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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Tara, Shaped by the Figures
Length: 40-45 minutesCast Size: 11 actors (suggested casting: 6F, 3M, 2 any)Genre: Dramedy, DramaSynopsis:
After Tara's best friend Clara dies from a heart condition, she is afraid to get close to the group trying to befriend her at her new school. The figures from history and fiction who Tara loves (including Anne Frank, Annie Oakley, Churchill, Sherlock Holmes, and Captain America) are joined by Clara in guiding Tara through her grief, until she tells her new friends about her loss. -
Adapted & Destroyed: A Tale of Storytelling Gone Wrong
Length: 25-30 minutesCast Size: 10-28 actors (suggested casting: 5F, 10 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
It started as a bedtime story. A story about a bunny that Mary’s mom used to tell her every night. And it was a pretty weird one (with way more digressions about mortgage rates than you’d ever expect in a children's story). But when her mom died, Bouncy Bunny became a way for Mary to remember her. So one day she decided to write it all down. And then, to her great surprise... it took... -
Too Many Detectives at the Murder Mansion
Length: 30-45 minutesCast Size: 14-24 actors (suggested casting: 5F, 7M, 5 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
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... -
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... -
Little Red Reboot
Length: 25-30 minutesCast Size: 12-20+ actors (suggested casting: 5F, 8 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
An irreverent mash-up of the Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks tales, in which two rebellious females you think you already know break the rules of storytelling to show the importance of video games (and working together). -
The Bargain
Length: 10 minutesCast Size: 3 actors (suggested casting: 1F, 1M, 1 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
When you sell your soul, Dan is the demon who comes to collect. But things aren't as simple as that - especially if evil coworkers object to working overtime, people don't respect a cool trench coat, and worst of all, the doomed mortal has a cat. This play is part of the short play collection Ten(ish): Comedies. -
Superhero Issues
Length: 30-35 minutesCast Size: 8-28 actors (suggested casting: 4F, 4M, 8 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
The one where it's hard to be a superhero, whether dating a school of eels or applying for a job at a fast food restaurant or letting your therapist alter your memories. Robots from outer space and dastardly plots collide with superfans and a girl who is terrific. What else do you need in a play? -
Identity Play; or Who You Are If You Think You Are
Length: 35-40 minutesCast Size: 10-30+ actors (suggested casting: 5F, 5M, 5 any)Genre: Dramedy, DramaSynopsis:
A series of comedic and dramatic vignettes exploring who we are and who we want to be. With endless choices and expectations, do our actions define us or do our intentions? What about our words? What about the way we dress, the friends we keep, or how we act online? Is who we think we are different than how other people see us? In such a complex, face-paced world, it's vital to slow-down, reflect.... -
The 8 Ways Pokemon Go is Destroying Your Life
Length: 30-35 minutesCast Size: 8-40 actors (suggested casting: 15 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
The most popular app may just be your doom. Sure everyone is playing it. But whether it leads you off a cliff, into a volcano, or into the waiting arms of super-criminals, this play explains the perils and pitfalls of Pokemon, including old people, mind control, hallucinations, and people who are just a little bit too into it. Also featuring the terrors of upcoming apps like Poke-Cupid, Sonic the... -
The Surviving Christmas App
Length: 30-35 minutesCast Size: 10-20 actors (suggested casting: 4F, 1M, 5 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
Sisters Sam and Shelly’s blissful Christmas of violent video games and selfies is interrupted when their sentimental mother wants the family to watch the legendarily awful Christmas dog movie Santa Woofs! That’s when a mysterious Surviving Christmas App is uploaded on Shelly’s phone. Then, even though there is a blizzard, mysterious people keep showing up at the house with unfinished school...