School

54 pages

4 m, 3 w

Hailed by George Orwell as “the wittiest play” G.B. Shaw ever wrote, Arms and the Man is a true classic in the history of theater, blending social commentary, romantic comedy, fun and lively characters, and crackling dialogue that leaps off the page! We are in the 1880s, and Raina Petkoff is a young Bulgarian woman, worried about the war her father and fiancé are currently fighting. No sooner is she warned that enemy soldiers may be nearby, than Captain Bluntschli, a war-weary enemy, breaks in and holds her hostage. To their surprise, and the audienc...

68 pages

13 m, 13 w, and Bear, Time Chorus & Musicians

A beautiful adaptation especially written for secondary school students to perform. Here is the story of good versus evil and the power of time to heal all wounds. Leontes, without warning, suddenly believes his visiting boyhood friend, Polixenes, is in love with Leontes' wife Hermione. Leontes even goes so far as to order his friend poisoned and Hermione thrown in jail where she has a baby girl. It never occurs to Leontes he could be wrong, even though the Oracle of Apollo showed the couple's innocence. Sixteen years later the child, Perdita, who has been ra...

24 pages

5 m, 3 w, and ensemble

Hassan works as a scholar in the House of Wisdom specializing in translating legends. She spends her days alongside her father and twin. Together they are all living a dangerous secret. It is 13th century Bagdad at the height of Islamic civilization and women are forbidden in the House of Wisdom, so Hassan and her sister are posing as men. The daughters are living a protected and peaceful life, yet Hassan dreams of travelling the world. The arrival of a new scholar expands Hassan’s horizons, but will he jeopardize her secret identity as well as her future? Wh...

20 pages

2 m, 2 w

A cartoon show writer who is getting bad reviews and an about-to-be-fired hair dresser land in the same taxi cab in the middle of a rain storm. After initial-humorous-hostilities toward each other they realize their plights may have much in common. About 30 minutes.

60 pages

12 to 30 (4 m, 8 w with doubling) (7 m, 13 w, 10+ flexible)

In 1890s London, a recent night of fatal violence has terrorized the city. Scotland Yard fears that the infamous Jack the Ripper has finally returned home. Inspector William Wright has staked his career on bringing the killer to justice and believes he finally has his man. Wright will stop at nothing to make sure that George Bessel goes to the gallows for the crime. However, Bessel’s partner and friend, Theresa Vincey, protests his innocence. The leading witness to the crime, Vincey holds the key to Bessel’s fate. As the investigation unfolds with interviews,...

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 ...

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

1 m, 2 w

This play deals with the heartache and the trauma of being old, being alone in the world and forgotten. Mrs. Delmonico, a former actress, lives in a tenement building in New York. She exists mostly in her imagination and takes her torment out on her neighbor, Mrs. Quinn. They are unable to get along in any way until this Christmas Eve when Mr. Gartch, one of the roomers whom they have never met, happens upon the scene. He becomes their catalyst - motivating them to look at things differently. Because of his being so positive and hopeful, and because he is ano...

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...

63 pages

5 m, 7 w

It's WWII and on the Hoosier homefront, the Rev. Peter Farenkamp and his family try to do their part, especially the oldest son, David, who volunteers as a junior air raid warden. Soon the close-knit family lets Rita and Louise Baxter live with them so the two V-Girls can work at the nearby defense plant. A call from Louise's fiance, leaving for active duty in Europe, sparks in David a defiant determination to join the Army on his upcoming eighteenth birthday. But Peter, who has seen war up close, tries to stop him. Father and son clash in a powerful scene as...

67 pages

15 m, 13 w, 7 flexible, extras, doubling possible

Adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens. A coming-of-age story of a boy in 19th century. A young hero battling a difficult youth, we see David's struggles from his childhood days at the family's estate in Blunderstone, to his early life of poverty and misery, to his final, joyful success. Many of our favorite Dickens' characters are present: David's gentle mother, Clara; the loving housekeeper, Peggoty; his cruel stepfather, Murdstone; his schoolmates Steerforth and Traddles; the amusing, ever-on-the-run Micawbers; the lovely Agnes Wickfield, and the despic...

27 pages

2 m, 2 w, ensemble cast of 4-15 flex

Boy Meets Girl! Boy Loses Girl! But will Boy get Girl back again? Nothing is that easy. Through Barbara and Walter, co-narrators, a boy and girl demonstrate love – from the basic Neanderthal beginnings, to the use of Shakespeare to describe it, then to the Dark Ages, World War II, and into the future – all while an ensemble cast brings humor and action onto the stage. This fast-paced one-act play provides flexibility as any number of actors can be a part of the chorus or perform one of the many smaller roles.

29 pages

5 m, 5 w, 6 flexible, extras, doubling possible

How students cope with the death of classmates due to drinking and driving is poignantly brought home in this one-act. On one side, Lisa is consumed with guilt because she didn't take away her brother's car keys, even though she knew he drank. On the other, Kurt is racked with pain because if he hadn't been drinking, he wouldn't have needed his sister to pick him up and she wouldn't have been in Lisa's brother's car. Then the football team wants to erect a roadside cross in memory of Lisa's brother right next to a cross the girls are planning in memory of Kur...

58 pages

1 m, 7 w, 28 flexible

"The Birds" was originally written by Aristophanes as a satire on man's society. In this loose adaptation, three children embark on a journey that leads them to the Great Bird's Nest in the Sky. There they hope to live away from all the constraints of home and school, but instead of living "free as a bird," they find the birds trying to outdo humans in a far more complicated society. The cast is a mixture of children, meddling gods and goddesses, and a rich array of bird characters. Aristophanes' humor and satire are left intact as the play pokes gentle fun a...

32 pages

3 m, 3 w, extras, doubling possible

Jennie Wade was the only civilian killed during the Battle at Gettysburg. A stray bullet came though the door of her sister's home and struck Jennie while she was kneading dough to feed the Union soldiers. "A Rose in Its Time" is a moving portrait of this spirited young woman who loved life, cared for others with a rare generosity of spirit, and delighted in her family and her fiance with all her heart. Jennie's sister, Georgia, tells the story in the play just as she did in real life, keeping the memory of Jennie Wade alive for the rest of her own years and ...