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A-BOMB WEDDING
(1M 1F) Comedy. Two young adults look for love in a convenience store--with more than the usual baggage. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
THE BIRD
(2M) A titmouse among the bus-stop pigeons--a messenger from God? A Twisted encounter between strangers. By Matt Buchanan MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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CRASH POSITIONS
(1M 1F) A comedy about two passengers who think their airplane is about to crash. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
LARRY OF THE LAKE
(2M) A harried businessman is tempted to a life of irresponsibility by a mysteriously wet man. By Matt Buchanan MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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LAST RIGHT BEFORE THE VOID
(2M 1F) The play follows Christian, a teenage boy, as he hitchhikes along a highway that seems to disappear into a black hole. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
LEAPERS
(1M 1F) Dark Comedy. Two determined jumpers compete for the same spot on the roof. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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MENAGERIE
(1M, 1F) A missing roommate turns Valentine's Day on its head. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
NEWT GINGRICH VISITS A RESIDENTIAL YOUTH FACILITY NOT NEAR OMAHA
(2M) A pair of residents at a home for troubled teens wait for a photo op with Newt Gingrich. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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PEPPERONI APOCALYPSE
(5 actors, gender flexible) A pizza delivery guy arrives at the door of a doomsday cult at the exact moment they expect the world to end. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
STEALING SAXOPHONES FROM HOMELESS PEOPLE
(1 actor, either gender) When your mother tells you at the age of three that you're going to end up stealing saxophones from homeless people, you're saddled with a heavy burden. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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SUDDEN DEATH DEBATING LEAGUE
(1M, 1F) Dark comedy. Suggested set. Suitable for high school and up. First read at Socorro High School, El Paso, Texas. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
SUNSET JOHNSON
(1M, 1F) An innocent but dangerous flirtation between a young black soldier and a white farmgirl in the WWI-era South. By Ed Shockley MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
 TEN MINUTES
Drama. 1 male, 1 female. 10 minutes. Suggested set. Suitable for stage performance or competitive forensics for high school and up (possibly for skilled middle school actors). By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GODOT?
(3 actors, gender flexible) The untold story--until now--of why Godot, one of the most famous characters in all of theater, never showed up. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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WITNESSES
(Cast of 2-7, depending on doubling. Mixed Gender.) Seven different versions of a botched robbery betray seven different sets of prejudices. By Matt Buchanan MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
X MARKS THE SPOT
(1M 1F) A modern-day Moses and Zipporah (Mo and Zippy) try to rekindle their flagging romance with a trip to a middle-American burning bush. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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2071 (A Moral Mystery)
(Flexible cast. About 5 minutes.) Stahl Flowers, the non-violent champion of inter-galactic peace, is apparently killed in what at first appears to be an accident. When he is finally found alive, investigators must make a choice--reveal the truth, or conceal it in order to take advantage of the unifying effects of his apparent death. By Ed Shockley MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
4 A.M.
(minimum 6-8 actors, no maximum. About 35 minutes.) What's it like to be awake when the rest of your world is asleep? Meet an early-morning jogger, a lonely short-wave radio DJ, a modern Romeo and Juliet, the monster under the bed and many others as they search for connection in the magic hour. Written specifically for teen actors. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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Did you know...? A new YouthPlays.com website is coming in early 2009. Stay tuned for updates and new plays! |
AFTER MATH
(minimum 8-10 actors, no maximum. About 35 minutes.) When a student mysteriously disappears in the middle of math class, through a series of scenes and monologues, those left behind try to find some answers. Did anyone really know who he was? And why is it they've only noticed him now that he's gone? Written specifically for teen actors and ideal for school festivals and competitions. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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THE CRONE OF CROPLEY
(6M 6F, plus flexible ensemble. About 45 minutes.) A mysterious old woman who may or may not have magical powers arrives in a small, stuggling village. Is the the answer to all their problems? By Matt Buchanan MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
THE DAY BOY AND THE NIGHT GIRL
(4M 4F, plus flexible ensemble. About 60 minutes.) Free adaptation of a George MacDonald fairy tale about a boy raised never to see darkness and a girl kept always in the dark--and what they discover about themselves when they accidentally meet. By Matt Buchanan MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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DEAR CHUCK
(10-30+ actors. Flexible running time of 35-55 minutes.) Through a series of scenes and monologues, the play's eclectic assortment of teen characters, caught between being children and adults, search for their "Chuck," that elusive moment of knowing who you are. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
DODGE
(Minimum 11 actors, no maximum. About 25 minutes.) Every autumn the Elves paint the leaves a pretty gold before winter Gnomes follow with their deadly frost. Dodge, the pathologically lazy daughter of the Elf King, has disappeared after being sent to retrieve more magic paints. What follows is a comic mix of Sherlock Holmes and Lord of the Rings as Dodge tries to undo the immense harm that her prank has caused without revealing her culpability. The plot was suggested by students at Upper Merion Elementary School (with roles created for each student in the class). By Ed Shockley. MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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ERNIE'S PLACE
(3M 2F. About 50 minutes.) Ernie's Place is a challenging play about three children who must adjust to the change in life occasioned by a move. When they discover a homeless man sleeping in their clubhouse, they are moved to question, through dramatic play, the nature of security and permanence. By Matt Buchanan MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
FROM SHAKESPEARE WITH LOVE?
