School

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...

40 pages

6 m, 3 w, 4 flexible (or with doubling 2 m, 1 w)

Here is a faithful stage retelling of Mary Shelley’s classic Gothic novel. We meet Victor Frankenstein, who is obsessed with finding the secret to recreating life. Of course, he famously succeeds, but fearing he has overstepped the bounds of science, quickly abandons his creation and the promise to make it a mate. The creature, betrayed and forsaken, vows to ruthlessly destroy all that his creator loves and cherishes. The unrelenting pursuit goes to the very edges of the earth. Clever theatricality, such as using actors as lightning and thunder, and as profes...

36 pages

10 m, 4 w, 1 flex, 1 boy, some doubling possible

Challenger: To Touch the Face of God tells the powerful story of the Challenger disaster of 1986. It dramatizes the stories of the seven individuals who tragically lost their lives in this event, while also drawing attention to the controversial circumstances which led to one of NASA’s blackest days. Although some of the scenes depicted are fictional dramatizations, many of the sentences are the actual words used by the astronauts themselves. Scenes and settings flow seamlessly together with only lighting to distinguish them. The result is a hard-hitting and ...

24 pages

4 w

Ellie is at a party and wanders off to find the bathroom. The room she walks into, however, is not what she expected at all and she soon realizes that she can’t get out. Worse, she is quickly surrounded by three mysterious figures who seem to hold her life in the balance. One condemns her, one defends her, and the third seems to be a judge of some kind. Ellie must persuade the judge that the “moment’s pause” she took before making one crucial decision justifies a second chance. This compelling and powerful piece offers four varied and meaty roles in a play su...

67 pages

Widely flexible cast (5 -14 m, 9 - 31 w)

Horror movies can be lots of fun! Join producer C.C. Bellows as he meets five directors whose movie pitches come alive onstage. Of course, C.C. knows that audiences only really like what they’ve seen before, so each of the directors has tweaked a famous horror film. “The Calamityville Horror” tells the story of a family who move into a house that’s haunted by circus animals. In “Saturday the 14th,” a group of college kids hope to find the famous ghost, Jacob Voorbees, a hockey player who fell through thin ice. In “The Extortionist,” a young girl is possessed ...

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...

60 pages

7 m, 8 w, extras

Here is our version of the Dumas classic. Young D'Artagnan seeks to become a musketeer, or at least see if that brochure about Paris is true. In the city for less than ten minutes, he finds himself facing all three of the musketeers when they are charged by Rochefort and the Cardinal's Guards. This spoof of seventeenth century France pulls out all the stops and is full of outrageous characters from a lying Cardinal who's into magic to Milady DeWinter who cannot get rid of her mother. Throw in a narrator, several star-crossed lovers, a race on stick horses and...

36 pages

4 m, 9 w, 4 flexible, doubling possible

Chelsea is throwing a party while her parents are away, or so she thinks. When uninvited guests start showing up, including her grandma with gout-ridden episodes, a stern police officer with neighborhood complaints, Bonnie and Clyde-like outlaws, and even last year’s grads, Chelsea ends up with a different type of bash all together. And that’s not even including a sleepwalker and paranormal activities. This wild and crazy party is 35 minutes of escalating, nonstop hilarity!

88 pages

4 m, 4 w, 14 flexible, extras, doubling possible

It is the winter of 1859 and scarlet fever is rife in New England. As two children, Frances and Julianne Beale, are recovering together, they amuse themselves by playing a game of chess. But it is no ordinary game. Frances is following a historical chess book and convinces Julianne to turn their chess pieces into imaginary characters who come alive on the stage. What follows is a melodrama of sword fighting, murder, betrayal, love, and sacrifice, all against the background of a large chess board and moveable pieces. The Alabaster king has died and his widow, ...

56 pages

3 m, 3 w

Lacy Casey is socially awkward, has a goofy sense of humor, and has raised clumsiness to an art form. If you look in the dictionary under "adorkable," you'd find a picture of Lacy.  Her friends Sue and Trevor love her quirkiness and accept her for who she is. When Lacy goes out on her first date with Bryce, she assumes it will be their last date. After all, her ungraceful mannerisms practically destroy their dinner, and he keeps calling her by the wrong name. But he comes back for more ... Meanwhile, Trevor harbors a ...

25 pages

5 m, 2 w, extras

Jack Sprat is a peeper, a gumshoe, a bloodhound for rent, a freelance flatfoot, a man on the case, a hired nose -- a detective, actually, and the only detective in Fairyland. So when femme fatale Red Riding Hood hires him to find Grandma, he knows something is up (well, actually his secretary Tinkerbell figures it out first). Red has teamed up with Prince Charming in order to trick Jack into learning the password for the fairy godmother's magic wand. In the end, Jack figures it all out with the help of his friends, Mr. X, really Rumpelstiltskin; Humpty Dumpty...

