School

54 pages

6 m, 16 w (doubling possible)

Blanche Dunwitty's passionate romance novels are hot sellers. Little does anyone know (although his neighbor suspects) that the author is really one Ed Bartlett, a likable, thoroughly masculine man who chomps on his pipe when working. His identity is kept top secret because if the female fans knew, they would become violent! The only problem is the upcoming romance writers' convention. Young, attractive editor Elaine Hall is to give a speech as "Blanche" but a last-minute emergency forces a reluctant Ed to go. Dressed in women's clothes but still chomping his...

88 pages

2 m, 2 w, 12 flexible; extras as desired; doubling possible

Lucille, a classic geek, and her grumpy friend Elly are visiting New York City with their college classmates. Through a series of Polaroid photos, Lucille deduces that the Empire State Building is slowly tilting over. The mysterious "Contact" kidnaps Elly when she mentions the presence of "foreign agents" in the city. In no time, Contact's accomplice Professor Hippersnipper demonstrates how he zapped the famous building and now the city's in a panic! Not only is the skyscraper bending into a "U," but Lucille's college classmates are dangling from the top! How...

65 pages

Approx. 5 m, 9 w, 6 flexible, extras, doubling possible.

Lulu's on a quest to marry Justin by Monday to outwit her former best friend Beth who plans to marry on Tuesday. Lulu hires a novice wedding consultant, whose office is a tiny converted bathroom, and in a frantic few days they deal with a florist who goes bankrupt, a jeweler who insists that she buy the world's ugliest wedding ring, and a wedding cake with "Happy Birthday, Vern" written on it. Even all the chapels are booked, so her ceremony will take place in a bingo hall presided over by the building's janitor. Lulu declares that her bridesmaids keep her ma...

36 pages

3 m, 6 w, 7-8 flexible, extras

For as long as they can remember, Alex and his friends Matt, Chad, and Chelsea have spent Friday nights fighting the undead, casting spells, and rescuing fair maidens with the roll of the dice, a little luck, and a lot of imagination.  This week they have invited a new player, Eddie, to join them. Because it’s his first time playing, he has a lot of questions through which audience members with no gaming experience can understand the action and enjoy the imagined scene that is actually a part of a fantasy role-playing game.  The teens’ goal is to return the “...

63 pages

14 m, 4 w, extras

Mistress Page and Mistress Ford are up to paying back the mischievous Falstaff for his duplicity. The Merry Wives of Windsor, one of Shakespeare's most popular plays, features the huge and conceited Sir John Falstaff at his funniest. Because the play is filled with a large variety of character types including two with outrageous accents, students will find this condensed version (which uses the Bard's own words), manageable, enjoyable and rewarding. About 90 minutes.

44 pages

6 m, 7 w, 6 flexible, extras

At last, Rumpelstiltskin gets to be the hero! Based on the original Grimm fairy tale, this traditionally misunderstood character earns a well-deserved happy ending, winning the hand of Freya, the beautiful miller’s daughter. Both comic and suspenseful, and using elements of other fairy tales and classical myths, this adaptation involves King Grood, the (not very) Good; his vain son Prince Werther; and an unscrupulous chancellor. Rumpelstiltskin, a handicapped young man, is actually Prince Werther’s twin, whom the soft-hearted miller could not bring himself to...

33 pages

Ensemble of 10 (5 m, 5 w), 40+ roles with no doubling

On the eve of the 1954 closing of Ellis Island, two teenagers, an Italian-American and an Irish-American, sneak inside the main building to see it for themselves. They meet an older man, now a janitor after serving as an inspector on the island since the early 1900s. The teens are drawn into his stories from the past and his memories come alive with an ensemble of people from all nationalities and backgrounds. Some of the immigrants are already famous, some will become famous and many, many others are “famous” only within their own families. But they all shar...

