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Bring ancient wisdom to your classroom with Why We Have Day and Night by Barbara Winther. This engaging drama is a standout choice for educators looking for culturally rich middle school play scripts. Based on a traditional Australian Aborigine tale, the story follows a high-stakes conflict where flying animals are pitted against land animals. As the two groups clash, students explore a timeless narrative that points out the foolishness of pride and the consequences of war. It’s an imaginative, thought-provoking piece that is as educational as it is entertaining. Order yours today!
Cultural Exploration: Introduces students to Australian Aborigine folklore and storytelling traditions.
Timeless Themes: Effectively addresses complex topics like pride, conflict, and the importance of harmony.
Ensemble-Friendly: Features a large cast of 14 flexible roles, perfect for involving an entire class.
Accessible Length: A concise 30-minute running time makes it ideal for school assemblies or drama workshops.
Engaging Characters: Diverse animal roles allow students to experiment with creative movement and character acting.
Finding high-quality middle school play scripts that balance meaningful lessons with an exciting plot can be a challenge for busy drama directors. Why We Have Day and Night provides the perfect solution, offering a unique opportunity for students to delve into world mythology while honing their performance skills. This script helps young actors understand the gravity of conflict through a relatable, nature-based allegory, making it a powerful teaching tool for any theater program. Start your production with Plays Magazine today!
Grade Level: Middle Grades
Cast Size: 14 (Male or Female)
Running Time: 30 minutes
Genre: Folk Tale / Diversity
Subject: Australian Aborigine Lore
Format: Royalty-Free Script (requires subscription)
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.”
Give your audience a delightful fright with "A Halloween Sleeping Beauty," a unique and spooky twist on the beloved fairy tale by Jane Tesh. This engaging script is perfect for elementary school plays, offering a fun, ghoulish take where beauty becomes a curse!
Features
Your students will love exploring this imaginative story, bringing its quirky characters and surprising plot to life. Discover more captivating play scripts for children and inspire creativity by considering a Plays Magazine subscription for your school.
DEAR JOURNAL by Judy Culp is more than just a performance piece—it’s an invaluable tool for upper grades looking for versatile scripts for school plays and drama workshops. This exciting collection of monologues, dialogues, and one-liners provides a unique, highly flexible foundation for teaching and performance. Designed to introduce the powerful act of "journaling" to a class or a whole school, this resource opens the door to creativity, self-expression, and student-led content creation. Unleash your students' dramatic potential and subscribe to PLAYS Magazine today!Exciting collection of monologues, dialogues, and one-liners.Highly flexible and adaptable for various presentation needs.Perfect for use as a drama workshop piece introducing the concept of journaling.Selections can be combined with new, original pieces written by students on timely issues.Royalty-free for performances by current subscribers.
Exciting collection of monologues, dialogues, and one-liners.
Highly flexible and adaptable for various presentation needs.
Perfect for use as a drama workshop piece introducing the concept of journaling.
Selections can be combined with new, original pieces written by students on timely issues.
Royalty-free for performances by current subscribers.
Rediscover the magic of the woods with this enchanting adaptation of Hansel and Gretel by Mary Flynn Casey. Based on the Brothers Grimm classic and inspired by Engelbert Humperdinck’s famous opera, this script is a versatile choice for both an elementary school play scripts collection and a middle school play script library. The story follows two inquisitive siblings as they outsmart a wicked witch in a house made of gingerbread. Filled with whimsical characters like gingerbread children and forest spirits, this 40-minute production brings a timeless story to life with charm and suspense. Order yours today!Faithful Adaptation: Captures the heart of the original Grimm fairy tale while incorporating melodic influences from the opera.Large, Flexible Cast: Includes 5 lead roles and several extras, making it easy to accommodate an entire classroom or drama club.Engaging for All Ages: Specifically designed to bridge the gap between Lower and Middle Grades with age-appropriate dialogue.Imaginative Staging: Provides wonderful opportunities for creative set design, from a humble cottage to a candy-covered house.Perfect Performance Length: A 40-minute runtime is substantial enough for a main event while remaining manageable for younger performers.Finding an elementary school play scripts option that also works as a middle school play script can be difficult, but this version of Hansel and Gretel strikes the perfect balance. It offers younger students the excitement of a well-known fairy tale while providing middle schoolers with the opportunity for more nuanced character work and theatrical ensemble building. Whether you are staging a holiday show or a spring festival, this script ensures a magical experience for your students and an unforgettable show for your audience. Bring this classic to life with Plays Magazine today!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.
