Cheaters
By Don Zolidis.
Product Code: CP6000
One-act Play
Drama
Cast size: 18 any gender.
Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available
Rights and availability
This title can be licensed and sold throughout the World.
* Please note the royalty rate listed is the minimum royalty rate per performance. The actual royalty rate will be determined upon completion of a royalty application.
Synopsis
Someone cheated on the test. And if the cheater doesn't confess, the entire class will fail. Those are the rules set out by the vice principal and their teacher as the students walk out of the room. Now the entire class is forced to play detective and discover the cheater before it's too late. But what if everything isn't as it seems? Who are the liars and who is telling the truth? Was the cheater working alone? Was there more than one? And how can they possibly get a confession? With the pressure on, the class fragments into warring factions with each student trying to figure out the mystery. But with each revelation of cheating, the fissures grow wider, and the simple act of trying to discover the truth might rip the entire class apart. A Kafka-esque nightmare of betrayal and conflict under extreme circumstances.
Notes
Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available
Details
- Status In stock
- Type of Show One-act Play
- Product Code CP6000
- Minimum Cast Size 18
- Pages of Dialogue 32
- Min. Royalty Rate $55.00/perf
- Approx. Run Time 40 min
- Staging Area staging.
Categories
- Target Audience Middle School | High School
- Performing Group Middle School | High School
- Genre Drama
- ISBN(13) 9781583429051
Customer Reviews
This show easily set itself up for streaming. I frequently have used scenes from it in class and the students were thrilled to see it all played out. It is a show that you think you know where it is going and then it takes a sharp turn and catches you off guard.
Great show. Opens up discussion about privacy and what schools can and cannot ask from students. Easily staged. Suggestion - look for levels. Classroom setting can be tricky to block.
Cheaters seems trivial at the beginning, but as the story unfolds and the clues come to light, we find that it is a much deeper, darker, discussion on rights and privacy in our time.
The actors had great fun with this story - simple and detailed. Really gets into the kinds of school issues that come into play every day.
Cheaters was very easy to stage. It is high school kids playing high school kids so my students had an easy time with characters. It almost had a Crucible feel except for the ending.
Hints, Tips, and Tricks
The coolest trick my students came up with was to use followspots for the interrogation scenes. It added an extra element that really resonated with the underlying tensions of the play.
If producing this with your school, consider using teachers for the Lewis and Abramson roles. I was surprised y how many of my colleagues had acting on their bucket lists, and the students loved working with their teachers.
Production Map
| Location | City | State | Opens | Closes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saluda Trail Middle | Rock Hill | SC | 05/20/2025 | 05/20/2025 |
Downloads
| File Description | File Format | |
|---|---|---|
| Performance Poster | Download |
Poster Suggestions
- Each poster includes a text box which allows you to customize it with your production information. Once a poster has been opened, position your mouse over the lower third portion until you see a label with instructions on entering your production information. Use the Text Select Tool to customize your poster.
- You can print the poster in its original format and hand write your information.
- Your local copy shop should be able to create prints from a file saved to disk. They might even be able to increase the size of the poster for you (although some loss of resolution will occur).
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