It's tiring to see the same predictable plays performed again and again at competitions. When a new play breaks onto the competition scene, a breath of fresh air rejuvenates the actors, crew, judges, attendees and, especially, the teachers who direct.
The following one-act plays are highly engaging and all-around unforgettable pieces for student actors.
The unassuming location of a dock extending out onto a small lake serves as the backdrop for five different stories: Jake and Holly are interrupted on their date by Anne and Lyle; Beth has plans to spend the day with her ailing dad at their favorite fishing place; Al and his family arrive for their family canoe trip—much to his family's dismay; Cory and Liberty picnic out by the lake; and Stanley is shown some perspective by his 6-year-old sister. In a poetic epilogue, they all gather on the dock and discover the true meaning of Our Place—both comedic and tragic. Learn More
Caitlin is an 11-year-old girl on the autism spectrum. After a mass shooting takes her brother away, she is alone with her grieving father and a cacophony of children at school. She struggles to understand empathy, what facial expressions mean and why a drawing might have more than one color. We see the world from Caitlin’s point of view. We struggle as she does but also take comfort in the times when she finds a friend, draws a multicolored mockingbird and can finally cry for her brother. Learn More
A couple of oddly intrusive passengers. A perplexing older couple. New parents. A loud family with a bratty kid. This is the company Dana keeps while she waits in a crowded airport for her next flight to … well … to wherever she’s going. But not all is as it seems as Dana, a self-proclaimed “bad girl,” tries to pass the time during this never-ending layover. As she interacts with the other waiting passengers, Dana begins to learn that if she wants to get where she’s going, she’ll have to figure out who she really is. Learn More
High School | College | Community | Professional | TYA
2m., 2w.
Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available
45 min.
Edward Tulane is an expensive toy rabbit made of china. He is vain, self-centered and has no interest in anyone other than himself. On an ocean voyage, Edward is accidentally thrown overboard and sinks to the bottom of the sea. So begins his journey—a journey over which he has no control, for he can neither move nor speak. As years pass, Edward meets many different people in many different situations, learning what it is to love, what it is to lose that love, and how to find the courage to love again. Learn More
Middle School | High School | College | Community | Professional | TYA
6 any gender.
Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available
30 min.
Lift Every Voice, which is based on a true story, explores the impact of racism in an urban high school. When the class president of an elite inner-city high school posts a racially inflammatory message on social media, tensions explode, loyalties are tested and long-simmering resentments boil over as the six members of the student council grapple with the fallout and how to move forward. Learn More
Middle School | High School | College | Community | Professional
1m., 2w., 5 to 20 either gender
Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available
45 min.
One Stoplight Town is a story about people from a small town. A young boy and girl fall in love, a cantankerous grocery store owner copes with change, a son returns home while a daughter thinks about leaving, and a handyman takes it all in while he fixes what is broken. These stories and more are filled with fun characters, lots of humor, plenty of heart and the theme that change comes for us all, whether we are ready or not. Learn More
Nina and Vera have just finished their training as navigators in the 588th Night Bomber Regiment known as the “Night Witches” and are moments away from their first combat mission. As they fight their nerves, the women around them use different means of bolstering their spirits. Tonight’s flight, however, is different than any night they’ve faced before. Using movement, song and lyrically styled dialogue, we follow these brave women through one fateful evening during the war. Learn More
Welcome to Future, an unincorporated village monitored by Society and populated by five randomly selected children. It is driven by a national effort to develop “appropriately adapted young citizens.” They are constantly fed a steady stream of news and pop culture on their smartphones and meet daily to share what they’ve learned. Having lived in Future for 12 years, the residents are now 18, and today is their last day together, their final meeting before they learn of their next residence outside of Future. Learn More
This highly sought-after one act features an elderly couple who have lived a long and happy life together. Now, however, the woman is slowly slipping away as dementia runs its course. In an attempt to reawaken the bond they have held for so many years, the man tells her of the moment they fell in love. It is so vivid that she can see it play out before her eyes: a younger version of the man and woman meeting, falling in love and sharing a first kiss. One final, happy memory for her to take with her on her last long trip. Learn More
When their car breaks down, high schoolers Mel and Oliver are stuck on the side of the road, forced to make small talk over cupcakes, road trips and Charlotte—Mel’s best friend, and Oliver’s girlfriend. Amid flashbacks of awkward dates and unfinished moments, and surrounded by pressures from school and the inevitable question of Charlotte, Mel and Oliver find themselves outside it all. After all, how can you know what’s right when you don’t know what could have been? Learn More
