Middle Grades; 2 female; contemporary; 10 minutes.
Winner of the 2005 PLAYS/California Student Playwriting Contest (Middle Schools): A heartfelt conversation between two sisters—one in high school, one in middle school—about their relationship.

Upper and Middle Grades; 4 male, 4 female; 1840s; 25 minutes.
Based on a story by Edgar Allan Poe: A professor gets permission to examine a long-lost mummy, only to jolt it back to life and witness as it learns about the modern age.

Middle Grades; 4 male, 4 female; turn-of-the-century; 30 minutes.
Egad! Gadzooks! A wonderful fun old-fashioned melodrama. Will two fiends succeed in their plot to swindle wealthy widow Mrs. Vanderhoff out of her fortune, or will it be “Curses, foiled again”?

Middle and Lower Grades; 5 female, 1 male, 2 male or female; 10 minutes.
Fairy-tale subject (Wicked Witch) gets extreme makeover, courtesy of the team of stylists on popular daytime talk show.

Middle Grades; 2 male, 2 female; 15th century; 25 minutes. Bold explorer’s meeting with a bank loan officer goes poorly, but ends up in a lunch date with the Queen. And, the rest is history.

Middle Grades; 3 female, 3 male, 3 female/male, and 12+ extras; 30 minutes.
A Reader’s Theater: The inspirational story of Cuban singer Celia Cruz, who rose from poverty, fled Communism in Cuba, and rose to the top of the music industry and beloved throughout the world as the “Queen of Salsa.”

Middle and Lower Grades; 4 male; 4 female; 14 male and/or female; 15 minutes.
A ghoulish twist on the original fairy tale--where it's a curse to be beautiful!
Fairy-tale subject (Wicked Witch) gets extreme makeover, courtesy of the team of stylists on popular daytime talk show.

Upper and Middle grades; 4 female; 3 female; 1890s; 25 minutes.
A turn-of-the-century melodrama, complete with maiden-in-distress, moustache-twirling villain, and hero in disguise. . .all swirling around a pile of missing money and a long-lost daughter. And of course, it's curses, foiled again!

Middle grades; 1 male; 1 female; 15 minutes.
Thoroughly modern fairy godmother helps a hardworking father realize the importance of spending time with his daughter.

Middle and Lower Grades; 3 female, 2 male; several male or female extras; 40 minutes.
Adaptation of the classic fairy tale starring inquisitive siblings, a wicked witch, gingerbread children, and more. Based on Engelbert Humperdinck's opera.

Middle Grades; 8 male, 6 female; 8 male and/or female; 30 minutes.
A fun large-cast play about the spoiled, demanding foot-stamping Princess Imogene who gets a lesson in nobility and humility from a family of kind shepherds.

Middle Grades; 7 male; 5 female; 3 male/female; 20 minutes.
A reading play—complete with sound effects—that spoofs the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tale of horror and suspense.

Middle and Lower Grades; 6 female; 1 male/female and extras. 20 minutes. Six famous quotes from history—by Abraham Lincoln, Neil Armstrong, Lou Gehrig, Chief Joseph, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr.—are celebrated in this spoof of a popular TV show.

Middle and Lower Grades; 4 male; 3 female; 15 minutes. Mitchell, who likes peace and quiet, comes in conflict with the rest of his family who love the noise of a good storm. Good lessons about weather safety. Can they find a way to live in harmony?

Upper and Middle Grades; 3 female; 10 minutes; contemporary.
What if you don't celebrate Christmas? This thoughtful play provides a great springboard for classroom discussion about tolerance, accepting and celebrating differences, and respecting all religions, cultures, and points of view.

Middle and Lower Grades; 3 male, 2 female; male and female extras; 10 minutes. Cheer for your favorite extinct reptile—and learn some interesting dinosaur facts along the way!—in this clever play about an Ice Age talent show.

Middle grades; 5 female; once upon a time; 25 minutes.
A new student at an exclusive medieval boarding school for daughters of kings and queens learns important lessons about about being at peace with yourself and respecting differences in others.

Upper and Middle Grades; 6 male, 8 female, 3 male or female; 19th-century England; 30 minutes. Goblins help to connect the meanest man in town with three loving orphans who desperately need a home, in this heartwarming Christmas tale.

