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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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. -
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... -
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... -
Places in Five
Length: 30-35 minutesCast Size: 10-30 actors (suggested casting: 4F, 5M, 5 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
The one where an actress stumbles into the role of a lifetime...if only she can figure out what play she's doing. Meta-theatricality knows no bounds in this wacky comedy. (If you like The Actor's Nightmare by Christopher Durang, consider Places in Five.) -
Dress Rehearsal Disaster
Length: 40-45 minutesCast Size: 16 actors (any gender)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
It’s the final dress rehearsal for The Olive Tree, an inaccessible 1800s Russian play. When overachieving student Derek learns that their director Mr. Norbert is sick (with fake-it-itis), he decides to lead the final rehearsal himself. But as Derek’s attempts to wrangle his fellow cast of misfits only leads to unmitigated chaos, he begins to wonder if the show really must go on. -
Wild Waves Whist
Length: 35-40 minutesCast Size: 10 actors (8F, 2M)Genre: DramaSynopsis:
A young teacher hoping to be hired as a coach at a private boys' school is instead assigned as literature and theatre teacher at its sister school - a private school for girls. There he is charged with the task of directing Shakespeare's The Tempest with his motley crew of adolescent female scholars, a play that effectuates an inner storm for all involved with the production. Wild Waves Whist is a... -
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... -
All I Really Need to Know I Learned From Being in a Bad Christmas Play
Length: 30-35 minutesCast Size: 10-25 actors (suggested casting: 2F, 1M, 12 any)Genre: ComedySynopsis:
A lovable yet inept drama crew -- with a director wired on Frankenstein energy drinks -- attempts to tackle a traditional Christmas show but with more energy. A mash-up of A Christmas Carol and Death of a Salesman with cheerleaders might just work. The put-upon stage manager is trying to get into the spirit of the season by not yelling at the lazy actors, the Narrator is forced to dress as Santa C...