(2M 2F, expandable to 12+ characters. About 35 minutes.) Four of the Bard's characters wait for an overdue flight to London. When Romeo reveals that he plans to revenge himself upon Shakespeare by killing him in a duel, it's up to the others to save Shakespeare by convincing Romeo that Shakespeare does indeed love love. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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KADIJA & SWANN
(2F) An absurdist comedy about two sheltered girls who imagine that the death of a pet rabbit means that one of them is pregnant. By Ed Shockley MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
LITTLE MISS DREAMER (A Nite in the Life of Bessie Smith) (3M 3F, plus chorus and piano or jazz band. About 50 minutes, or 2 hours with second act concert.) Young Bessie Smith is facing her first audience north of the Mason Dixon line. She tries to find courage in a jar of moonshine but instead animates the furniture of her dressing room and it leads her back through the challenges and triumphs of her life. By Ed Shockley MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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MERLIN & VIVIEN
(1M 1F. About 40 minutes.) A two character tragic love story inspired by the account of Merlin's fall in Alfred Lord Tennyson's epic poem Idylls of the King. By Ed Shockley MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
THE MISER OF DRY GULCH
(6M 3F. About 45 minutes.) A wild west retelling of Moliere's classic farce, L'Avare (The Miser) about the stingiest old miser on earth and the ridiculous trials of his family. By Matt Buchanan MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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NOBODY'S LISTENING
(3M 3F. About 55 minutes.) An environmental theatre experience, originally commissioned by Children's Theatre of Charlotte as a touring anti-violence play. A volunteer actor gradually transforms a hokey youth television program so that it reflects the real experiences of young people. By Ed Shockley MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
NOW YOU SEE ME
(3M 5F, expandable to 20+ actors. About 35 minutes.) A one-act about what causes young people to slip through the cracks and what drives them to violence. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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OPERATION TAKE BACK DAD
(2M 3F, 2 either. About 35 minutes.) After a series of attempts to engage the attention of an overworked, uninvolved dad--escalating in scale and absurdity but all equally ineffective--his five children decide it's time to take action. A funny, sometimes absurdist caper for the whole family. By Matt Buchanan MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
PLAY'S END
(2M. About 20 minutes.) The story of John, a door-to-door gun salesman who helps his young son remember the "something sad" that happened at school. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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PRINCE UGLY (the play)
(Flexible Ensemble Cast. About 40 minutes.) What is a true friend? Prince Ugly is a fun, often zany contemporary fairy tale about identity and friendship. By Matt Buchanan Prince Ugly is also available in a musical version. (About 85 minutes.) MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
PUCK AND THE PLAYERS
(8M 5F, 2 Either. 35-40 minutes.) Free adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, concentrating on the "rustics." By Matt Buchanan MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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SLEEPING WALTER
(Flexible Ensemble Cast. About 40 minutes.) Sleeping Walter is the story of Walter, a young boy whose dreams are so much more fulfilling than his real life that he refuses to wake up. By Matt Buchanan. MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
SUPERMODELS IN JEOPARDY
(Comedy. Requires 1 male, 2 females and 1-3 actors of either gender. Runs approximately 30-35 minutes in one simple setting.) When a convention center collapses on an international supermodels' convention, the world is faced with a question: Can we get along without supermodels? By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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THE TEA SERVANT
(2F 1M. This Kabuki inspired movement based piece has an expandable chorus of 3 or more actor/dancers. About 35 minutes.) Adapted from an anonymous Samurai legend, The Tea Servant is the story of a meticulous Japanese woman who dresses as a man to accompany her mistress through a dangerous forest. They encounter a robber and the calm spirit of the serving girl makes her more of a samurai than her assailant. By Ed Shockley MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
THANK YOU FOR FLUSHING MY HEAD IN THE TOILET and Other Rarely Used Expressions (Flexible cast min. 10, max. 30. 35-40 minutes.) Scenes and monologues ranging from offbeat and wildly theatrical to quietly heartbreaking examine one of the biggest problems facing teens today: bullying. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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TICKING
