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!
Go to filters
-
The Day the Internet Died
Length: 30-35 minutesCast Size: 10-50 actors (suggested casting: 10F, 10M, 5 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
On a sunny day in the town of Bloomington, a devastating occurrence happens. No, it’s not famine, or floods, or loss of your basic rights. The internet has gone down! And it will continue to be down! For a week! A whole week! Pandemonium! In a world that is so dependent on the internet for shopping, mailing, and posting pictures of cute babies, how will society function? Not well as it turns out... -
When Bad Things Happen to Good Actors
Length: 25-30 minutesCast Size: 10-30 actors (suggested casting: 5F, 3M, 10 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
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. -
#VIRAL
Length: 30-35 minutesCast Size: 7-30 actors (suggested casting: 7 F, 4+ chorus, any gender)Genre: DramaSynopsis:
In this ensemble-driven drama featuring an all-female cast, five high school girls recount a cruel locker room bullying incident that is initially cloaked in secrecy, but ultimately goes viral online. What happens next forces the students to question their respective roles in the events that unfolded in that fateful day. A virtual version is also available upon request. -
Masterclasses
Length: 30-35 minutesCast Size: 8-25 actors (suggested casting: 1F, 9 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
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
Length: 30-35 minutesCast Size: 10-30 actors (suggested casting: 12F, 3M, 5 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
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
Length: 40-50 minutesCast Size: 21-35 actors (suggested casting: 15F, 7M, 5 any)Genre: DramaSynopsis:
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
Length: 30-35 minutesCast Size: 7-30 actors (suggested casting: 12 any)Genre: DramaSynopsis:
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
Length: 30-35 minutesCast Size: 10-20 actors (suggested casting: 5F, 5M, 5 any)Genre: Dramedy, DramaSynopsis:
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.) -
Antigone: 3021 (one-act version)
Length: 35-45 minutesCast Size: 14-24 actors (suggested casting: 2F, 1M, 20+ any)Genre: DramaSynopsis:
It's the year 3021 and Thebes has just been through a bloody civil war. Chancellor Creah has decreed that anyone who buries the body of the traitor Polyneices will face the death, but Antigone is determined to bury her brother, no matter the penalty. She brazenly breaks Creah’s law and broadcasts her crime on the public cloud. Now Creah must decide if she will bend to the will of the people or p... -
Two of the Fairest Stars, Quadruple Casted
Length: 30-35 minutesCast Size: 11 actors (suggested casting: 6F, 5M)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
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...