School

59 pages

8 m, 14 w

When Max Holsten sets out for work leaving behind his briefcase and an unfinished breakfast, his quaint 1950s family is besieged by a series of misunderstandings that fester into conspiracy theories and suspicions. The extended family Max and his newlywed wife, April, have been living with are no comfort. April’s sister June has an obsession with pulp-fiction intrigue and leads April to assume the worst about Max. Making matters murkier, Grandma May, the aged and easily confused matriarch of the family, misstates all the facts. Max’s seemingly simple oversigh...

60 pages

3 m, 8 w, 1 flexible

When the high school principal asks students Dani, Jenna, and Ruby to include new student Lydia in their save-the-planet activities, they’re none too pleased. Dani thinks Lydia is out to trap her boyfriend Dante, whose best friend Gavin is completely smitten with the new girl. The four girls end up trying to clean an old ranger cabin in a nearby state park. But unknown to them, a lot more guests will be secretly visiting the cabin on the same night, all with different objectives – including Dante and Gavin, cat burglar sisters Sissy and Sassy, two bewildered ...

31 pages

2 m, 6 w

On a sunny summer afternoon on the lawn of a country estate, Desiree and her guests gather for tea. Though the conversation is witty and sophisticated, one senses that underneath all the frivolity, something is wrong -- but what? What subjects has the new maid been instructed to avoid? What is implied in the guests' covert glances to one another? Why does Desiree's daughter, who is away at boarding school, write for permission to visit a friend over the holidays rather than come home? It's not until the last few minutes of the play that the audience learns th...

36 pages

4 m, 6 w

Melodrama meets the high seas when J. P. Morganfeller, mysterious millionaire, carries his priceless painting, the "Mona Lisa Unbuttoned," aboard ship. A villainous art thief and three lady cat burglars (thinly disguised as high society types) steal it and throw all the blame on officer Vance Trueblue, who must solve the case to keep his sterling reputation and his true love, Dimity Darling. About 40 minutes.

60 pages

5 m, 5 w

This is one club where members’ lives are not an open book! Tonight’s meeting of the Queen Anne Murder Mystery Book Club takes a dark twist when a threatening telephone call sets the group on edge. Suddenly all the lights go out and gentle Nellie is murdered. But who is the killer…and why? Do those eerie masks mounted on the wall or that unusual hanging mobile mean anything special? And then a rock with a message attached is thrown against the house jolting everyone even further. Inspector McAdoo follows the clues but soon another murder takes place. Accusati...

25 pages

7 - 9 plus an ensemble group

It is final exam time—again!—at Standardized Testing Senior High School, and Christie is feeling less than solid about her English final. Her friends, Bobby – a snack-o-holic, and Val, her BFF, are much less concerned until Christie’s vision of the horrible outcome of the test (shown in a slow-motion action sequence which uses “unseen” black clad stagehands) causes her to flee, taking her friends with her. Unfortunately, that is just the beginning. Can you really escape your destiny, or as the creepy school custodian warns “Testiny”? Bobby and Val struggle wi...

68 pages

3 m, 1 w, 5 flex; total of 9 with doubling, 42 w/o doubling

Ever forced to wait and wait…and wait? Want to scream at nonsensical bureaucracy? Then you’ll sympathize with Mr. Poosch who, after he accidentally leaves his well-made coat in the country to the North, finds tremendous hurdles when he attempts to get it back. First, he cannot obtain the right paperwork to travel, and then, when he finally arrives, it is Sunday and the country is closed on Sundays. A homeless man finds the coat and finds his luck turns around while wearing it. Meanwhile, poor Mr. Poosch finds himself broke, hungry, and laboring in the street....

42 pages

7 m, 3 w, 2 flexible, chorus, extras

This new dramatic adaptation of "Antigone" offers a voice to characters who were previously unheard in the traditional Sophocles version. Polynices, Haemon, Ismene, and Eurydice -- each becomes an integral part of the storyline so that the audience fully understands what compels them to commit the actions they choose. Inventive new scenes, crisp dialogue, and beautiful choral work help develop the storm between Antigone and Creon to its inevitable conclusion, while tender moments between siblings allow us to see what drives their ambitions, their hopes, and t...

51 pages

5 m, 5 w

Gideon Culpepper opens the Last Chance Inn and the guests pour in immediately! Dashing Horace Prickley agrees to help poor flower-peddler Flossie McDurdle become a lady, so she can win her heart’s true love, the spineless but wealthy Theodore Vanderthistle. Teddy’s scheming mother, Vedalia, has other plans though. She sends for Posey Lee Perriwinkle, a beautiful Southern belle who arrives via Pony Express as a mail-order bride. Unfortunately, Posey falls for Gideon instead. Meanwhile Horace finds that he is falling for Flossie and facing the dilemma of helpin...

34 pages

3 m, 2 w, 1 puppet.

Y’all know of Pecos Bill, the first Texas cowboy! He was raised by coyotes, made the first lasso out of a rattlesnake, broke a cyclone down to a gentle breeze, tamed the longhorn cattle and almost married Slewfoot Sue, who caught his attention by riding a giant catfish. Unfortunately, this Pecos Bill is a little confused. Ya see, the setting is in the present at a performance of “Pecos Bill's Wild West Show,” patterned after the Wild West shows of the late 19th century. But Bill and the other performers still live in the past. They believe everyone comes to t...

64 pages

6 m, 12 w

Life isn't easy for a fashion designer who can't needle her way into a designing job. Alexandra Daniels, better known as Lexie, is stuck stitching at the famous House of Van Gore, where her friend, Mona, works in the stockroom yearning for her big break on Broadway. Although the fashion shows they work on are colorful, their lives are dull - until the late Mr. Van Gore makes a "spirit's visit" asking the two to help solve his murder. They only half-heartedly agree until Miss Rushton, the house's secretary, turns up dead in the workroom. Now, Lexie and Mona, w...