Upper Grades; 4 female, 5 male or female; contemporary; December holidays; 25 minutes.
A chance meeting in a Boston coffee shop gives a young woman mourning the loss of her beloved sister a new outlook on the world. A heartwarming, sensitive holiday drama about friendship and “the gift of life” (organ donation).

Upper Grades; 2 male, 4 male or female offstage voices; 10 minutes.
Winner of 2005 PLAYS/California Student Playwriting Contest (High School) and coming in the wake of the Columbine shootings, this play focuses on a high schooler’s inappropriate joke at a school assembly and the ensuing dramatic heart-to-heart conversation with the guidance counselor.

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.

Upper grades; few to many actors; 10 minutes to 1 hour.
An exciting collection of monologues, dialogues, and one-liners that can be used as a flexible drama workshop piece, introducing “journaling” to a class or a whole school. Author Judy Culp writes, “This piece is highly adaptable: It may be used as is; users may pick certain selections for presentations; or certain selections maybe combined with new original pieces written by students on timely issues.”

Upper Grades; 3 male, 3 male, 1 male or female; 25 minutes.
Cindy's email "friend" turns out to be very different in person (no surprise there!). Is there any way this couple can sustain their virtual connection in real life? A great springboard for a discussion about sharing your thoughts and feelings with strangers; truthfulness; and the role of computers in our lives.

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.

Upper Grades; 7 male, 7 female; 17th-century England; 30 minutes. A young girl and the shy, awkward, and brilliant Isaac Newton develop an unusual friendship, exchange meaningful Christmas presents, and build an extraordinary bond that spans a lifetime.

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.

Upper Grades; 4 male, 4 female; 5 male or female; 30 minutes. Storytellers using modern language point the way to a thorough understanding of Shakespeare's original words, in this dramatic adaptation of one of the playwright's most powerful tragedies.

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.

Upper Grades; 8 female, 7 male; 4 male or female. 35 minutes.

A television drama comes to life as an over-the-hill star and a stolen ruby become the focus of a tense courtroom trial.

Upper Grades; for round-table reading; 9 male and 1 female; 30 minutes. Edmond Rostand’s moving tale of appearance, intellect, and unrequited love set in 17th century Paris. Who could forget the lovely Roxane?

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.

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.

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.

Upper Grades; 6 male, 5 female; 35 minutes. A tension-filled adaptation of Bram Stoker’s thrilling tale set in Transylvania---if you listen carefully you can almost hear the doors creaking and the screams reverberating off the castle walls. A play your students will really sink their teeth into.

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 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.

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.

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.

Upper and Middle Grades; 8 male, 1 female; 30 minutes. An impoverished American in 1850s London is handed an envelope with a 30-day loan as part of a wager by two wealthy Londoners. The fascinating tale of how he will use his newfound wealth.

Upper Grades; 3 female, 1 male; 35 minutes. A sophisticated play about a high school girl, in the midst of college applications, who gets a letter from her birth mother asking if they can meet -- 18 years after she was given up for adoption.

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!

Lower Grades; 2 female, 1 male, 1 male or female; 15 minutes. The magic of Christmas shines in a poor fisherman's hut in this adaptation of a charming French folktale.

Upper Grades; 5 female, 1 male; contemporary; 20 minutes.
Twenty-something friends trying to make it in the city find a bag of money that would surely come in handy to pay the rent and save the day. . .if only it was theirs. Staged almost entirely in an elevator, the question is, of course, should they keep the money for themselves or return it to the rightful owner?

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; 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 Grades; 3 female, 3 male; contemporary; 25 minutes. Selfish brother learns a hard lesson about compassion and generosity when his sister becomes very ill.

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!

Upper Grades; 10 female; 3 male; 1 male or female, and extras; 3 scenes, 15 minutes each.
High school students take center stage in this three-pack of plays about thinking of others at holiday time; creative gift-giving from the heart; and innovative sales techniques when jobs are one the line. Perform one, two, or three scenes, as time permits.

Upper Grades, 9 male, 3 female; 30 minutes.
High school students work at their family's diner on Thanksgiving, all the while missing the big game—a story about the American Dream, the balance between work and play, and the recognition that we have a lot to be thankful for.

Upper Grades; 9 female, 2 male, 6 male or female; contemporary; 20 minutes.
Hotly contested Student Council election puts a strain on a longtime friendship as students fight for presidency.

Upper Grades; 4 male, 2 female, 2 male or female; 40 minutes. Two brothers share an intense love for the same melancholy woman in this classic tragedy based on Debussy's opera.

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; 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.

Upper Grades; 8 male, 2 female, 2 male or female; 30 minutes. The greatest love story—and tragedy—of all time.

Upper Grades; 1 female, 1 male; 15 minutes.

To escape an obnoxious guy at a party, popular girl Julia makes her way to the attic, only to meet an entirely different sort of guy.

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.

Upper Grades; 2 female, 2 male; 19th-century England; 30 minutes.
An adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's novel of romance and suspense, in which a devastating secret threatens to destroy the happiness of the young heroine.

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.

Upper Grades; 4 female; 3 male; Ancient Egypt; 30 minutes.
When a valuable necklace goes missing, the word of a shy servant girl is tested against that of one of the Pharaoh's most trusted aides.

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 Grades; 3 female; 2 male; extras as desire; 15 minutes. Using the simplification of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as an assignment, a star student learns the importance of working with her team and accepting new ideas and different approaches to Shakespeare and life.

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.

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.

Upper and Middle Grades; 4 male, 4 female, 20 minutes.

Brave seamstress defies convention and uses her skills to aid General George Washington and the Continental Army.

Upper Grades; 11 male, 4 female, 3 male/female, and extras; 30 minutes.
A heartwarming adaptation of a portion of Dickens' famous story that includes Marley's ghost and the spirits of Christmases Past, Present, and Future.

Upper Grades; 3 male; 3 female; 1 male or female; 15 minutes. So you witnessed a traffic accident, and have other things to think about — why get involved? Use this skit as the springboard for a discussion on civic duty and responsibility.

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.

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; 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 Grades; 3 female; 2 male; 15 minutes. Will friendships stay true when Jake falls for his best friend Aaron’s younger sister?

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.

Upper Grades; 2 actors: 1 female, 1 male. 15 minutes. A sweet, adult conversation between siblings after their grandfather’s funeral about the love and kindness they received, without really knowing it at the time. Remember the time you won the hamburger eating contest….and you didn’t realize that your burgers were smaller than the others?

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.

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

Upper Grades: 8 actors: 5 female,1 male, and 2 male/female; 30 minutes. Heartbreaking portrait of the struggles and hardships of immigrants to America and the harsh realities of a complex immigration system, as seen when an aunt from Central America comes to California for a family wedding.