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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Too Many Daughters: A Jane Austen Parody
Length: 25-30 minutesCast Size: 12-25 actors, gender flexibleGenre: ComedySynopsis:
In this Jane Austen parody, the Ashworth daughters (of which there are twelve - or is it thirteen?) struggle to find suitors that will meet their mother's high standard. Her standard, of course, being that they must be filthy rich. Their task is made all the more difficult because their choices are so limited, due to the high number of potential suitors who have been killed when their horses fell... -
Yellow Wallpaper
Length: 35-45 minutesCast Size: 6-30+ actors (suggested casting: 2M, 10F)Genre: DramaSynopsis:
When Eleanor stumbles upon a hidden diary, she unlocks a family secret - and finds that danger lives closer to home than she possibly could have imagined. An ensemble of trapped spirits crack open the door between generations in a theatrical adaptation that wraps the classic psychological horror story The Yellow Wallpaper in a Hitchcockian thriller. -
Don't Wake the Dragon
Length: 30-40 minutesCast Size: 12-35 actorsGenre: ComedySynopsis:
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
Length: 30-45 minutesCast Size: 14-24 actors (suggested casting: 5F, 7M, 5 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
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: The Comedy of Errors (one-act version)
Length: 25-30 minutesCast Size: (suggested casting: 17F, 6M)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
This play is coming soon. Contact Stage Partners to request a prepublication perusal script. -
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (one-act)
Length: 40-50 minutes (the playwrights also allow additional cuts for time, competitions)Cast Size: 8-30 actors (suggested casting: 7F, 8M)Genre: DramaSynopsis:
This play is coming soon. Contact Stage Partners to request a prepublication perusal script. 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... -
When Jack Met Jill
Length: 25-35 minutesCast Size: 4-20+ actors (suggested casting: 2F, 2M, 4 any)Genre: Dramedy, ComedySynopsis:
You never know what moments will be pivotal. An existential crisis, or a change in your soda-drinking habits. An unfathomable loss, or a moment of uncertainty about whether you’re looking at a possum or not. For Jack and Jill, it’s all of the above, as moments across time (and sometimes, between realities) converge into a poignant collage rendering of their relationship. -
The Real Story of Alice in Wonderland
Length: 45-60 minutesCast Size: 13-30 actorsGenre: ComedySynopsis:
Was Alice really the sweet, innocent little girl the storybooks made her out to be, or was she actually a nasty piece of work? Two Narrators battle as they show the audience contrasting versions of Lewis Carroll's classic story. Cuttings are permitted for competition time restrictions - email Stage Partners for details. -
Two of the Fairest Stars, Quadruple Casted
Length: 30-35 minutesCast Size: 11 actors (suggested casting: 6F, 5M)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
When the theatre teacher has to fend off the wrestling team from taking the auditorium right before tech week of the Spring production of Romeo and Juliet, rehearsal is left to budding student assistant director, Wade. Can Sophomore Wade rally the quadrupled cast of Romeo's and Juliet's to block the famous balcony scene? He has been staying in on Saturday nights to watch recordings from the RSC fo... -
The Quiz That Almost Killed Me
Length: 25-30 minutesCast Size: 11-30 actors (suggested casting: 2F, 4M, 10 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
A student journeys through space, time and a hilariously idiotic Dickensian theatrical landscape to discover the importance of studying for a quiz. Entertaining for students from the past, present, and future. School was never so terrifying. (If you like This is A Test by Stephen Gregg, consider The Quiz That Almost Killed Me.)