Rediscover the magic of the woods with this enchanting adaptation of Hansel and Gretel by Mary Flynn Casey. Based on the Brothers Grimm classic and inspired by Engelbert Humperdinck’s famous opera, this script is a versatile choice for both an elementary school play scripts collection and a middle school play script library. The story follows two inquisitive siblings as they outsmart a wicked witch in a house made of gingerbread. Filled with whimsical characters like gingerbread children and forest spirits, this 40-minute production brings a timeless story to life with charm and suspense. Order yours today!
Faithful Adaptation: Captures the heart of the original Grimm fairy tale while incorporating melodic influences from the opera.
Large, Flexible Cast: Includes 5 lead roles and several extras, making it easy to accommodate an entire classroom or drama club.
Engaging for All Ages: Specifically designed to bridge the gap between Lower and Middle Grades with age-appropriate dialogue.
Imaginative Staging: Provides wonderful opportunities for creative set design, from a humble cottage to a candy-covered house.
Perfect Performance Length: A 40-minute runtime is substantial enough for a main event while remaining manageable for younger performers.
Finding an elementary school play scripts option that also works as a middle school play script can be difficult, but this version of Hansel and Gretel strikes the perfect balance. It offers younger students the excitement of a well-known fairy tale while providing middle schoolers with the opportunity for more nuanced character work and theatrical ensemble building. Whether you are staging a holiday show or a spring festival, this script ensures a magical experience for your students and an unforgettable show for your audience. Bring this classic to life with Plays Magazine today!
Lower Grades; 4 female, 2 male, and many extras; 10 minutes. Bunnies swing into action with a modern beat as last-minute order puts a crunch on the Easter egg factory.
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.
How do you make one of Shakespeare's most powerful tragedies accessible to modern students? This brilliant 30-minute adaptation of Macbeth is the solution. It masterfully uses storytellers who speak in modern language to point the way, guiding students to a thorough understanding of Shakespeare's original words. This script makes the complex themes of ambition, fate, and guilt perfectly clear and engaging for a new generation. Download your script today!
A unique "Storyteller" framework that uses modern English to explain and contextualize the original text.
An ideal 30-minute running time, perfect for classroom study, drama competitions, or assemblies.
Flexible casting options to accommodate various class or drama club sizes.
Preserves the core plot, key scenes, and poetic power of the original play.
Finding plays for high schoolers that are both classic and understandable can be a significant challenge. You want your students to experience the genius of Shakespeare, but you worry about them getting lost in the dense language. This adaptation solves that problem. It empowers your students to confidently perform and truly understand the "Scottish play," sparking a genuine appreciation for classic literature. Stop searching for the perfect play scripts and bring this accessible tragedy to your stage. Order your Macbeth script from Plays Magazine today!
Specs
Cast: 13+ actors (4 male, 4 female, 5 male or female)
Grade Level: Upper Grades (High School / Middle School)
Setting: Bare stage
Format: Royalty-Free Script
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.
Bring American history to the stage with this powerful biographical drama. Ideal for plays for schools and history curriculums, this script chronicles the inspirational life of Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005). As the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress, Chisholm was a trailblazer who fought tirelessly for the rights of women and minorities. This production offers a unique opportunity to combine arts education with civics, making it a standout choice for your next school assembly or drama production. Purchase this script today!
Historical Accuracy: Based on real events, providing a genuine educational experience.
Large Ensemble Cast: Flexible casting allows for maximum student participation.
Strong Female Lead: Offers a challenging and rewarding role for a young actress.
Cross-Curricular Value: Perfect for combining Drama, English, and History lessons.
