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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 25
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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.)
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • Murder by the Book - Stage Partners

    Murder by the Book

    Written By: Jon Jory and Michael Bauer
    Length: 35-45 minutes
    Cast Size: 9 actors (suggested casting: 6F, 3M)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    When mystery writer Mary Graves is found dead, it's up to a detective with anger issues to figure out who among Graves' guests is a murderer. Is it the oil tycoon, the scientist, the Shakespearean actor, the countess, the psychic, or the maid? ...Say, this is starting to sound like a mystery novel! A hilarious one-act whodunnit brimming with larger-than-life characters.
  • 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:
    Make yourself at home—Evelyn’s annual holiday partyis always warm, welcoming, and full of surprises. Youmight meet a pair of wallflowers finding connection in thecorner, a pair of elves whose friendship is devolving intobitter rivalry, or a couple sharing a guest room with theirhost’s improbable menagerie of pets. A sweet one-acttreat for the holidays.
  • 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.   
  • Too Many Detectives at the Murder Mansion one-act murder mystery comedy play script by Ian McWethy - Stage Partners

    Too Many Detectives at the Murder Mansion

    Length: 30-45 minutes
    Cast Size: 14-24 actors (suggested casting: 5F, 7M, 5 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    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...
  • 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.
Items 1 - 10 of 25