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One-Act Comedies

From large cast original play scripts to adaptations of classic works, Stage Partners has an exciting collection of one-act comedies by some of the funniest playwrights working today. These plays are perfect for high schools, middle schools, and theatres. 

Browse our selection below and READ EVERY PLAY SCRIPT FOR FREE!

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9 Items
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  • How (Not) To Be a Wizard - a one-act comedy play script by Kathryn Funkhouser, Patrick Greene, and Jason Pizzarello

    How (Not) to Be A Wizard

    Length: 35-45 minutes
    Cast Size: 8-25+ actors (suggested casting: 18 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    It's a (magical) disaster! A school of wizardry needs a new professor...and classes start tomorrow. Everyone's coming through the portal for an interview, from a suspiciously fake-looking centaur to this one guy from Oz who can't even DO anything. Can anybody save the day? A spellbinding comedy that has created the completely new concept of a school for wizards and is definitely not making fun of...
  • Murder by the Book - Stage Partners

    Murder by the Book

    Written By: Jon Jory and Michael Bauer
    Length: 35-45 minutes
    Cast Size: 9 actors (suggested casting: 6F, 3M)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    When mystery writer Mary Graves is found dead, it's up to a detective with anger issues to figure out who among Graves' guests is a murderer. Is it the oil tycoon, the scientist, the Shakespearean actor, the countess, the psychic, or the maid? ...Say, this is starting to sound like a mystery novel! A hilarious one-act whodunnit brimming with larger-than-life characters.
  • Don't Wake the Dragon

    Don't Wake the Dragon

    Length: 30-40 minutes
    Cast Size: 12-35 actors
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    A mundane school day is hilariously upended in this wild homage to Eugene Ionesco’s classic Rhinoceros. When a fierce and deadly dragon flies over a school, the teachers are rightly alarmed. However, thanks to social media and other influences, the dragon inspires a mass popular movement. Soon students and faculty alike are wearing tails, roaring, and inciting chaos! The only person who seems to...
  • Too Many Detectives at the Murder Mansion one-act murder mystery comedy play script by Ian McWethy - Stage Partners

    Too Many Detectives at the Murder Mansion

    Length: 30-45 minutes
    Cast Size: 14-24 actors (suggested casting: 5F, 7M, 5 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Sure, you think you've seen this type of murder mystery before. A cast of eccentric characters meet at a mansion, only to become suspects of a murder that a singular genius detective will eventually solve. But what happens when all the suspects are the detectives? Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew, Miss Marple, and Batman are just a few of the guests. Too Many Detectives at the Murder Mansion is a...
  • Shakespeare, Clearly: A Midsummer Night's Dream - Stage Partners

    Shakespeare, Clearly: A Midsummer Night's Dream

    Length: 25-30 minutes
    Cast Size: 10-35 actors (suggested casting: 6F, 6M, 9 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Shakespeare’s most-popular comedy of adventure, marriage, and forest creatures is boiled down to a brisk 30 minutes in this one-act adaptation. This straightforward adaptation mixing contemporary and classical language emphasizes story and character rather than the poetry. Master director and acclaimed playwright Jon Jory has reimagined the classic tale to serve as an early introduction for yo...
  • The Bargain by Kathryn Funkhouser, a ten-minute play, part of the short play collection Ten(ish): Comedies - Stage Partners

    The Bargain

    Written By: Kathryn Funkhouser
    Length: 10 minutes
    Cast Size: 3 actors (suggested casting: 1F, 1M, 1 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    When you sell your soul, Dan is the demon who comes to collect. But things aren't as simple as that  - especially if evil coworkers object to working overtime, people don't respect a cool trench coat, and worst of all, the doomed mortal has a cat.     This play is part of the short play collection Ten(ish): Comedies.
  • Dorothy and the Thief of Oz (one-act version) - Stage Partners

    Dorothy and the Thief of Oz (one-act version)

    Written By: Sean Abley
    Length: 40-45 minutes
    Cast Size: 10-17 actors (suggested casting: 7F, 6M, 1 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Can Dorothy find the Tin Woodsman’s stolen heart and her parents on her second trip to Oz? Upon her arrival, she finds Tin Woodsman’s heart has been stolen, leaving him unable to love. Thrilled at the opportunity to pursue her dream of reuniting with her parents, but desperate to find her friend’s heart, Dorothy joins the beloved Oz characters in search of both. With the help of rabbit detec...
  • The Great, Great Granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Diamond - Stage Partners

    The Great, Great Granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes: The Blue Diamond

    Written By: Jon Jory
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 7-10 actors, flexible
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Clever Sherla Gomes, the Great, Great Granddaughter of famous sleuth Sherlock, teams up with her loyal friend Lolo Watson to get to the bottom of some seriously mysterious happenings. In The Blue Diamond case, they have to figure out what an uncooked goose has to do with a missing jewel - and why Jenny the Scorpion is so dangerously irritable... Performed together or separately, these one-act myst...
  • The Great, Great Granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes: The Speckled Band - Stage Partners

    The Great, Great Granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes: The Speckled Band

    Written By: Jon Jory
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 8-12 actors, flexible
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Clever Sherla Gomes, the Great, Great Granddaughter of famous sleuth Sherlock, teams up with her loyal friend Lolo Watson to get to the bottom of some seriously mysterious happenings. In The Speckled Band, the girls must solve a high-profile murder involving a cheetah, and baboon, and an expiring inheritance. Performed together or separately, these one-act mysteries, inspired by the stories of Sir...
9 Items