You are here: > Visit Our Library of Plays > Scripts by Age Group > Upper Grades > Historical/Biographies

SOJOURNER TRUTH by Joanna L. Evans SOJOURNER TRUTH by Joanna L. Evans

Upper Grades; 2 female; 1 male or female; 10 minutes.
The fight for suffrage and equality drives a wedge between a spirited young woman and her mother in a story about the work of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Stanton, and Sojourner Truth.

 
*Requires subscription to download. Click here to subscribe.

BALANCING ACT by Christina Hamlett BALANCING ACT by Christina Hamlett

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.

 
*Requires subscription to download. Click here to subscribe.

SHIRLEY CHISHOLM: "UNBOUGHT AND UNBOSSED" by Mary Satchell SHIRLEY CHISHOLM: "UNBOUGHT AND UNBOSSED" by Mary Satchell

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.

 
*Requires subscription to download. Click here to subscribe.

BEOWULF adapted by Eddie McPherson BEOWULF adapted by Eddie McPherson

Upper Grades; 13 male or female, plus; 25 minutes. A great introduction for students to Beowulf, the epic tale from 1000 AD with monsters and heroes, good and evil, fame and infamy.

 
*Requires subscription to download. Click here to subscribe.

RALPH BUNCHE, MAN OF PEACE by Mary Satchell RALPH BUNCHE, MAN OF PEACE by Mary Satchell

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.

 
*Requires subscription to download. Click here to subscribe.

A NEW DAY COMING by Christina Hamlett A NEW DAY COMING by Christina Hamlett

Upper Grades; 4 female, 3 male; 25 minutes. On the first day of the new century—1901—a feisty Irish maid living in Southern California speaks boldly about the justice of a woman's right to vote, and attends a rally in Los Angeles to make her point.

 
*Requires subscription to download. Click here to subscribe.

ONCE UPON A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS by Kate Falconer ONCE UPON A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS by Kate Falconer

Upper Grades; 3 male, 2 female, 1 male or female; 1870s; 25 minutes.
Join a merry holiday gathering at the Perry Mansion in Southern California, where water rights, the immigration "problem," and other concerns of the day are being discussed. As for the predictions that were foretold by the I Ching and the visiting Archduke, see if you recognize how many of them actually came true!

 
*Requires subscription to download. Click here to subscribe.

ROMEO AND JULIET AT THE WILLIAMSBURG THEATRE by Ellen M. Eleder ROMEO AND JULIET AT THE WILLIAMSBURG THEATRE by Ellen M. Eleder

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.

 
*Requires subscription to download. Click here to subscribe.

SABOTAGE by Craig Sodaro SABOTAGE by Craig Sodaro

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.

 
*Requires subscription to download. Click here to subscribe.

FREEDOM RIDERS, by Tom Quinn FREEDOM RIDERS, by Tom Quinn

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.

*Requires subscription to download. Click here to subscribe.

STEALING CHRISTMAS by Craig Sodaro STEALING CHRISTMAS by Craig Sodaro

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.

 
*Requires subscription to download. Click here to subscribe.

THE ANCESTORS' BOX by Christina Hamlett THE ANCESTORS' BOX by Christina Hamlett

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.

 
*Requires subscription to download. Click here to subscribe.

EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ROSIES by Christina Hamlett EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ROSIES by Christina Hamlett

Upper Grades; 14+ actors: 10 female, 4 male; 35 minutes. The story of a “Rosie the Riveter” and the women who joined the previously all-male workforce when the men left their jobs and joined the military to fight in World War II. Historical notes are included to give perspective to the role women played in the war effort and the jobs the women lost when the war ended and the men came home.

 
*Requires subscription to download. Click here to subscribe.

ABOVE THE FOLD: THE STORY OF NELLIE BLY by Christina Hamlett ABOVE THE FOLD: THE STORY OF NELLIE BLY by Christina Hamlett

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

*Requires subscription to download. Click here to subscribe.

THREE TULIPS by Craig Sodaro THREE TULIPS by Craig Sodaro

Upper Grades; 6 female, 2 male; 4 female; 25 minutes.
Dramatic story of patriotic Dutch families working to save priceless art from the Germans and their local collaborators.
*Requires subscription to download. Click here to subscribe.