed in the lobby closet! Add an overbearing mother, an insistent art critic, and art thieves for an aerobically-paced comedy.

48 pages

5 m, 9 w, extras

Pedro, Ben and Claude discover that while they've been away at the Civil War, Betty and the other womenfolk have been doing all of the roping and ranching. This Western romp is inspired from Shakespeare's hilarious battle-of-the-sexes romantic comedy, "Much Ado About Nothing." Despite how much the cowpokes and the ladies of the ranch taunt each other, love seems to be in the air. Claude falls head over heels in love with Winny, a lovely Southern belle, but Calamity Jane, a rambunctious tomboy, secretly longs for Claude's affections and is bent on stirring up ...

48 pages

6 m, 6 w, some flexibility

What could go wrong when a group of patients at the Sunnyvale Insane Asylum decide to put on an evening of Edgar Allan Poe works for the public? A lot. With tongue-in-cheek comedy, and a host of kooky characters, this wild romp provides a uniquely theatrical take on such Poe classics as “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Raven,” and many more. Beware, though, there are surprises within, and things may not always be what they seem. Muhahaha! Running time: 60 minutes

42 pages

Flexible cast of 45 (minimum 12)

Miss Crandall and her junior high students are returning home late one night from a field trip when their bus breaks down and they are forced to seek shelter in an old abandoned house that legend has is haunted. While Miss Crandall goes for help, the kids keep up their spirits by telling spooky stories -- stories about a teacher who is really a vampire, a rude girl who is turned into a doll, a mummy that is sent as a gift and two others. The stories raise lots of goosebumps and lots of laughs. With easy staging, simple props and performance time of only an ho...

30 pages

Flexible cast of 12 or more actors.

While on a school trip to the local museum, three high school friends find themselves in a restricted area. In this room the students discover a statue of Pandora and her famous box. The box is opened and three creatures - Famine, War, and Disease - are released into the world. With the help of a mysterious guide, the three friends must fulfill the wish of the creatures to return everything back to normal.

55 pages

6 m, 9 w

Who would suspect that before the live telecast is over for the TV quiz show "It's a Living!" the hardest problem to solve would be, "Who killed Tony Fabrizi, the show's sponsor?" And why was he murdered? Was it for the now missing diamond bracelet he had brought for the commercial, or was he shot for personal reasons? Homicide detective Lt. Jim Slate, along with Amanda Maxwell, a little old lady amateur sleuth, discover that most of the TV show's cast had motives to murder the man - including his Italian wife with a fiery temper. Rounds of the fictional game...

31 pages

4 m, 9 w

When Boss and his gang reconvene after being dismissed from parts better left unsaid, they go over the original map Boss had drawn showing where he had hidden a valuable string of pearls in a vacant house. They find it is now a home for aged ladies - and what ladies! Grannie Carlson loves to scoot in her wheelchair, Mrs. Hildebrand has a caustic tongue, Mrs. Katts has eyesight that leaves something to be desired. How the crooks find the pearls and what they do with them make this one of the funniest plays ever.

32 pages

3 m, 4 w, 8 flexible, some doubling possible

Princess Beauteous is the ultimate grand prize winner and gets to marry Prince Absurdly Handsome on his reality TV show. On the journey to the prince’s kingdom, she and her lazy servant, Falada, get hijacked by Repulsa, a hideous, desperate-to-be-famous peasant girl. Repulsa tricks the princess, switches places with her, and even has Falada’s head cut off. (But don’t worry, he’s okay. He’s just a little decapitated.) The arrival of the hideous new fiancée and her beautiful servant throws the reality show into a hilarious fiasco. But all ends well…at least for...

74 pages

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

Mr. and Mrs. Moss are the proud new owners of an old abandoned inn which they immediately want to restore and turn into a nightclub. Unfortunately, they're so busy overseeing suspiciously inept repairmen that they pay little attention to the local legend that tells of a treasure hidden somewhere on the estate. So when a severe storm develops forcing an unusual assortment of guests to stay the night along with the questionable workers, it doesn't take a genius to guess a murder will take place. With no help available, the hapless hosts take it upon themselves ...

51 pages

5 m, 10 w, 3 flexible

Matt is a former secret agent who is determined to live a normal life after he was nearly blown up on his last mission. But then he finds out that his new life has been compromised and agents from around the world want him dead. He has to stay alive, capture assassin after assassin, and keep his buddies from getting killed, all while trying to figure out who blew his cover and actually wants him eliminated. The show has seven parts where the actor gets a great scene, gets to do a comic fight with the hero, and then is finished, making it perfect for cameos or...

77 pages

Flexible cast of 20 (doubling possible)

It's called Camp Paradise and no wonder - it's a fine arts, a computer, and a nature camp all rolled into one! Join the artistic, the scientific, and the plain ol' back-to-nature types for a unique summer in the deep woods. Custom-design this play to your specific needs and tastes with the 21 different scenes ranging from campfire ghost stories to a first summer love. All the feelings that camp can generate - from homesickness to hilarity - can be found here. The play ends with a feeling of camaraderie as the cast sits around a campfire on their last night to...