Middle and Lower Grades; Missing Camel: 2 male, 1 female, and at least 5 male or female. 10 minutes. Senor Coyote and Mama Rabbit: 1 male, 1 female, and at least 5 male or female, 10 minutes. Thoughtful and interesting African and Mexican folktales set in the desert where humans and animals use their wit and wile to survive in harsh conditions.

Middle Grades, 15 female and 21 male, 30 minutes (cast may play more than one role). A rollicking, large-cast musical melodrama complete with orphans, an evil lawyer, poetry-loving cowboys, and a long-lost sea captain, all set in the Old West.

Middle Grades; 7 female, 3 male, and as many extras as desired; 20 minutes. Set in 1911 New York City. The true story of the tragic fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory that killed 146 garment workers—most of them young women—and sparked the creation of laws to improve working conditions around the country.

Middle and Lower Grades; 6 male, 4 female, and as many extras as desired; 20 minutes. Old-fashioned turn-of-the century schoolmarm commands respect while giving a lesson in bravery and brains after the bad guys slip into the schoolhouse to hid from the sheriff.

Middle and Lower Grades; Radio play for reading; 2 male, 3 female, and 1 male or female for narrator; 10 minutes. A never-satisfied wife and a talking fish help teach a lesson in being grateful for what you have, in a fun tale that’s nothing to carp about.

Upper and Middle Grades; 5 male, 1 female, 8 male or female; as many male and female extras as desired. 30 minutes. High above the streets of New York City, Native American construction workers connect the giant steel beams that create the City’s skyscrapers, while telling stories about the Iroquois Nation and its culture.

Upper and Middle Grades; 11 female, 7 male, and 20+ males or females; 30 minutes. Scenes from the inspirational life of Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005), the first black woman elected to the U.S. Congress and an outspoken advocate for the rights of women and minorities.

Middle Grades; 2 female; 15 minutes. An explanation of Tourette’s Syndrome and the problems of understanding differences as told through the conversation of the new girl at school and the popular “Queen of the Playground.”

Middle Grades; 7 male, 3 female, and 5 male or female, plus as many extras as desired; 20 minutes. When Patty O’Phurniture’s date with Jim doesn’t meet her expectations, she sues in court for breach of contract, and is confronted by the historical feats of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Susan B. Anthony, and others who are pictured on American coins.

Middle Grades; 5 male and 4 female; 25 minutes. A present-day lawyer who is running for Governor as “A Man Like Lincoln” comes to terms with his son’s decision on his future direction, and in the process reaches common ground in the tradition of our 16th President.

Middle and Lower Grades; 5 male, 1 female, and as many extras as desired. 15 minutes. The situation turns sticky when Grandfather’s most valuable coin is “borrowed” from the home collection and turns up at school—stuck to the bottom of a lunchroom table.

Middle and Lower Grades; 9 female, 7 male, 1 male or female, and extras; 20 minutes. A South American folktale in which kindness is rewarded when a boy helps a spider in distress and the spider returns the favor in a very special way.

Middle and Lower Grades; 4 male, 6 female, male and female extras; 15 minutes. Peruvian folktale in which a greedy baker tries to charge villagers for smelling the good smells of his bakery and a wise judge determines what a fair price should be.

Upper and Middle Grades; 7 male, 4 female, 25 male or female; 30 minutes. The inspiring story of Detroit-born Ralph Bunche (1904-1971), the first African-American to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (1950) for his work with the United Nations to help create a cease-fire in the Middle East.

Middle and Lower Grades; 1 male, 1 female, 7 male or female; 20 minutes. The out-of-shape King gets help from the Prime Minister, a dietician, and physical trainer to slim down, get in shape, and eat more healthful foods. Complete with a song in rap—just say no to pie, cake, greasy burgers, and sugary shakes!

Middle Grades; 4 male; 7 female; 25 minutes. Kids who celebrate Christmas gain a new perspective on holiday customs, thanks to the new Jewish girl in town.

Middle Grades; 5 male, 5 female; 25 minutes. Thanksgiving. “Re-gifting” reaches new heights as the perfect pie is passed around town, gladdening hearts along the way.

Middle and Lower Grades; 4 male, 2 female, 1 male/female for turkey; 15 minutes.
With a bit of healthy doubt about the relationship of Native peoples and Puritans, families prepare for a day of feasting that not everyone is happy about—particularly the turkey.

