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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. 

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Items 1 - 10 of 27
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  • A Wrinkle in Time 50-minute version) - Morgan Gould - Stage Partners

    A Wrinkle in Time (50-minute one-act)

    Adapted by Morgan Gould from the novel by Madeleine L'Engle
    Length: 45-50 minutes
    Cast Size: 7-30 actors (suggested casting: 7F, 4M, 6 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    One of literature's most enduring young heroines, Meg Murry, is back -- braces, stubbornness and all. Once again, she's joining forces with Mrs Whatsit, Charles Wallace, Calvin O'Keefe and more to battle the forces of evil so she can rescue her father, save humanity and find herself. In the end, we know two things for sure: 1. Love CAN overcome evil and 2. There...
  • 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.)
  • A Wrinkle in Time (35-minute version) - Morgan Gould - Stage Partners

    A Wrinkle in Time (35-minute one-act)

    Adapted by Morgan Gould from the novel by Madeleine L'Engle
    Length: 35-40 minutes
    Cast Size: 7-30 actors (suggested casting 7F, 4M, 8 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    One of literature's most enduring young heroines, Meg Murry, is back -- braces, stubbornness and all. Once again, she's joining forces with Mrs Whatsit, Charles Wallace, Calvin O'Keefe and more to battle the forces of evil so she can rescue her father, save humanity and find herself. In the end, we know two things for sure: 1. Love CAN overcome evil and 2. There IS such a thing as a tesseract. Per...
  • 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...
  • Game Night (Humans Only, Please)

    Game Night (Humans Only, Please)

    Written By: Laura Neill
    Length: 35-40 minutes
    Cast Size: 9 actors (9 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    It's game night at the end of the world. The library is one of the only places still above the water line, and the nerds are living it up while they can. But when the soccer team shows up because their field went underwater, they begin a more dangerous game. A high-stakes dark comedy about mutant lizards, climate change, and being the generation born to watch the water level rise.
  • 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.
  • Zombie Boyfriend - A.M. Dittman - Stage Partners

    Zombie Boyfriend

    Written By: A.M. Dittman
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 6-30 actors (suggested casting: 5F, 5M, 5 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Melissa's best friend has a crush on the new guy, but Melissa's not so sure about Arghn. Maybe it's the grunting, or the insatiable desire for brains. Nobody but Melissa seems to notice as the horde of zombies starts to spread through the school - or if they do, they don't want to rock the boat. Can a zombie hunter and an awkward doctor help Melissa save the staggering population from themselves?...
  • 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.   
Items 1 - 10 of 27