School

72 pages

7 m, 11 w, doubling possible

Hawthorne's masterpiece comes vividly alive in this adaptation which begins at the gallows as Colonel Pyncheon greedily steals the land of Matthew Maule to build a magnificent house. But with his dying words, "God will give you blood to drink," Maule curses the Pyncheon family for generations. A hundred and fifty years later, Hepzibah Pyncheon, an aging old maid, is forced to open a cent shop in the now decrepit house to keep herself and her child-like brother from starving. It seems all hope is lost for the family. But that's precisely when pretty, 17-year-o...

18 pages

3 m, 3 w

Distraught at the lack of any stimuli, an old man’s five senses are concerned that he’s dying, which means the end for them as well. As a final tribute, Sight, Hearing, Touch, Smell and Taste reminisce about poignant moments they remember from the man’s life. They are joined by Intuition, who senses that the man is not necessarily dying of old age and suggests that they all recount the last stimulus they remember in the hopes that they can figure out what happened. As they put it all together, they realize what has occurred and try to help him…and themselves....

68 pages

3 m, 11 w

As the Nazi noose tightens around the neck of the common German, the effects are felt even in a classroom at the Scholoss Strasse School for Girls. Dorchen Werth, a young teacher just beginning her career, sees her students as a microcosm of society. Eleanore is in love with the local Hitler Youth leader; Hilde is a hard worker who strives to protect her young sister, Gertrude; Lilli is desperate to find a man who will show her affection; Paula has aspirations to attend the university; Renita is afraid because of her heritage; Annabelle is torn by divided loy...

75 pages

1 m, 3 w and flexible extras

Miss Ida Ingram's dying wish was to have her ashes scattered over the Grand Canyon - no small request for the two remaining sisters, Isabelle and Imogene, as they are elderly and have never before ventured out of South Carolina. Into the picture comes a long-lost nephew, Brandon, who agrees to drive his maiden aunts to Arizona to give himself time to think through his own mid-life crisis. Leigh Ann, a young neighbor woman who was practically raised by the elderly triplets, soon catches up and joins them on this incredible trip where they meet everyone from a ...

58 pages

3 m, 6 w, 3 flexible parts

The Culpeppers open the doors to the Last Chance Inn once again in this hilarious sequel to "Last Chance Inn, Calamity Gulch." Ma's just as harried, Pa's just as cantankerous, and Horace Prickley is just as villainous! This time he plots to woo and wed the woeful Widder Black and take control of her fortune. It seems, however, that Horace may have to share the money with the Widder's noble nephew, Peter Loveless...if the young man finds a bride before the week is out. Enter two likely prospects - Pansy Perriwinkle (the most annoyingly sweet heroine ever to gr...

48 pages

18 flexible parts, doubling possible

The play takes place during a graveyard shift in a big city police booking room where alleged criminals' mug shots are taken by two cops, a hardened veteran and a rookie on her first night. Some of the "criminals" include an African-American graduate student who infiltrated a meeting of the Klan; a drunken driver who caused a fatal accident; a pistol-packing pizza delivery woman; a husband who helped his dying wife commit suicide; a raving husband obsessed with the talk-show host who has influenced his newly liberated wife; and others. Pathetically, tragicall...

32 pages

4 m, 4 w

Friendships are tried, prejudice revealed, and self-interest is (dare it be said) exposed, in this fast-moving comedy. A small Iowa town must deal with the weighty issue of whether a stone statue violates the morals ordinance. Chorlis Deets, longtime resident of Lamb’s Corner, has a new lawn ornament in honor of his departed wife...a stone statue of Aphrodite...painted pink and “situated” on a swing in his front yard. An emergency meeting of the city council is called to debate the issue and decide whether or not to forcibly remove the statue. As the meeting ...

