School

22 pages

2 m, 3 w

A mysterious storyteller leaves a grisly talisman with a Midwestern farm family, assuring them that it will grant them three wishes, but warning them to pitch the monkey's paw on the fire, as it will bring them nothing but death. The father makes the first wish, but even good is twisted into evil as the family's lives spiral hopelessly out of control. (Excerpted from the author's full-length play, "Fright Night.")

61 pages

7 m, 6 w, extras as desired

First came Judge Wapner, then Judge Judy. Now comes Judge Clapham. But his court is a little more, shall we say, colorful than most. People come to court to bring announcements of car washes, to hold quilting bees and to drop off their mortgage payments. And what starts out as just another lazy day suddenly changes when shyster lawyer E. Z. Miles has the Judge marry two people madly in love...only to find out that the groom is on trial for embezzlement and the only witness against him is his new bride. "A wife cannot testify against her husband, right, Judge?...

36 pages

5 m, 10 w, 7 flexible

Here is a hip, contemporary version of "The Emperor's New Clothes," complete with election politics and news media spin. President William Lee is too busy with international politics to worry about whether his striped tie clashes with his plaid pants and argyle socks. His devoted wife is understanding but the media sure take a stab at his wardrobe, as does his election opponent, Horace Grinchley, and Horace's overly-ambitious campaign manager, Myrna Snerd. The two get several people to pose as wardrobe consultants to strip President Lee down to his "bare" ess...

24 pages

3 m, 3 w, 6 flexible

Tomorrow is opening night at The Grand Old Theatre and Mastermime, a notorious criminal who distracts audiences with entrancing mime routines and then disappears with their valuables, has defaced the theatre marquee and is terrorizing the stagehands. Will hard-boiled detective Stanton Ovation and his earnest sidekick Deputy Hammet Upp capture this mute but expressive villain before he steals self-absorbed celebrity actress Ima Starr’s diamonds? Or is there more to this case than it seems? Ima’s talkative assistant Roberta, who was a forensic scientist before ...

68 pages

6 m, 8-9 w, 2 flexible

Based on the famous Oscar Wilde story, this adaptation is touching and funny. Sir Simon Canterville, the 500-year-old ghost of Canterville Manor, is suddenly faced with an English ghost’s worst nightmare -- Americans! The Otis family moves in, and Sir Simon wants them out. When 16-year-old Virginia, who wants to be anywhere but England, and Sir Simon meet, they have an instant dislike for one another. Soon, though, they find they have a very special link. Insert two rambunctious twins, a stuffy English butler, and a handsome young English duke, and this becom...

74 pages

10 m, 13 w, 3 flexible parts

Sir Robin Hood and Lady Marian have been married for 20 years and their beautiful daughter, Robin, is now about to come of age. The Queen insists Robin be wed to a man of royal lineage before assuming the throne. Being a woman of the next generation, Robin is naturally resentful about being married off so quickly without some romance. So she devises a contest in which the best archer and swordsman shall win her hand. Robin convinces her maid to stand in for her while she herself dresses as a man to compete to prove her point. Meanwhile, Prince Jarred resents ...

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...

62 pages

4 m, 3 w

What do you do to prepare for a visit from your parents? Plenty, when you're the daughter of strict Italian Catholic parents who expect to meet your female roommate, who is actually a guy. John was hoping to celebrate his and Maria's two-year anniversary as housemates by proposing to her. Instead he finds himself as "Suzanne" wearing a dress and trying to cope with Maria's cranky father, her overbearing mother and her wild younger sister. Then there's Maria's old childhood friend who tries to make his move on Maria as well as "Suzanne." Add John's trouble-mak...

80 pages

Flexible cast of 20 (min. 5 m, 5 w)

Remember your first day of high school, your first zit, your first blind date? Relive them all with this collection of 15 scenes ranging from the sadness of encountering one's first taste of prejudice to that wonderfully primal feeling of being first in line! And to glue the scenes together is the ultimate high-brow poet. This play will provide your cast and audience with many chances to reflect on their own experiences, from the warm and fuzzy, to the downright embarrassing, to the poignant and touching. Casting, sets, and costumes are very flexible.

61 pages

8 m, 14 w, extras

The students of Hilltop High are excited! They're going to put on a performance of "Romeo and Juliet." But the drama director, Miss Peggy Donahue, pressed into service by a principal eager to please his superintendent, is horrified. Twenty years before, when she was a student at Hilltop High, she starred in a disastrous musical version of Shakespeare's "Scottish Play," and she believes the curse lingers on. Sure enough, everything that can go wrong does. The set for the balcony scene collapses, the actress playing Juliet breaks her leg in a freak accident, he...

66 pages

7 m, 13 w, plus 5-8 radio callers

Radio station manager Clay Davis learns that an heiress was poisoned at the secluded island resort where his girlfriend works. He goes to warn her but is trapped there with all the other guests. Then, not only does an elegant Countess disappear, but so does a withdrawn, mysterious maid. Murder suspects include the annoying neighbor who wants the island sold out to developers; the grouchy, inept handyman; and the burly, brainless new pool man. And who will be the next victim? Will it be the over-eager staff dietician; the unpublished mystery writer; the once-f...

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...

59 pages

Approx. 37 parts, doubling possible

Romance, mystery, and more fun than a magic carpet ride - that's what makes this richly imaginative version of the story of Aladdin such a winner. You'll love all the colorful characters, including Yahoo and his pet snake, who serve as narrators; the evil magician, El Kahsid; the beautiful Princess Celestia; the spoiled, obnoxious Gorgan, who wants to marry the Princess; the lamp and ring Genies and their "wish-granting associates"; the poetic cave creeps; and finally Aladdin himself, who starts out as a lazy, insolent boy but proves himself to be a prince. T...

41 pages

5 m, 8 w, 4 flexible, extras (including a few children from the audience)

In this adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's beloved tale, all of the town's children gather round a traveling storyteller to hear the story of a wayward little fairy girl. When an old woman wishes on a magic flower, her heart's desire for a child of her own literally blossoms before her eyes. Her magical little girl, only a few inches high, is named Thumbelina, and although the friendly child is very helpful around the house, and very kind to the nearby forest creatures, she just doesn't feel as if she fits in. A gossipy Frog Lady convinces Thumbelina tha...

23 pages

Widely flexible cast of 10 or more

OK, teens, listen up. If you want to drive a car, go to college/grad night/prom, get a class ring or new clothes, you're going to have to - find a JOB! All the fun, frustrations and foibles of part-time jobs are explored in these scenes and monologues, from making a hamburger (first the lettuce then the onion!), to figuring our what garbled language is being spoken in the drive-thru, to presenting a phone sales pitch before the person hangs up with a thud! There are also some moments of comic fantasy as teens try to picture their dream job, as surfer and comi...