28 pages

Flexible cast of 18-28

In this comical yet surprisingly educational parody of "Twelve Angry Men," a certain wolf is on trial for blowing down a pair of houses owned by the Three Little Pigs. A jury of swine must now decide if they will oink in favor of conviction, or declare the wolf not guilty. Throughout the deliberation, most of the angry pigs believe the wolf is big and bad. However, an ensemble of storybook characters helps the pigs review the testimony, and Pig #8 asks some tough questions. Questions that will make the rest of the pigs realize that the witness testimony of Li...

37 pages

5 m, 8 w, 12 flexible

In this one-act play, tragedy meets fantasy, myth meets reality. A fairy-tale world winds itself around the real drama of one little girl’s battle with cancer and her family’s anguish. As they struggle to cope with her prognosis and desperate treatment, the fairy tale characters from the little girl’s book play out their own drama. Will an evil sorceress and her dark creatures succeed in pulling Princess Caroline away from her beloved family and prince? Will little Cora’s experimental cancer treatment save her? In our imaginations, the villain is always slain...

28 pages

1 m, 6 w, ensemble of 15 or more actors

Set in Madame Claudette’s Shadow Circus of 1915, this stirring play follows the life of a foundling infant who grew up to be known as the “Prince of Clowns.” Alfie’s life is narrated by the Bearded Lady, who offers us an insightful philosophy of life. Meet dynamic characters such as the Fortune Teller, Madame Claudette herself, and the refined young woman, Nedda, who is running away from a dark past. Nedda and Alfie become a popular circus act and live peacefully. However, Alfie’s family is threatened ten years later by the villainous mobster Olympia.  Nedda’...

68 pages

10 m, 12 w, and any number of townspeople

Three old crones start telling a magical pirate story to Sierra, a bored young woman who soon learns that an arranged marriage has been planned for her that very day! Feeling trapped, Sierra convinces the town loudmouth to meet her intended. Meanwhile, the young bridegroom, Santiago, plans the same ruse with his buddies. When he finally discovers it is Sierra he’s to marry, he tries to win her heart by posing as El Phantismo, the dashing, heroic pirate of the duenas’ story. Soon, Sierra’s girl friends fall for Santiago’s guy friends and weddings are planned. ...

29 pages

3 m, 5 w, 1 young female, 2 flexible, ensemble

Alina, a teen girl, is struggling with the anxiety of an ongoing custody battle between her parents. Meanwhile, she is taking on the responsibilities of her schoolwork, her friends, and taking care of her younger sister who has debilitating asthma. As she is set to testify in an upcoming hearing, Alina escapes through her favorite story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. This show intertwines Alina's modern story with the classic story of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman, using the words of Washington Irving himself. Can Alina find the courage to s...

40 pages

6 m, 9 w, and ensemble of 10, doubling possible

Eight diverse candidates who are running for student body president have two minutes to present their platform and to convince fellow Roosevelt High students to vote for them. From the narcissistic varsity cheerleader, to the disdainful brainiac, and from the star quarterback to the tongue-tied farm boy, every candidate is unique. Their speeches veer from the serious to the hilarious and, with several mimed action scenes, even reach the absurd! During the question-and-answer segment of the forum, however, one student asks the candidates to do something about ...

27 pages

9 women and large ensemble of 15+

Set in the Sierra Madre Mountains, this historic drama follows the lives of an intrepid band of female guerilla fighters who choose to pick up rifles to defend the poor and disenfranchised from the clutches of the corrupt Mexican government and their soldiers. The play explores what it means to be a woman, known as a “soldadera” (female soldier), in the face of great adversity, for they battle not only the enemy but also their own memories of loss, love, family, and betrayal. Each character allows a different facet of womanhood to shine -- innocence, first lo...

60 pages

24 - 30+ flexible, doubling possible

A guy with an invisible drum, a medieval restaurant host who won’t break character, a milkmaid who just wants to get rid of some cheese, and a dancing snowflake in the world’s ugliest costume. These are just some of the characters you’ll find in “And a Partridge in a Pear Tree.”  This 60-minute holiday play weaves together 12 five-minute scenes based on the well-known verses of the Christmas carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” With a basic set and hugely flexible cast from adults to children, this play uses humor an...