Finding high-quality educational theatre that resonates with young actors can be difficult, but this script bridges the gap between entertainment and learning. By engaging with these play scripts for students, your cast will step into the shoes of a political icon, learning valuable lessons about resilience, integrity, and the power of a single voice. It provides a safe, constructive way to discuss important topics like civil rights and representation in the classroom. Empower your students with a story that matters. Order yours from Plays Magazine today!
Grade Level: Upper and Middle Grades
Cast Size: 11 female, 7 male, and 20+ non-speaking roles (flexible)
Run Time: 30 minutes
Genre: Biographical Drama / History
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.
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.
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.
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. 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.
Lower Grades; 10 male or female and as many male and female extras as desired; 10 minutes. A Chinese folktale that shows that good sense and smart thinking are better than all the gold in the world.
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.
Introduce your students to the Bard in a way they will actually enjoy with this delightful modern retelling of a classic. Perfect for plays for schools looking to tackle Shakespeare without the intimidation of Elizabethan language, this script reimagines the comedy with a contemporary twist. Full of love, romance, and mischievous dealings, it keeps the intrigue of the original while making the plot relatable for today’s middle schoolers. Get your copy today!
Modern Adaptation: A contemporary setting makes the story accessible and engaging for younger actors.
Flexible Ensemble: Designed for a large cast, allowing you to involve the entire class.
Introductory Shakespeare: The perfect gateway to teaching classic literature and plot structures.
Comedy: Lighthearted and fun, ensuring a positive experience for the cast and audience alike.
Making classical literature fun is a challenge every drama teacher faces, but this script serves as an excellent tool for educational theatre. By using play scripts for students that modernize familiar themes, you remove the barrier of complex language and let the students focus on character and storytelling. This play fosters a love for theatre and literature, proving that Shakespeare’s stories are timeless. Create a memorable performance that students will talk about for years. Order yours from Plays Magazine today!
Cast Size: 3 male, 3 female, 17 male or female (flexible)
Run Time: 20 minutes
Genre: Contemporary Comedy / Adaptation
Lower Grades; 4 male, 1 female, as many male and female extras as desired for ants; contemporary; 10 minutes. Red ants and black ants fight over a picnic, only to discover that working together, sharing, and making friends are the most important morsels of all.
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.
Lower Grades; 9 to 30 male and female. 10 minutes. This creative dramatics play in poem form is a wonderful way for young children to act out what happens when rain starts pitter-pattering on the playground . . . plenty of opportunity for body movement and sound effects.
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 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.
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.
Immerse your audience in two pivotal eras of history simultaneously with this unique historical drama. An excellent choice for plays for schools seeking cross-curricular content, this script follows a troupe of actors rehearsing Shakespeare in Colonial Williamsburg just as the Revolutionary War looms. It masterfully blends the classic tragedy of the Bard with the tension and patriotism of early America. Give your students a rich historical perspective. Purchase this script today!
Dual Historical Setting: Teaches students about both Elizabethan theatre traditions and Life in Colonial America.
Play-Within-A-Play: Offers a unique meta-theatrical experience that challenges and engages young actors.
Flexible Casting: Designed for a large, mixed cast of 15+ actors, making it inclusive for the whole class.
Educational Depth: Perfect for collaboration between History and English departments.
Cast Size: 15 male/female roles plus extras
Genre: Historical Drama / Period Piece
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.
Lower Grades; 20 male or female; 15 minutes. Puns, jokes, and music make math come alive in this clever skit.
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; 3 female, 3 male, as many extras as desired; 25 minutes. Platonic? Hardly! Will offbeat hero of a band triumph over cute basketball star? A play of crushes, stereotypes, and young love.
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.
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!
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 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.
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.
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.
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 & Lower Grades. 8 actors: male or female; 20 minutes. Villagers are convinced by the Mayor to buy a gold-giving cow from a passerby, only to find that the poor creature can barely even give any milk. The villagers, of course, realize their mistake, but somehow draw the wrong conclusion. How silly.
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; 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.
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