Minimal Set Requirements
Great theatre does not require elaborate sets.
This collection of exciting plays for schools and theatres features plays that can be produced with little to no set.
Browse our selection below and read every play script for free!
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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. -
This Murder Was Staged
Length: 100-120 minutesCast Size: 8-25 actorsGenre: ComedySynopsis:
It's opening night of a brand-new mystery play, but just as the killer is about to be revealed, the body of the play's director falls onstage instead. In that moment, the theater becomes an active crime scene, and everyone from cast to crew to even the audience becomes a suspect. But how is the intrepid detective supposed to find the killer when everyone and their mother (literally) has a motive t... -
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... -
Night of the Macabre
Length: 90-100 minutes (but can be shortened - see description)Cast Size: 11-36 actors (suggested casting: 9M, 11F, 14 any gender)Genre: Comedy, DramaSynopsis:
A hunt for horror finds four friends at the Museum of the Macabre…a wax museum displaying scenes from short stories by great authors of Gothic Horror like Poe, Hawthorne, and Irving. But as unnerving as the exhibits - and the stories behind them - are…the real terror for the fearless four comes when the exhibits start to come to life! This easy-to-stage play celebrates great short stori... -
The Inseparables
Length: 90-100 minutesCast Size: 9 actors (9 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
The North American Unified Theatre Collaborators of the West really want to put on a show. Like, really bad. Under the leadership of their founder and director, this group of actors has decided to stage a new adaptation of The Three Musketeers. Only, they aren't nearly as prepared as they should be. With puppets and pool noodles, this theatre group prepares for their glorious comeback...that may n... -
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... -
Spoon River
Length: 75-90 minutesCast Size: 8-50 actors (suggested casting: 17F, 23M)Genre: DramaSynopsis:
Former citizens of a mythical Midwestern town speak from the grave of the day-to-day hopes and dreams of their lives. Touching, anguished, and contemptuous, their voices and stories weave together in this fresh new take on a modern American classic. You won't forget what you've heard from these distinctively small-town folk as they evoke universal themes of hope, despair, and love. (A one-act ver... -
A Talkback
Length: 10 minutesCast Size: 6 actors (6 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
Once in a while, after the actors have taken their final bows, the audience of a play is given the opportunity to interact with an actual, living playwright. But talkbacks don't always go as planned, and sometimes a writer can face difficult questions, and hungry theatregoers that demand more than the playwright is willing to give. A Talkback is a comedy about the absurdity of facing your aud... -
The Jungle Book
Length: 35-40 minutesCast Size: 15-30 actors (suggested casting: 20 any)Genre: DramaSynopsis:
This thrilling and fun-filled adventure is brought to the stage by the theatrical master Jon Jory who has crafted an accessible, flexible, and easily-staged version for all ages! When a human child named Mowgli is taken and raised by a family of wolves, he must learn the ways of the jungle. Fortunately he has the wise panther Bagheera and friendly Baloo the bear by his side. But soon Mowgli finds... -
The Trojan Women
Length: 25-30 minutesCast Size: 13-21 actors (suggested casting: 10F, 3M, 3 non-speaking men)Genre: DramaSynopsis:
Euripides' classic tragedy follows the fate of the women of Troy after their devastating loss in the Trojan War. Brought to the stage by theatrical master Jon Jory, this taut, accessible adaptation with a flexible, large female cast is the perfect one-act drama for competition.