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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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  • When Bad Things Happen to Good Actors - Stage Partners

    When Bad Things Happen to Good Actors

    Written by Jason Pizzarello and Ian McWethy
    Length: 25-30 minutes
    Cast Size: 10-30 actors (suggested casting: 5F, 3M, 10 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    A simple one-act production of The Wizard of Oz gets derailed by missed cues, forgotten lines, and a renegade sound board op who refuses to play anything but dinosaur noises. A comedy that proves, when it comes to live theatre, everything that can go wrong, will go wrong, and it will be hilarious.
  • Masterclasses

    Masterclasses

    Written By: Patrick Greene
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 8-25 actors (suggested casting: 1F, 9 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Acting. Is. Life. If you are going to be a student at The Morley Buck School of Serious Acting for Extraordinary Actors, you need to commit to your craft. But acting isn't all soliloquies and dramatic scenes; to be a true Actor (with a capital "A") you need to perfect moments such as being Startled Awake, Underwater Thinking, or being hit by a laser B.E.A.M. These are just some of the hyper-specif...
  • The Cast List - Stage Partners

    The Cast List

    Written By: Jason Pizzarello and Rocco Natale
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 10-30 actors (suggested casting: 12F, 3M, 5 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    Ah, the cast list. Oh, the drama. The casting would be simple if it weren't for constant script cuts, actor trade agreements, backstabbing, helicopter parents, hysterical prima donnas, and the Assistant Director could figure out how to incorporate the songs of Grease into Romeo & Juliet without getting sued. This is a show for any student who has ever been cast or miscast in a school play or a...
  • 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...
  • #Censored - Stage Partners

    #Censored

    Written By: Maria McConville
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 7-30 actors (suggested casting: 12 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    In this ensemble-driven drama, a school art fair becomes embroiled in controversy when a student unveils a divisive painting. Students, parents, and teachers must ask themselves tough questions about freedom of speech, appropriateness, what art is supposed to do and "what is the cost of censorship?"
  • My First Lockdown - Stage Partners

    My First Lockdown

    Written By: Jason Pizzarello
    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 10-20 actors (suggested casting: 5F, 5M, 5 any)
    Genre: Dramedy, Drama
    Synopsis:
    Inspired by true events, a group of theater students have just finished performing a play when the unthinkable happens - the school goes under lockdown. Caught in various rooms throughout the school, the students have to figure out what to do, who to trust, and if they're ever going to feel safe again. (There is a version with more roles available. Contact Stage Partners for details.)
  • 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...
  • Places in Five - Stage Partners

    Places in Five

    Length: 30-35 minutes
    Cast Size: 10-30 actors (suggested casting: 4F, 5M, 5 any)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    The one where an actress stumbles into the role of a lifetime...if only she can figure out what play she's doing. Meta-theatricality knows no bounds in this wacky comedy. (​If you like The Actor's Nightmare by Christopher Durang, consider Places in Five.)
  • Barn Wood and Blue Roses - Stage Partners

    Barn Wood and Blue Roses

    Written By: Jacquelyn Priskorn
    Length: 30-40 minutes
    Cast Size: 7-20 actors (suggested casting: 3F, 7 any)
    Genre: Drama
    Synopsis:
    When Devon learns that best friend Chelsea has cystic fibrosis, Devon creates a fantasy world for the two of them to live in. They live in their new imaginative world as L'Sea, a woman who becomes a dragon twice a day, and D'Nova, renowned artisan of comical barn wood signs and a magician's apprentice. But Devon has kept a secret, too. And it is about to bring their whole fantasy world crashing do...
  • Dress Rehearsal Disaster - Stage Partners

    Dress Rehearsal Disaster

    Written By: Emily Hageman
    Length: 40-45 minutes
    Cast Size: 16 actors (any gender)
    Genre: Comedy
    Synopsis:
    It’s the final dress rehearsal for The Olive Tree, an inaccessible 1800s Russian play. When overachieving student Derek learns that their director Mr. Norbert is sick (with fake-it-itis), he decides to lead the final rehearsal himself. But as Derek’s attempts to wrangle his fellow cast of misfits only leads to unmitigated chaos, he begins to wonder if the show really must go on.
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