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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 21
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  • In the Forests of the Night - Stage Partners

    In the Forests of the Night

    Written By: Del Martin
    Length: 25-30 minutes
    Cast Size: 13 actors (suggested casting: 13 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    Thirteen students are compelled by their dreams to play a game in the woods to keep a mysterious monster at bay. Not everyone gets to play it again. (If you like The Giver consider In the Forests of the Night.)
  • Monster - Stage Partners

    Monster

    Written by Don Zolidis
    Length: 35-40 minutes
    Cast Size: 10-25 actors (suggested casting: 4F, 3M, 6 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    A reimagining of the lives of some of the greatest literary masters in history and the inspiration behind Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Brought to you by veteran playwright Don Zolidis, experience a monster story like you never have before.
  • Silenced on Barbour Street - Stage Partners

    Silenced on Barbour Street

    Written By: William Prenetta
    Length: 40-50 minutes
    Cast Size: 21-35 actors (suggested casting: 15F, 7M, 5 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    On July 6, 1944, a fire roared across the top of the 48-foot high tent during the matinee performance of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, claiming the lives of 144 spectators. In this ensemble driven drama, 15 victims of this tragedy must face their guilt and deepest fears in order to escape from a sadistic ringmaster who has trapped them in a mysterious circus purgatory. Part h...
  • Yellow Wallpaper adapted by Kathryn Funkhouser from the story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

    Yellow Wallpaper

    adapted by Kathryn Funkhouser from the story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
    Length: 35-45 minutes
    Cast Size: 6-30+ actors (suggested casting: 2M, 10F)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    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.   
  • 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:
    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...
  • Dracula (one-act)

    Dracula (one-act)

    Adapted by Jon Jory & Michael Bigelow Dixon from the novel by Bram Stoker
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 11 actors (suggested casting 7F, 3M, 1 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    A swift one-act adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic horror novel that is easily staged for the most-effective frights. Eva Van Helsing, the vampire hunter, has decided to confront and kill Dracula before he bites again. Lucy is already wandering the asylum as an undead, and it isn’t long before more victims fall prey. Mina is willing to be human bait to lure Dracula out of hiding, but will Van H...
  • Dr. Jekyll and Miss Hyde

    Dr. Jekyll and Miss Hyde

    Adapted by Jon Jory from the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 15 actors (suggested casting 2F, 13 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    Dr. Jekyll does not seem herself lately, as a series of strange attacks strikes London. Jekyll's honest lawyer Utterson is determined to get to the bottom of the matter, after the seeing the abominable Miss Hyde flee a crime scene into Dr. Jekyll's house. But as Utterson questions the Londoners in Dr. Jekyll's orbit, it becomes clear that the secrets of Jekyll and Hyde are intertwined...  Thi...
  • 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 Hauntings at Cedar Park - Stage Partners

    The Hauntings at Cedar Park

    Written By: Del Martin
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 16 actors, gender flexible
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    Shifting between multiple time periods, we follow two groups of students as they search for a mysterious ghost in blue. They've all heard the legend. And though some don't believe it, for all of the teens who venture into Cedar Park, the legend sure does believe in them. In the end, that's all that matters.
  • Muddy Death and Strudel, a ten-minute play by Jason Pizzarello, part of the short play collection Ten(ish): Comedies - Stage Partners

    Muddy Death and Strudel

    Written By: Jason Pizzarello
    Length: 10 minutes
    Cast Size: 3 actors (1F 2M)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    A gentleman with a terminal illness and an affinity for Shakespeare has hired a hitman to end his life early, and poetically, with a death found in one of the Bard's works. The question is, which death to choose? He can take his pick, as long as it doesn't involve his wife's curtains... This play is part of the short play collection Ten(ish): Comedies.
Items 1 - 10 of 21