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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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Items 21 - 30 of 36
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  • 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...
  • Shakespeare, Clearly: The Comedy of Errors (one-act version)

    Shakespeare, Clearly: The Comedy of Errors (one-act version)

    Written By: Jon Jory
    Length: 25-30 minutes
    Cast Size: (suggested casting: 17F, 6M)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    This play is coming soon. Contact Stage Partners to request a prepublication perusal script.
  • The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (one-act) adapted by Hans Bloedel and Peter Bloedel

    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 Real Story of Alice in Wonderland, a one-act comedy play script by Kristen Doherty

    The Real Story of Alice in Wonderland

    Written By: Kristen Doherty
    Length: 45-60 minutes
    Cast Size: 13-30 actors
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    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.
  • The Quiz That Almost Killed Me - Stage Partners

    The Quiz That Almost Killed Me

    Written By: M.G. Davidson
    Length: 25-30 minutes
    Cast Size: 11-30 actors (suggested casting: 2F, 4M, 10 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    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.)
  • The Visitors - Stage Partners

    The Visitors

    Written By: Del Martin
    Length: 25-30 minutes
    Cast Size: 7-14 actors (suggested casting: 7F, 4M, 3 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    KB is in a coma. How she got there, no one knows. As she lies unconscious on a hospital bed, family, friends, and other well-wishers reflect on KB and how she has affected their lives. But as KB's physical condition worsens and her visitors struggle with their grief, KB embarks on a mysterious journey that will change her forever. (If you like The Lottery consider The Visitors.)
  • The Secret Garden - Stage Partners

    The Secret Garden

    Adapted by Erin Detrick from the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett
    Length: 45-55 minutes
    Cast Size: 12-48 actors (4F, 5M, 3 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    Orphaned young Mary Lennox finds herself in the charge of a mysterious uncle, in a mysterious house, on the desolate moor in England. Bored and lonely, she starts exploring the gardens and uncovers a secret that has been kept for ten years. But why is everyone here keeping secrets? And who is crying in the house late at night? As spring arrives, the power of nature begins to unlock a beautiful new...
  • The Stowaway - Stage Partners

    The Stowaway

    Written By: Del Martin and Jason Pizzarello
    Length: 35-40 minutes
    Cast Size: 10-12 actors (suggested casting: 4F, 3M, 3 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    Far in the future, humanity has found peace but has been divided between Earth, the colonies on the Moon, and the Mars Federation. Person to person contact between the worlds is a thing of the distant past, with life existing in islands of division and distrust. But all of that changes when a mysterious girl arrives on Mars with a message of hope and a stark warning. Can humanity come together to...
  • Baby Yoga by Elissa C. Huang, a ten-minute play, part of the short play collection Ten(ish): Comedies - Stage Partners

    Baby Yoga

    Written By: Elissa C. Huang
    Length: 10 minutes
    Cast Size: 7 actors (7F)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Some mothers always seem to have it all together, and others... not so much. When Chaos Mom and Chaos Baby arrive in a community yoga class for babies and mothers, all pretenses and expectations of what motherhood should be quickly fall apart. Baby Yoga is a hilarious ode to all those moms who are just trying to get through the day. This play is part of the short play collection Ten(ish...
  • The Scarlet Letter (one-act version) - Stage Partners

    The Scarlet Letter (one-act version)

    Adapted by Carrie McCrossen from the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne
    Length: 35-40 minutes
    Cast Size: 10-25 actors (suggested casting: 6F, 6M, 1 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    In this new and theatrical retelling of the classic tale by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet letter on her chest as punishment for committing adultery in Puritan New England. Throughout time, The Scarlet Letter has endured as a way to examine societal expressions of shame, guilt, and ultimately, redemption.   (A full-length version of this play is als...
Items 21 - 30 of 36