25 pages

Minimum cast: 1 m, 4 w

The ten-minute play form is more popular than ever, and these 3 lively short plays can be performed together or individually. In "Babysitter Brokerage" (4 w), the bidding war is fast and furious and the contenders are desperate. Who will win the baby-sitting job? In "The Drive-Thru Interview" (1 m, 1 w), a teen job seeker shows she's got what it takes to be the next entrepreneur of the year ... as soon as she finishes cheerleading practice. In "Mr. Perry's Test" (1 m, 3 w), three soon-to-be driving teens meet their match with their instructor. All three plays...

68 pages

Flexible cast, 10 to 50

Picture yourself in your own family album with this incredibly funny, sometimes touching, always entertaining play. Pick and choose from some 20 different scenes about family life to design a play that makes your drama family unique. The scenes are in four groups, "Getting Along," "Bustin' Loose," "Problems and Opportunities," and "Life and Death." Some of the scenes are just plain fun, like "TV Wars" and "Name That Stress." Other scenes capture the heart, as "The Funeral" and "Senior Split." Rap numbers bridge your acts while an opening and closing family "p...

44 pages

6 m, 2 w, 14 flexible

This play begins at the ending of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" but envisions a modern twist - it's a police drama, in which incompetence and political pressure rule the day. Balthasar and Friar Lawrence still flee the bloody scene in the Capulet family tomb and are apprehended by church security guards. But this time, security calls the police, who proceed to investigate the crime. The police release the friar because they can't imagine how he would be involved and instead try to pin the crime on Balthasar. The mayor, Escalus, is under political pressure ...

27 pages

8 m, 4 w

The clever short story, "The Three Strangers," by English Victorian writer Thomas Hardy, has been skillfully adapted to a rural Appalachian setting. On a snowy winter's afternoon, a farmer and his wife are celebrating the christening of their infant daughter with friends and family. The party is interrupted by the arrival of a stranger, a poorly-dressed man seeking shelter from the cold. Soon a second stranger appears. This man is finely dressed but pompous and offensive. The guests are impressed by the humility of the first man, and angered by the arrogance ...

24 pages

1 m, 3 w

Four young people are driving to Grandma's for the holidays through a deserted stretch of highway with an "obeyer of all laws" at the wheel. They come to a stoplight in the middle of nowhere as it changes from green to red. They stop. And wait. And wait. It doesn't change back. They know it's working. Do they run the light or wait even longer? Suddenly citizenship intersects with folly! This gentle comedy is sure to make your audience laugh.

61 pages

4 m, 10 w

When movie mogul Mandrake Masterfiend, producer of the schlockiest horror movies in history, invites some of Hollywood's craziest characters to his birthday party, the evening's a killer--literally. That's because he also invites Rona LaMona, the most vicious gossip columnist in the business who writes weekly under the title "The Poisoned Pen," to stir up the pot a bit. Though the actors, designers, and directors of some of Masterfiend's greatest successes enthusiastically reenact some great scenes from his movies, they suddenly find themselves playing suspec...

45 pages

2 m, 2 w

The zany antics of the commedia style, with lots of bumbling, scheming, incorrigible improvisations and very physical comedy, allows just four traveling actors to create this fast-paced story of Aladdin. Arelquin, Punchin, Columbine and Rosetta portray all the many roles in the story of a lazy young boy who needs to work to help support his mother, especially since his father froze up and is standing in a forest where birds nest in his hair! Aladdin almost falls for the machinations of an evil magician, but instead he saves himself and gains access to the Gen...

35 pages

Flexible cast 50 to 500

Here's an excellent adaptation of the story with all the beloved characters including Dorothy, Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, the Munchkins, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Wicked Witch. There's plenty of room for other performers, too, as winged monkeys, animals, guards and servants. Lively, original music, including music for the dances (which may be left out without hurting the story) make a musical your children and audiences will love. Performance time is 90 minutes.

57 pages

10 m, 18 w, 4 flexible, doubling possible

It's 1927 and the 42nd Street Orphanage for Girls in New York is a bleak place. The McGrew Sisters, who head the orphanage, are mean and stingy to the teenage girls in their charge. Enter a new orphan, young Ginny Hobbs, with a trunk full of "magic" -- costumes and props from the vaudevillian circuit her late parents used to work. As the girls perform a few skits, two con artists form a plan. They'll get the girls to do an original show called "Broadway Lullaby," get it fully insured, and when it flops, collect all the money. But the girls have other plans! T...