Middle and Lower Grades. Battle Between Sun and Sky: 4 male or female and as many extras as desired; 10 minutes. How Coconuts Came to Samoa: 2 male, 2 female, 2 male or female, and as many extras as desired; 10 minutes. Two short stories from the Pacific Islands that help explain the ways of nature.

Upper Grades; 6 male, 2 female; 25 minutes. After nineteen years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread, the Bishop's gift of stolen candlesticks allows a poor man to get a new start on life, in this adaptation of a scene from Les Miserables.

Middle & Lower Grades; 4 female, 3 male; 20 minutes. The story (maybe true, maybe not) of a couple who baked their way on to a wagon train to Oregon so they could open a school where Native people and settlers could learn together in peace. Their children settled in Kansas, where they were active in the 1850s Underground Railroad.

Middle and Lower Grades; 5 male, 4 female, many male and female extras; 30 minutes. Wicked witch steals the royal creampuff recipe, upsets the King, and causes havoc in the royal kitchen.

Middle Grades; 10 female, 8 male, 9 male or female; 40 minutes. An appreciation of Kwanzaa comes to a girl who tries to boycott her family's celebration because she's in a snit; mad about something she can't even remember!

Upper and Middle Grades; 25 male and female; 19th century; 25 minutes.
A round-table readers' theatre that tells the heartrending story of Philip Nolan, a man whose punishment for treason is that he may never again set foot in his beloved United States.

Middle Grades; 3 male, 3 female, 17 male or female; contemporary; 20 minutes. Perfect for a large cast, this modern retelling of one of Shakespeare's greatest comedies is full of love and romance, mischievous dealings, and intrigue.

Middle Grades; 5 male, 5 female; contemporary; 30 minutes. Spoiled city kids see their freedom evaporate when they go to the country to visit Grandma. . .but they also learn a lot about themselves and what it means to be a kind and generous friend and neighbor.

Upper and Middle Grades; 8 female, 3 male; 18th-century England; 35 minutes.
An adaptation of Jane Austen's classic story of love and respect, choosing wisely, and keeping your eyes open to the possibilities that life offers.

Middle and Lower Grades; 5 male, 5 female, plus many extras; mid-1800s; 25 minutes. A young girl invited to a "Bloomer" picnic—an unheard-of event for women to wear pants!—stands up for her beliefs in women's rights and freedom of expression.

Middle and Lower Grades; 3 male, 2 female, 1 male or female adult or gifted reader for Narrator; 20+ male and female. 1880s; 15 minutes. Sure-to-please large-cast melodrama with the usual dashing hero, moustache-twirling villain, and sweet heroine named Sue. . .but this one also has plenty of audience participation, songs and choreography.

Middle Grades; 5 male, 3 female, and 1 male or female; 15 minutes. Police follow a trail of gum wrappers to try to figure out the "whodunit" of a "sticky" crime!

Middle Grades; 5 female; 4 male; 25 minutes.
Stacey learns about purpose, ethics, and the rewards of hard work when she writes a report about "lesser known" Black achievers for a Kwanzaa contest. Discussion questions at the end include the seven principles of Kwanzaa.

Middle and Lower Grades; 5 female or male; 15 minutes. A charming Japanese folktale that explores the importance of friendship: how easy it is to lose a friend over a silly disagreement, and how important it is to work things out and share.

Middle Grades; 11 female, 6 male, 8 male or female; 40 minutes. Spunky 1830s English girl flees her demanding guardian by impersonating a boy so she can find work on a ship bound for New York — and an uncertain future in a new country.

Middle and Lower Grades; 6 male, 2 female; 25 minutes. It's hard to tell who is a friend and who is a foe when neighbors take sides at the start of the Revolutionary War, as Paul Revere spreads the word from Boston to Concord.

Upper and Middle Grades; 15 male/female and extras; 30 minutes. Actors rehearse Shakespeare's play in Colonial Williamsburg, against the backdrop of the fast-approaching Revolutionary War.

Middle and Lower Grades. 1 male, 5 female, 5 male and female, extras. Follow the Yellow Brick Road! L. Frank Baum's beloved story and colorful characters come to life in this wonderful adaptation.

Upper and Middle Grades; 5 male; 4 female; 25 minutes. A tense historical drama set in war-torn England. What happens when three girls are sent to live outside London for their safety, and they start seeing spies at every turn.