56 pages

Flexible cast of about 30

This delightful adaptation updates the action to 20th century New Orleans Mardi Gras celebration! It has been edited for time and archaic expressions, but otherwise the language is the same. The through-line is still very evident as Shakespeare's comment on the classes and pastoralism. Included in the oversized script are four original songs, New Orleans jazz style, which use Shakespeare's poems as the lyrics, with the suggestion of a grand finale of "When the Saints Go Marching In." The costumes are modern day but still very much in the style of Shakespeare ...

18 pages

3 m, 3 w

A psychotic murders an old man and then copes successfully with the village constable, only to be trapped and betrayed by conscience and a twisted mind. Increasing the story's playability is the addition of two nieces of the old man who suspect murder, and an innocent bride of the murderer. A smashing climax with thunderous "heartbeats" of the dead man. (Please state adaptor's name when ordering.)

32 pages

3 m, 2 w, 1 flexible

Get the youngsters in your audience twitching their noses, making engine noises, bowing to the king, catching imaginary gold thread, and shouting out names, especially Rumpelstiltskin! With such audience participation, this fairy tale adaptation is loads of active fun. It features a braggart father, his long-suffering wife, their poor but beautiful daughter, a strict rule-enforcing chancellor; a monarch whose kingdom depends on straw being spun into gold, and of course, the mysterious little man who is willing to perform that exceptional feat – but at a treme...

33 pages

3 m, 7 w

Here's sparkling mellerdrammer that has more plot twists than a pretzel factory. The setting is a near-bankrupt photo studio in the Territory of Arizona, owned by Mrs. Paula Roid, a widow who divides her time between her sickbed and her lovely daughter, Aster, "the dainty darling of the darkroom." But several other Arizonians have their beady eyes on Miss Roid, including the dastardly Mayor Gobblecrud, who is also their landlord. Just when the situation is about to explode, a stagecoach arrives with several interesting characters, including Jacques-Louis Dagu...

45 pages

7 m, 8 w, 5 flexible

Finding a prom date is tough in a normal world, but in a world dominated by the Queen and King of Teens and all their teen spirits, it's nearly impossible. In this side-splitting send-up of the Shakespearean classic, four teenagers only want to attend the prom with the teen of their dreams. Mia wants to go with Lyle but her father insists she go with Dean. Mia detests Dean but her best friend Helen adores him. Yet Dean wants nothing to do with Helen. Mia and Lyle decide to sneak off to attend another school's prom but to do so must sleep in the woods overnigh...

56 pages

Flexible cast: 9-30 actors.

Gather ‘round, friends. Here are four Appalachian folktales your audiences will love … and your actors will love performing, too! Our favorite folk hero, Jack, appears in all four stories: “Jack’s Mother’s Second Marriage,” “Jack and the Mean Old Man,” “Foolish Jack,” and “Soldier Jack.” All four tales are fast paced and humorous, and still hold true to the oral traditions of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In fact, playwright R. Rex Stephenson gathered some of the material from the archives of the WPA Virginia Writer’s Project and some tales from interviews with l...

36 pages

6 m, 9 w

An ensemble group of outlandish zany actors seek to answer this question: "Why do we have a social order in which we rank ourselves from the most dominant to the least?" They attempt to do this by acting out both hilarious and serious life situations. They do this in order to answer questions presented by the all powerful Voice. Using the Socratic Method the Voice teaches by asking questions, never answering them. In trying to answer the first question they are actually delving into the most awesome question of all, "What is the meaning of life?" The answer: ...

22 pages

2 m, 2 w, 1 flexible

Four speech and drama students and their coach are preparing for a tournament. Charles is the team's supremely confident extemporaneous speaker. Patty is the group's entry into the category of original oratory. Cathy is both a debater and, at least in her own mind, a talented actress. And then there's Chris Higgins, a former football player whose mother is forcing him to participate in public speaking as a way of overcoming his stuttering problem. Unable to join in the athletics that used to bring him glory, he's reluctantly joined this group, a group which h...