(3M. 20-25 minutes. Unit set.) The gun is missing from the pot on the right rear burner at the Doe house, replaced by an egg. Ticking can stand alone or play with Play's End and You're Next as part of the Gunplay trilogy, chronicling a day in the life of the Doe Family and their relationship with guns. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
TWISTING CAROL
(20+ roles. About 30 minutes.) A one-act slaughter of the Dickens classic. Young Ebenezer Scrooge dancing with a popsicle stick, a ghost named Bob, another ghost who thinks his name is Bob and a Tiny Tim who considers himself short but not tiny. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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THE WHITE PAGES
(2M 2-4F. About 25 minutes.) A customer takes matters into his own hands when he discovers a used bookstore is removing the pages from classic books and replacing them with blank ones. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
YOU'RE NEXT
(2M. About 20 minutes.) Two teenagers struggle with how to defend themselves against a bully. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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BOBOS
(Musical. Ensemble Cast. About 2 hours.) This sung-through urban opera deals with the tough choices facing youth in the streets of Philadelphia. The premiere production set a box office record at American Music Theatre Festival, then went on to win several major awards including the Richard Rodgers Award (the American Academy of Arts and Letters), and the Stephen Sondheim Award for Outstanding Contributions to American Musical Theatre. By Ed Shockley and James McBride. MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
THE BOX
(Cast of 5 plus chorus. 90 minutes.) A wacky allegorical comedy inspired by the myths of Pandora and Prometheus mixed with modern cartoon references. Epth is deposited on a quiet beach by a mysterious ferryman and then encounters a succession of zany characters each prodding him on toward some elusive self discovery. By Ed Shockley MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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DAY ONE
(Musical. 3M, 5F plus flexible ensemble. About 90 minutes.) Some people wish high school would last forever. Others would do anything to get it over with. Who will win out in this new musical? Commissioned by the Choate Rosemary Hall Summer Arts Conservatory as a new musical written specifically for teen performers. Book and Lyrics by Jon Dorf, Music by James Balmer and Mary Nelson. MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
HIGH SCHOOL (NON) MUSICAL
(Comedy. 6M, 5F, plus flexible ensemble. About 90 minutes.) A zany parody of Disney's High School Musical, but the play stands on its own even with actors and audiences who don't know the Mouse's monster hit. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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IRENE AND CURDIE
(6 female, 9 male, plus flexible ensemble. About 75 minutes.) Freely adapted from George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin. A young princess and a young miner prove more than a match for a society of twisted goblins bent of destroying their world. A fairy tale about trust and self-reliance. Wonderful for family audiences. By Matt Buchanan MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
LITTLE WOMEN
(Ensemble Cast. About 2 hours.) Adapted from the novel by Louisa May Alcott. This adaptation sticks very close to the original text, and is especially popular with those who truly love the book. By Matt Buchanan MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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PRINCE UGLY (the musical)
(Musical. Flexible Ensemble Cast. About 85 minutes.) What is a true friend? Prince Ugly is a fun, often zany contemporary fairy tale about identity and friendship. With ten original songs, all well-suited to be performed by young voices. By Matt Buchanan Prince Ugly is also available in a non-musical version. (About 40 minutes.) MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
ROLL OF THUNDER HEAR MY CRY
(4F 6M, plus expandable chorus. 120 minutes.) Authorized adaptation of Mildred D. Taylor's Newberry Award winning novel set in Jim Crow Mississippi. By Ed Shockley MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
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STRANGER ON THE BUS
(Expandable cast of 12-50. About 2 hours.) Fantasy and reality blend together in this award winning historical dream play about a landmark desegregation case, Swann v. Charlotte/Mechlenberg Board of Education. By Ed Shockley MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
WAR OF THE BUTTONS
(10M 2F. About 100 minutes.) Freely adapted from the novel by Louis Pergaud. The youth of a town on the brink of ruin battle the students of a local prep school that is gradually buying up their town, all the while protecting one of their own whose parents have abandoned him. By Jon Dorf MORE INFO / TO ORDER |
