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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 1 - 10 of 18
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  • How to Survive Being in a Shakespeare Play - Stage Partners

    How to Survive Being in a Shakespeare Play

    Written By: Don Zolidis
    Length: 30-60 minutes
    Cast Size: 10-50 actors (suggested casting: 5F, 5M, 10 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Some day it’s going to happen: You’re going to find yourself on stage, wearing tights, and saying things in iambic pentameter. Face it, you’re in a Shakespeare play, and that means it’s a pretty good bet you’re going to DIE. The Bard is out for blood, but this play is here to stop him! How could Romeo and Juliet survive? Julius Caesar? A nameless soldier in Henry the Fifth? What if King...
  • The Elf on a Shelf Must Die - a short Christmas play by Don Zolidis

    The Elf on a Shelf Must Die

    Written By: Don Zolidis
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 12-20 actors (suggested casting: 17 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    When Sammy and Mook's parents present them with Pip, an Elf of a Shelf, they are less than happy. This little snitch is going to be reporting all their activities to Santa, so their hopes to get an Xbox look doomed. And that's before Sammy accidentally murders Pip. What follows is a Tarantinoesque Christmas caper as the two kids race against the clock to bring their elf back to life before Santa...
  • Holiday Party

    Holiday Party

    Written By: A.M. Dittman
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 3-15 actors (suggested cast size: 3F, 3M, 3 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    This play is coming soon. Contact Stage Partners to request a prepublication perusal script.   
  • 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.
  • Head Elf - Stage Partners

    Head Elf

    Written By: A.M. Dittman
    Length: 25-30 minutes
    Cast Size: 6-18 actors (suggested casting: 2F, 2M, 6 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    When Santa's head elf is unexpectedly fired, a desperate search is conducted for a replacement. From Rudolph's bodyguard to a Grinch to the Tooth Fairy, the interviews prove...difficult. Put this play on your Christmas list and you won't regret a single laugh-inducing second.
  • Two of the Fairest Stars, Quadruple Casted - Stage Partners

    Two of the Fairest Stars, Quadruple Casted

    Written By: Maria McConville
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 11 actors (suggested casting: 6F, 5M)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    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...
  • Shakespeare Clearly: Twelfth Night, one-act version adapted by Jon Jory

    Shakespeare, Clearly: Twelfth Night (one-act version)

    Written By: Jon Jory
    Length: 25-30 minutes
    Cast Size: 10-30 actors (suggested casting: 5F, 5M, 10 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    This playful comedy centers on the twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck, and the courtship, mistaken identities, and hijinks that follow. 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 introd...
  • Wild Waves Whist - Stage Partners

    Wild Waves Whist

    Written By: Patty MacMullen
    Length: 35-40 minutes
    Cast Size: 10 actors (8F, 2M)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    A young teacher hoping to be hired as a coach at a private boys' school is instead assigned as literature and theatre teacher at its sister school - a private school for girls. There he is charged with the task of directing Shakespeare's The Tempest with his motley crew of adolescent female scholars, a play that effectuates an inner storm for all involved with the production. Wild Waves Whist is a...
  • Shakespeare, Clearly: Romeo and Juliet, one-act version, adapted by Jon Jory - Stage Partners

    Shakespeare, Clearly: Romeo and Juliet (one-act)

    Written By: Jon Jory
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 8-30 actors (suggested casting: 4F, 4M, 10 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    In Shakespeare's most well-known tragedy, two young star-crossed lovers’ deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. 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 younger audiences and a...
  • Shakespeare Clearly: Macbeth, one-act version adapted by Jon Jory

    Shakespeare, Clearly: Macbeth (one-act version)

    Written By: Jon Jory
    Length: 25-30 minutes
    Cast Size: 10-35 actors (suggested casting: 5F, 5M, 10 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    “The Scottish Play” dramatizes the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. 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 you...
Items 1 - 10 of 18