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One-Act Plays

Stage Partners is home to some of the best one-act play scripts for high schools, middle schools, and theatres. From large cast comedies to intimate dramas for competition, Stage Partners' exciting collection of short plays features some of the most popular playwrights in the world. 

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

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  • When Bad Things Happen to Good Actors - Stage Partners

    When Bad Things Happen to Good Actors

    Written by Jason Pizzarello and Ian McWethy
    Length: 25-30 minutes
    Cast Size: 10-30 actors (suggested casting: 5F, 3M, 10 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    A simple one-act production of The Wizard of Oz gets derailed by missed cues, forgotten lines, and a renegade sound board op who refuses to play anything but dinosaur noises. A comedy that proves, when it comes to live theatre, everything that can go wrong, will go wrong, and it will be hilarious.
  • A Wrinkle in Time 50-minute version) - Morgan Gould - Stage Partners

    A Wrinkle in Time (50-minute one-act)

    Adapted by Morgan Gould from the novel by Madeleine L'Engle
    Length: 45-50 minutes
    Cast Size: 7-30 actors (suggested casting: 7F, 4M, 6 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    One of literature's most enduring young heroines, Meg Murry, is back -- braces, stubbornness and all. Once again, she's joining forces with Mrs Whatsit, Charles Wallace, Calvin O'Keefe and more to battle the forces of evil so she can rescue her father, save humanity and find herself. In the end, we know two things for sure: 1. Love CAN overcome evil and 2. There...
  • A Wrinkle in Time (35-minute version) - Morgan Gould - Stage Partners

    A Wrinkle in Time (35-minute one-act)

    Adapted by Morgan Gould from the novel by Madeleine L'Engle
    Length: 35-40 minutes
    Cast Size: 7-30 actors (suggested casting 7F, 4M, 8 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    One of literature's most enduring young heroines, Meg Murry, is back -- braces, stubbornness and all. Once again, she's joining forces with Mrs Whatsit, Charles Wallace, Calvin O'Keefe and more to battle the forces of evil so she can rescue her father, save humanity and find herself. In the end, we know two things for sure: 1. Love CAN overcome evil and 2. There IS such a thing as a tesseract. Per...
  • Masterclasses

    Masterclasses

    Written By: Patrick Greene
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 8-25 actors (suggested casting: 1F, 9 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Acting. Is. Life. If you are going to be a student at The Morley Buck School of Serious Acting for Extraordinary Actors, you need to commit to your craft. But acting isn't all soliloquies and dramatic scenes; to be a true Actor (with a capital "A") you need to perfect moments such as being Startled Awake, Underwater Thinking, or being hit by a laser B.E.A.M. These are just some of the hyper-specif...
  • The Cast List - Stage Partners

    The Cast List

    Written By: Jason Pizzarello and Rocco Natale
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 10-30 actors (suggested casting: 12F, 3M, 5 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Ah, the cast list. Oh, the drama. The casting would be simple if it weren't for constant script cuts, actor trade agreements, backstabbing, helicopter parents, hysterical prima donnas, and the Assistant Director could figure out how to incorporate the songs of Grease into Romeo & Juliet without getting sued. This is a show for any student who has ever been cast or miscast in a school play or a...
  • Soundscapes, a one-act drama play script by Claudia Haas and Sarah Kraning - Stage Partners

    Soundscapes (one-act version)

    Length: 35-45 minutes
    Cast Size: 9-30+ actors (suggested casting: 5F, 2M, 9 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    Iris has synesthesia. She has no idea. At first, she simply thinks that everyone sees colors and shapes when music plays, but by the time she's a teenager, it's clear that others don't understand. Struggling to downplay the way she experiences the world, and worrying what it might mean to be different, the young artist is at war with herself until she meets a new friend - and he sees the colors to...
  • A Night Under the Stars (one-act) - Stage Partners

    A Night Under the Stars (one-act)

    Written By: Tracy Wells
    Length: 40-45 minutes
    Cast Size: 8-17 actors (suggested casting: 17 any)
    Genre: Dramedy, Comedy
    Synopsis:
    The great outdoors…for some this is a place of peace and tranquility and for others it’s…well…a little messy. A Night Under the Stars is a story about people—people looking to get away from it all, people looking to connect…with nature, with one another, and with the undeniable human spirit that overcomes obstacles, no matter what is thrown our way. And whether it’s attempting to mak...
  • 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...
  • Adapted and Destroyed - Ian McWethy - Stage Partners

    Adapted & Destroyed: A Tale of Storytelling Gone Wrong

    Written By: Ian McWethy
    Length: 25-30 minutes
    Cast Size: 10-28 actors (suggested casting: 5F, 10 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    It started as a bedtime story. A story about a bunny that Mary’s mom used to tell her every night. And it was a pretty weird one (with way more digressions about mortgage rates than you’d ever expect in a children's story). But when her mom died, Bouncy Bunny became a way for Mary to remember her. So one day she decided to write it all down. And then, to her great surprise... it took...
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