School

46 pages

21 characters; 10 m, 11 f, extras, doubling possible

A high school drama teacher directs her students in rehearsing a version of Romeo and Juliet. A creative writing teacher encourages her students to compose poems that reflect their personal lives. And a man, the narrator, weaves these school experiences –and his own– into a play he has written. The result is a beautiful mosaic of the familiar lives of students and culture inherent in high schools. The play deals with tragedy, bullying, sexuality, grieving, and perseverance with vital sensitivity. A mix of ...

64 pages

10 m, 3 w, 11 flexible, extras

This adaptation of William Shakespeare's zesty classic comedy remains true to the original, but with its tighter construction is more easily accessible to junior and senior high school actors. Set in Padua, Italy, in the late 1500s, the story concerns the shy Bianca and the mean-spirited Katharina, the two daughters of a rich merchant named Baptista. Though Bianca is being courted by a number of young men, Baptista announces that she may not marry until Katharina is wed. None of the men in town are willing to marry Katharina, so Bianca remains unwed, even as ...

64 pages

7 m, 11 w, 5 flexible parts

Fellow Americans! Your President has more problems than the Treasury Department can count! When he ends up stranded in the sleepy mountain town of Turtle Creek he finds the folks there none too happy 'bout the new highway passing them by. To make matters worse, his daughter's rebellious boyfriend shows up with his own political agenda. Also popping in unexpectedly is a lady CEO who's into acquisitions - and her next planned take-over is the White House as the new first lady! Add an inept Secret Service agent, two chiseling advisors, and an underworld kingpin ...

72 pages

Flexible cast, approx. 9 m, 9 w, extras

Combine the drama of Shakespeare with the craziness of high school! Jane, a nerdy-looking new student, is all but ignored by the in-crowd. They're too involved with trying to get parts as extras for the movie that's going to be filmed there. Little do they know Jane is really the pampered, glamorous teen soap opera star, Tiffany! She's undercover to prove she can act and hopefully earn the lead in the movie. In drama class, Jane is teamed up with Tim, the class bookworm. They look like losers...until they do their Shakespeare scene. That threatens posse leade...

65 pages

6 m, 10 w, 6 flexible, extras

Trixie Mindstem is a bright and friendly, if not particularly attractive, senior at Noodlenick High School. Like many other girls, she has become a victim of the handsome and rich but deceitful Mark Toppledander. He steals her term papers and passes them off as his own; he invites her to his formal graduation bash but tells her to wear casual shorts and flip-flops; and he says behind her back, "Looks aren't everything, and in her case they're nothing." But he never should have crossed Trixie Mindstem because she has a few tricks of her own. While the space co...

64 pages

7 m, 12 w, extras

We're in Television City where we are watching the live taping of "Days of Our Nights." The set of "Days" is a New Year's Eve party on the Buckcannon yacht and the drama begins when Asa Buckcannon is poisoned from drinking his champagne toast. Who is the murderer? Could it be the sickly sweet Marlena, the conniving Erica, or even the long-lost Greta who acts like a wild animal? Or could it be Beau, who's always wanted to run the Buckcannon Industries but was too inept, or Stefano, a rich, cunning businessman? And how do Dr. Von Quackenhiemer, a strange German...

53 pages

Gender-flexible roles; approx. 3 m, 15 w, doubling possible

Prudence E. Witch is sick and tired of being burned in the oven while Hansel and Gretel run free. She decides to re-write some of the best loved children’s tales into a more modern narrative. Come join Chicken Little, the Three Pigs, Jack and Jill, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Prudence as they discover a new reality. Chicken Little finds that with a little therapy she can believe in herself. Foxy Loxy turns a new leaf…as a therapist. Two of the three little pigs practically insist on being eaten, and Cinderella rethinks the...

71 pages

10 m, 10 w, 3 flexible

Foreign Princess Daella is hiding out at Aunt Lillian's Boarding House for Young Performers to avoid a pre-arranged marriage. With the help of the smitten and good-hearted Stan, she manages to disguise herself as a handyman, Mike. Between the frantic royal family trying to find their princess, a Hollywood star planning to shoot a movie at the boardinghouse, and Daella's cousin, Terhessa, flirting with the cute "handyman" everything seems crazy. And it gets even crazier and funnier when Stan is seen hugging "Mike" and speaking to him in the completely made up ...

67 pages

10 m, 10 w, 3 flexible parts

Fiddledeedee! Just as beautiful young Charlotte O'Mara is starting to have a good time at Magnolia Plantation's annual barbecue, that blasted Civil War breaks out! All the eligible young men rush off to join the fight - all except Magnolia's faithful servant, Bret Butler, who suffers from fallen arches. Four years later, as the war draws to a close, the O'Maras owe back taxes on Magnolia and unless they can come up with the money, their former overseer, Carlton Creepstone, now a villainous carpet-bagger, will take it over and turn it into the Sassafras Saloon...

80 pages

11 m, 12 w, extras

The Globe actors are rehearsing Shakespeare‘s newest show, "As You Like It," when word arrives that the license has been denied. Forced to be gone for the day to deal with the problem, Shakespeare leaves star actor Richard Burbage in charge. While Shakespeare’s gone, his wife, Anne, and their two daughters arrive to help out. Soon, the elder daughter, Susanna, is falling in love with one of the actors, while the younger daughter, Judith, is trying to ferret out the spy that is trying to sabotage her father’s theatre. Anne, meanwhile, is getting into a power s...

57 pages

Multi-racial cast of 7 m, 7 w, 6 flexible

Jim and Lillian Fowler are having a dinner party to welcome their daughter home from college and meet her fiance. Lillian's brother, Walt, a physician, is also there, even though he and Jim get under each other's skins, especially when Walt needles Jim about losing a recent election to become prosecutor because of his conservative racial views. When Janice and her fiance David arrive, the strain increases as the idealistic young law student from "up North" treats the Wycrofts, the family who works for the Fowlers, as equals. The Wycrofts are already uneasy, f...

57 pages

4-26 m, 14-24 w, doubling is appropriate.

Ivan’s greatest ambition has always been to learn the Language of the Birds. When he shows off his pet nightingale for show and tell at school, he is teased until he runs away. Seeking shelter in the forest, Ivan protects baby birds from a storm. In gratitude, the mama bird grants Ivan’s wish and teaches him to speak Bird. When his parents Mama Lou and Papa Joe find out that Ivan not only can speak Bird, but is now speaking in a heavy Russian accent, Ivan promptly finds himself sold off as a cabin boy on a ship. A band of tough girl pirates soon takes over, a...