75 pages

Large, flexible cast

Six separate stories of the macabre will test your goosebump factor. In "Effigy," members of a high school football team learn a gruesome lesson when school spirit is carried too far. In "Voices in the Attic," a sleepy father tries in vain to assure his kids that the sounds they keep hearing are only in their imagination. But can the boys' imaginations make an attic stair creak or turn a doorknob? In "Night-Screamers," why do the children who live in the ancient apartment complex on the edge of town have so many nightmares? One tale makes use of sign language...

72 pages

3 m, 9 w

The Peaceful Glen Memorial Players are about to mount a new production, but this time, it's a fight for their lives. It's not just the usual hand-to-hand combat between board members Duncan and Hope for the last donut. This time the company is about to lose their building. According to the late Archibald Donnelly's will, they could keep the building as long as they do "quality productions." Oh, they have tried, in their own left-field way, to do the classics. "Isn't it true," family heir Blair Beesley asks, "that you did 'Twelve Angry Men' with five actors an...

50 pages

6 m, 6 w

Miss Duncan, the Stratford High School drama teacher, has always wanted to direct "Hamlet," but from the very start her production is doomed. The lead actor is a prima dona who exasperates his peers. The other actors are either jealous that they weren't cast in different roles, or clueless. On opening night the costumes still haven't arrived, the makeup is lost, and the actor who is to play Horatio calls from the hospital just before his emergency appendectomy. A member of the cast has a cousin who is a professional actor who recently performed in "Hamlet." W...

29 pages

3 m, 8 w, 2 flexible

Tech week. It’s sort of like trying to hit a homerun with a tennis racket. This tech week is especially challenging because the techies chose the play, Cats from Mars. Broken props and hyper-caffeinated techies are only some of the problems. The other human factors in this play, called actors, introduce chaos: the newbie breaks the laser gun (affectionately named Katniss), the prima donna badmouths the costumes, and the alpha male lead destroys the fog machine in between spates of directing advice. Meanwhile, the director desperately tries to hold the product...

34 pages

2m, 1w, 8+ flexible, or 6m, 5w with traditional casting.

The Wolfagues, a werewolf family, and the Vampulets, a vampire family, have a long-standing feud— although no one can quite remember why. The Princess of Transylvania has ordered all fighting to stop, but that doesn’t end the battle between the vampires and werewolves. Werewolf Romeo and Vampire Juliet fall in love and quickly marry with the help of a mad scientist, but even misguided love cannot bring the two families together. In the end, we realize it’s not over until the zombies dance. Great show for Halloween or any time of the year.

69 pages

6 m, 5 w

Two young innkeepers, Alex and Rolly, are struggling to make a success of a once-elegant hostelry in the Hamptons, but it's tough, especially with the owner Lucinda Pickle breathing down their necks. Of course it doesn't help that the hotel's permanent resident, Mrs. Prescott, collects pet mice; that the hotel chef, Cookie, is given to bursting into tears and resigning; and that a petty criminal, Willis the pickpocket, is looking for a place to hide out. When Hollywood horror movie producer Julian K. Silverblatt checks in with his vain bodyguard and his sneez...

73 pages

4 m, 4 w, 3 flexible, numerous extras

Young, gifted opera singer Christine Daae has just filled in for La Carlotta, the reigning prima donna, to a stupendous ovation at the Paris Opera. Christine has been tutored by an instructor whom she thinks of as the "Angel of Music." She convinces him to let her see his hidden world, for she realizes he is the feared "Opera Ghost," though he tells her his real name is Erik. Reluctantly, he takes her to his lair where she sees the wonder of a world that totally revolves around music. Curious, she pulls off the mask he wears and sees the hideous visage beneat...

56 pages

8 m, 8 w, 4 or more extras as female pirates

While evading her wedding and overbearing fiancé, Lizette de Champlay, a headstrong French woman, leads her ladies to a British merchant ship. Once aboard, the ladies upset the sailors and their disciplined captain, Roger Thornwood, convincing him to hunt for treasure on an island home to a fierce band of female pirates. As Roger and Lizette begin to fall for each other, Lizette’s fiancé and her father follow them to the island, only to be captured by the pirates. What follows are battles of the heart and sword as everyone searches for their treasure.

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...

63 pages

6 m, 7 w

See the butler and maid help the Cummings pack. See the butler and maid escort the Cummings out the door. See the butler and maid turn to each other and embrace because they are actually two aspiring actors, Billy and Wendy, who now have the Cummings estate to themselves! One week of acting rich! Unfortunately for them, they won't be alone and they aren't the only ones acting. For all kinds of weird and hilarious reasons, the neighbor is posing as a cleaning lady; the Cummings' daughter is acting like a family friend; the jewel thief is acting like a long-los...