Middle Grades; 3 male, 3 female, 6 male or female; 30 minutes. The story of how a guy who loved maps and a guy who didn't want to be a prince teamed up to find gold in the West, and prove the earth is round. . .all with a little help from their zany friends.

Middle and Lower Grades. Three plays in one: Play 1, Crocodile Gives Monkey a Ride, 2 male or female, 10 minutes; Play 2, Trapping the Jaguar, 1 male, 2 male or female, 15 minutes; Play 3, Wild Woman, 4 male, 3 female, 7 male or female, 20 minutes.
Set in different types of rainforests, three folktales of mystery and magic, featuring characters with pluck, ingenuity, and common sense.

Middle and Lower Grades; 3 male, 6 female, 4 male or female; 20 minutes.
A modern, fun take-off of Snow White (without the dwarfs) featuring a wicked stepmother who finds that vanity comes with a high price.

Middle Grades; 5 male, 7 female, 6 male or female; 20 minutes.
A family finds a hidden room under their stairway and learns that their house had been a station on the Underground Railroad.

Middle Grades, 5 male, 6 female, 6+ male or female; 30 minutes. A fun melodrama featuring the poor but honest Daisy Cornball, the villainous Count Von Cliché, and the rich society lady Mrs. Smythe-Dashington, in search of wealth and fame on the stage. Be still, my thumping heart!

Upper Grades; 4 male, 1 female, 2 male or female; 25 minutes. In this tale of terror, a double-dealing relative will do anything to protect his interest in the family fortune.

Upper & Middle Grades; 7 female, 2 male; 30 minutes. Unexpected inheritance makes a young couple's dream of owning their own theatre come true. . . but ghostly occurrences may thwart their plans for a successful start.

Middle and Lower Grades; 7 female, 6 male, male or female for Cat, King's Horses, King's Men; 10-15 minutes.
Did Humpty Dumpty fall. . .or was he pushed? A large-cast mystery featuring a host of familiar fairy tale characters.

Middle grades; 6 female; 3 male; 25 minutes. An adaptation of this favorite warm-hearted, turn-of-the-century story of an orphaned girl who finds a loving home on Prince Edward Island.

Upper and Middle Grades; 12 male, 6 female, and male and female extras. 35 minutes. A story of the struggle and heroes of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, with reference to the basics of human dignity: riding a bus, using the restroom, eating in a restaurant, and going to school.

Middle Grades; 14 male, 6 female; the Old West; 35 minutes.
When the Mayor invites schoolmarms to town to help bring respectability to a small corner of the old West, the good old boys have plenty to say about it. It turns out that if anyone is going to get married around these here parts, Rowdy Kate is goin' to be the first!

Upper and Middle Grades; 3 male; 3 female; and extras. 25 minutes. As a school project, students visit residents of a nursing home, where a reluctant teen and a crusty, battle-hardened vet, aided by a tattoo from the war, develop an unexpected friendship.

Middle and Lower Grades; 5 female, 2 male, 3 male and/or female; 20 minutes.
A really clever and fun "Irish" version of the Cinderella story, complete with leprechauns and a lot of audience participation.

Middle and Lower Grades; 34 male and female; 25 minutes.
A wonderful spoof of a make-believe television show—complete with funny advertisements—with nursery rhyme characters participating in the competition and solving the mystery of the missing sheep.

Middle and Lower Grades; 6 male and female; 15 minutes.
Two new brides have to combine smart thinking and common sense in a test demanded by their mother-in-law. The two young women do what is asked of them, and more, setting the stage for a long life of family harmony.

Upper and Middle Grades; 6 female, 1 male; 20 minutes. A heartwarming holiday tale — of sacrifice, generosity, and giving to others — starring one of this classic novel's most favorite characters.

Middle Grades; 8 male, 6 female, extras; 25 minutes.
The story of Mother Jones, a courageous woman who helped lead the fight for the right of American workers—men, women, and children—to join a union, have safe working conditions, and a decent wage.

Upper and Middle Grades; 3 male; 3 female; 25 minutes. Petty thieves in the year 1920 rediscover the spirit of the holiday when they encounter a war widow and her young daughter.

Middle and Lower Grades; 1 male; 1 female; 8 male or female. 20 minutes. Christmas may have to be canceled because one of Santa's elves is tired of working and tired of greedy kids.

