It's almost time to take a well-earned holiday break, and whether you're traveling across the country to visit family (like me!) or getting cozy at home (like my dog wishes we were!), nothing makes for a great vacation like some good reading material.
Sure you could pick up one of those heavy hardcovers at the airport, but only a Scrooge would lug around a brick of a book when you can read all our plays FOR FREE on the very screen you're looking at right now!
But with so many plays to choose from where should you start?!
Well the good news keeps getting better because I've been reading plays from the Stage Partners library all year, and I thought I'd share a few titles on my Winter Break Reading List.
Share yours by tweeting @stage_partners or commenting on our Facebook page!
Little Women
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Drama
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Full-length (80-90 minutes)
- 9-10 actors
- Also available as a one-act!
One of my favorite holiday traditions is seeing Christmas Day movies with my family, and this year we're all hoping to catch the new big screen adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. If only I didn't have to wait to dive into the world of the March sisters!
Well there's good news for me— and you!— because master playwright Jon Jory is back with a pitch-perfect stage adaptation of Little Women. Best of all it's available as both a one-act and a full-length, so you can catch up on the March sisters no matter how much (or how little) time you have to spare.
Romeo & Juliet & Aliens
- Parody/Farce
- One-act (40-45 minutes)
- 10-30 actors, gender flexible
If you're looking for a different kind of adaptation look no further than Nick Cantin's wild parody Romeo & Juliet & Aliens, where there's something rotten at Verona High School, students keep mumbling in robotic unison, and did we mention the aliens?
A gloriously goofy send-up of Shakespeare and science fiction, this play has it all: Slapstick zaniness, secret laboratories, and even some iambic pentameter! Just be careful not to break the fourth wall (it’s very fragile).
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Read the play for free!
Check out these production photos:
The Video Gamapalooza
- Comedy
- Full-length (90-100 minutes)
- 10-60 actors, gender flexible
- Also available as a one-act!
One of my favorite things to do over the holidays is zone out with some of my favorite video games, so you better believe I love this action-packed love letter to classic games and gamer culture.
Join a crusty Gen-X-er longing for the good ol’ days and a plucky youngster who has downloaded the good old days on their phone in 12 seconds as they visit the emotional intensity of Pong, the groundbreaking nature of Ms. Pac-Man, the torturous love affairs of Mario, and the real estate development smash: Minecraft.
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Read the play for free!
Read the one-act version for free!
Check out this pic from the show:
Fake News
By Werner Trieschmann- Comedy
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One-act (30-40 minutes)
- 10-20 actors, gender flexible
Trying to avoid talking about the news with your family this holiday? Why not invite them all to a living room reading of Werner Trieschmann's scoop-tacular comedy Fake News.
KFKE's senior news anchors Rusty and Sandy serve up only the hottest "real" news during their nightly Newstime broadcast. From an interview with an unfrozen cave man to a revealing expose on the mysterious Illuminati, everything on KFKE is 100% real no matter what your eyes, ears, and gut tell you!
Stay tuned for the weatherman, Bob Deepmantan, who claims it’s 97 degrees in the middle of January. Will KFKE’s broadcast end before or after the massive alien invasion?! Get the real fake scoop— and plenty of family-friendly laughs!— with Fake News!
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Read the play for free!
BLOG BONUS: Read our exclusive Q&A with playwright Werner Trieschmann.
The Cages We Build
- Drama
- One-act (30-35 minutes)
- 4 female, 4 male
In the mood for something serious? I'll never forget the first time I read Emily Hageman's equal-parts heartbreaking and hopeful The Cages We Build.
I love how Hageman beautifully dramatizes the isolation and emotional trauma felt by Dean, a young man struggling to find peace— let alone love. Even on the page I can vividly see Dean struggling to get free (and you can see how Hageman herself staged it in the pictures below!).
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Read the play for free!
Check out these photos from a production directed by playwright Emily Hageman:
iFeel
By Chris Barlow
- Sci-Fi Rom-Com
- One-act (35-40 minutes)
- 6-13+ actors, gender flexible
Maybe it's no surprise that one of my favorite plays of the year was... my own. But I had to include iFeel on my Winter Break Reading List because working on it was the most fun I had writing all year.
This play captures all my favorite parts of writing theater for young actors: Their willingness to let their imaginations run wild, try new things, and embody wild and wacky characters. I know I would've had a blast working on this show in high school, and if you're just about burnt-out on Christmas Rom-Coms then let me humbly recommend the hair-brained heartbreak of iFeel.
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Read the play for free!
BLOG BONUS: Read my tips for sound designing your own show.
Madeleine L'Engle's The 24 Days Before Christmas
- Holiday Comedy/Drama
- Full-length (65-75 minutes)
- 10-50+ actors, gender flexible
Looking to make a new holiday tradition this year? Why not take some tips from the Austin family by reading Madeleine L'Engle's The 24 Days Before Christmas— it's a festive classic that's been adapted for the stage by our own Jason Pizzarello!
The Austins have a cherished tradition of doing something special every day counting down to Christmas— from baking cookies to decorating the tree— but this year is proving to be a challenge for the whole family. Filled with elves, carols, and laughter this timeless adaptation is sure to bring a smile to your face and a tear to your eye (just in time for Christmas!).
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Read the play for free!
Chris Barlow is the author of the comedies iFeel and School of Sharks (A Shark Tank Parody), as well as other plays. As a designer he has worked on over 100 productions in and around New York City, at theaters ranging from The Roundabout to Second Stage to an installation in a Harlem apartment.
Chris is also the Director of Social Media and Content Manager at Stage Partners. He'd love to hear what you think of the blog by tweeting @stage_partners on Twitter.
Looking for even more plays for young actors?
