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One-Act Dramas

From intimate dramas for competition to large cast historical plays, Stage Partners has an award-winning collection of exciting dramatic play scripts for high schools, middle schools, and theatres from some of the most popular playwrights working today.

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

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  • Moriarty's Daughters (one-act version) - Stage Partners

    Moriarty's Daughters (one-act version)

    Written By: Claire Wittman
    Length: 35-40 minutes
    Cast Size: 11-30+ actors (suggested casting: 11F, 5+ any)
    Genre: Dramedy, Drama
    Synopsis:
    In 1897 New York City, Lucy and Louise Bullard are trying their best to live a quiet life, untouched by the legacy of their father Adam Worth, an internationally infamous conman and art thief whose exploits inspired the character of Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes stories. However, upon discovering that their father has a third daughter, kept in the care of their aunt, and that the aunt in questio...
  • Moriarty's Daughters - Stage Partners

    Moriarty's Daughters

    Written By: Claire Wittman
    Length: 65-70 minutes
    Cast Size: 11-30+ actors (suggested casting: 11F, 5+ any)
    Genre: Dramedy, Drama
    Synopsis:
    In 1897 New York City, Lucy and Louise Bullard are trying their best to live a quiet life, untouched by the legacy of their father Adam Worth, an internationally infamous conman and art thief whose exploits inspired the character of Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes stories. However, upon discovering that their father has a third daughter, kept in the care of their aunt, and that the aunt in questio...
  • The Legend of Sleepy Hollow one-act adaptation by Peter Bloedel and Hans Bloedel, play script cover

    The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (one-act)

    Adapted by Hans Bloedel & Peter Bloedel from the tale by Washington Irving
    Length: 40-50 minutes (the playwrights also allow additional cuts for time, competitions)
    Cast Size: 8-30 actors (suggested casting: 7F, 8M)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    America’s first great ghost story, Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow follows the quirky and superstitious antics of schoolmaster Ichabod Crane, who is haunted by the dreaded Headless Horseman. This imaginative adaptation stays true to the world that Irving creates in this American gothic tale, but adds a lyrical quality that further enhances the humor, the magic, and th...
  • The Inexplicable Chaos Factor of Mia Gregory - Stage Partners

    The Inexplicable Chaos Factor of Mia Gregory

    Written By: Emily Hageman
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 8-20 actors (suggested casting: 5F, 3M)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    Liv is one of the most brilliant teenage mathematicians in the country, but she does not understand her best (and only) friend Mia. Like, at all. And now, she's doing this stupid play to try to figure it out. An incredibly moving and empowering story about the chaos we create, and the order we can find in it.
  • The Cages We Build - Stage Partners

    The Cages We Build

    Written By: Emily Hageman
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 8 actors (4F, 4M)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    Dean's dad isn't around, his mom is deeply broken, and everyone at school either hates him or fears him. That's just who he is. But then, he meets Lucy and learns that life can be whatever you make it, and no matter what cage you build, you always have the key.
  • Founding Daughters - Stage Partners

    Founding Daughters

    Written By: Claudia Haas
    Length: 30-40 minutes
    Cast Size: 9-25 actors possible (suggested casting: 5F, 4M)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    An episodic look at the heroic deeds of young women during the Revolutionary War that would be long forgotten if not for oral history. Had these women not been so brave and cunning, would the war have ended the same way? There is Sybil Ludington's overnight ride to gather the militia, Kate, an African Princess, forced into slavery, who saved her master from the British and more. Students and audie...
  • Should Not Cause Harm - Stage Partners

    Should Not Cause Harm

    Written By: Mandy Conner
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 10-25 actors (suggested casting: 7F, 7M)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    A spellbinding story of grief and self-discovery, exemplified through a teenage girl's journey from retribution to redemption. Through the flashbacks of the ensemble cast, we learn of a twisted tale of manipulation, heartache, and self-harm...ultimately they discover that relationships in life "should not cause harm."
  • Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (one-act) - Stage Partners

    Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (one-act)

    Length: 35-40 minutes
    Cast Size: 8-20 actors (suggested casting: 11F, 4M)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    When ten-year-old Rebecca Randall’s family falls into dire financial straits, she is sent away from the family farm to live with her two aunts in Riverboro, Maine. Rebecca’s spirited nature and zest for life quickly win her the affection of townspeople and classmates alike, but she must contend with her strict Aunt Miranda, who sees Rebecca’s behavior as nothing but troublesome. Adapted from...
  • The Girl with the Golden Hand - Stage Partners

    The Girl with the Golden Hand

    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 9 actors (7F, 2M)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    Lolo is just your average teenager, until one day she suddenly acquires a Midas-like gift that turns everything she touches into literal gold. Sounds like a dream come true, right? Except she has to wear an oven mitt over her hand at school, her dad is using her as his own personal money mint, and she can’t even hold her boyfriend’s hand without accidentally killing him. With the help of her b...
9 Items