Middle Grades; 20 male and female; 15 minutes.
Beloved nursery rhyme character and the Big Bad Wolf square off in a Mother Goose Land election.

Middle and Lower Grades; 6 male, 7 female, 8 male or female; 20 minutes.
Will web designer's plans take all the charm out of boy-meets-girl?

Upper & Middle Grades; 13 female, 3 male; 35 minutes. A large-cast play that tells part of the story of Japanese-American internment camps created in World War II, through the eyes of a high school girl who was sent off and her best friend, who stayed behind.

Upper & Middle Grades, 3 female, 3 male, 1 male or female; 30 minutes. A fun melodrama, featuring a dastardly villain, a daughter and her mother in total distress, a kind hero, and a promising gold mine. Curses, foiled again!

Upper & Middle Grades; 8 female, 3 male, 1 male or female; 25 minutes. Girls bully a classmate for no apparent reason. Will anyone stand up to make it stop? Provides a good starting point for classroom discussion.

Upper and Middle Grades. 5 male, 4 female; 30 minutes. A 19th-century British comedy that finds two charming ladies anxious to marry, but only if the groom is named Ernest. A dry, witty, and charming tale of the upper class.

Middle & Lower Grades; 3 male, 6 female, 19+ male or female; 15 minutes. A large-cast play to welcome Spring and learn about the environment. Petulant King Bartholomew bans Spring, only to realize in a dream courtroom drama that he has upset the cycles of the seasons and destroyed the food supply.

Upper and Middle Grades; 19 actors: 8 female, 5 male, and 6 male/female. 30 minutes. An oh-so-fun British comedy about a forgetful aunt who thinks she has left her niece somewhere in London during an outing. While retracing her steps, she runs into all kind of situations, discovering at the end that her niece has been home the whole time. Anyone for tea?

Middle Grades. 8 actors: 5 male, 2 female, 1 male/female. 25 minutes. Set during the Revolutionary War, a young woman volunteers to carry the General’s message through Redcoat territory, in a dangerous mission no one could imagine a woman could carry out.

Middle Grades; 13+ actors: 7 female, 4 male, 2 male or female, as many male and female as desired for Chorus; 30 minutes.
The myth of Persephone, and how the seasons came to be, told two ways: one traditional, one in rap.

Middle Grades. 7 actors: 4 male, 3 female (or any combination desired); 25 minutes. A take-off on a television game show where contestants are given key words and a short amount of time to write poetry and prose, with judges eagerly waiting to “edit” them out of the show.

Upper and Middle Grades; 5 male, 2 female; 20 minutes.
Message to the bride-to-be from her groom's kidnappers: "When we get the money, you get your honey!"

Upper & Middle Grades; 10 female, 9 male; 30 minutes. America's first female investigative reporter set the standard for the best in newspaper journalism.

Middle and Lower Grades; 6+ female; 20 minutes.
Evil witches meet their match in good witch Clarice, who grows flowers and wears a sunny smile. Is there room for them all in the Witches' Council?

Middle Grades; 3 male, 4 female, 4 male and/or female. 20 minutes.
What happens when seven people, including an overly cheerful retired teacher, an obnoxious (and nauseous) kid, a chatty cellphone user, and an odiferous fisherman get stuck in an elevator.

Middle Grades. 5 female, 4 male; 30 minutes.
Deputy works to find his boss the perfect match.

Middle Grades; 5 female; 1 male; 15 minutes.
Trick-or-treaters let their imaginations run wild when they knock on the door of a newcomer to town.

Middle and Lower Grades; 4 male, 4 female, 4 male or female; 25 minutes. Talented animal joins in Mexican Christmas celebration.

Middle and Lower Grades; 8 male, 4 female; as many male and female extras as desired for Other Students; 15-20 minutes. Four presidents have a little fun with visitors to a national memorial.

Middle Grades. 7 actors: 3 male, 2 female, 2 male and/or female; 25 minutes. Zany cast of characters—including a banana-cream-pie-wielding robot—tries to thwart evil mad scientist’s plans to destroy the world.

Middle & Lower Grades: 6 actors: male/female; 10 minutes. Animals meet in the desert and learn to respect their differences, without asking each other to change the way they are.

Middle Grades. 5 actors: 3 male, 2 female; 20 minutes. Prelude to Thanksgiving: A Pilgrim family and a Native American connect in friendship, thanks to a young girl’s generosity and spirit of diversity.