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ONE ACT PLAYS

  • 1.  ONE ACT PLAYS

    Posted 07-07-2025 09:21

    I am a theater teacher at a private school in Georgia. I am looking for an inspiring and comical One Act play for high school competition. I love classics and historically based scripts and would love to challenge my students in character development. I get overwhelmed as I sift through thousands of titles and synopsis on line so was just wondering if anyone had favorites from Director's POV & student's POV.

    WOULD APPRECIATE ANY SUGGESTIONS

    Thank You, 



    ------------------------------
    Sumer Rooke
    Fine Arts Department Head & Theater Director
    Unity Christian School
    Rome, Georgia
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  • 2.  RE: ONE ACT PLAYS

    Posted 07-07-2025 12:24

    Cake for the Queen by Robin Blasberg would be worth taking a look at.  Here's a link to an excerpt:

    https://www.youthplays.com/play/cake-for-the-queen-by-robin-blasberg-513&ref=



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    Hans Offenfrish
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: ONE ACT PLAYS

    Posted 07-08-2025 10:35

    Thank you for this suggestion. I will certainly take a look at it! I am really looking for a One Act about 45-50 minutes long for competition purposes. 

    Thank You Again!



    ------------------------------
    Sumer Rooke
    Fine Arts Department Head & Theater Director
    Unity Christian School
    Rome, Georgia
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: ONE ACT PLAYS

    Posted 07-08-2025 10:44

    Hi there,

    I had great success with Radium Girls.  We did the 60 min version.  There's lot's of research you can do and the characters are juicy.

    Good luck!



    ------------------------------
    Lisa Gunn-Becker
    NJ
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: ONE ACT PLAYS

    Posted 07-08-2025 11:47

    You might take a look at The Post Office, which is an AATE Distinguished Play Award winner and is a great competition piece (there's also a slightly shorter version):
    https://www.youthplays.com/play/the-post-office-by-melissa-leilani-larson-589

    Also, Almost Mary, about the world's first female paleontologist. Linking to the full-length, but there is a competition one-act version as well:
    https://www.youthplays.com/play/almost-mary-by-full-length-version-claudia-haas-695

    Cheers,
    Jonathan



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    Playwright/Managing Partner of YouthPLAYS
    Los Angeles, CA
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: ONE ACT PLAYS

    Posted 07-08-2025 12:25

    Min Kahng's "The Fullest" is funny and heartwarming and was specifically commissioned for school competitions: https://www.yourstagepartners.com/the-fullest

    Ian McWethy's 'I, Chorus" was just performed at the International Thespian Festival's Chapter Selects: https://www.yourstagepartners.com/i-chorus

    Jason Pizzarello's "As If, Cassandra" is another great option: https://www.yourstagepartners.com/as-if-cassandra



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    Brendan Conheady
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: ONE ACT PLAYS

    Posted 07-09-2025 11:32
    I have enjoyed all of these wonderful One Act suggestions!!!!
    I have come upon a play,  Anatomy of Gray  by Jim Leonard
    Does anyone have a One Act copy of this full length play? I have checked Concord Theatricals and it does not seem to exist. 
    Has someone cut this script for a competition if so would you be willing to share how you cut this script. I will purchase the license of full play if I cannot find it licensed as a one act and ask for permission to cut it. 
    THANK YOU 

    Sumer Rooke
    Fine Arts Director
    Drama Teacher
    706-292-0700 ext. 354



    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: ONE ACT PLAYS

    Posted 07-10-2025 16:42
    Hey!

    Anatomy of Gray is a great piece.  I'd love to know if there's a one act version.  I have yet to find it.

    Cheers!
    www.lisagunn-becker.com
    908-507-6379
    Pronouns:  she, her, hers

    Inspire Through Creativity!




    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: ONE ACT PLAYS

    Posted 08-17-2025 16:05

    A large cast, one-act play perfect for high school students is the mythology-based comedy, The One True Goddess of Acropolis High.  It's available from Big Dog Publishing.  Here's a link to an excerpt:

     https://www.bigdogplays.com/playdisplay.asp?playid=707



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    Robin Blasberg
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    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: ONE ACT PLAYS

    Posted 08-18-2025 12:40

    Hi Sumer,

    TRW has five one-act plays by Joe Calarco (SHAKESPEARE'S R&J) that were written specifically for high schools and for school competitions, and they'd be a great fit for you.  https://www.theatricalrights.com/author/joe-calarco/

    In particular, you might want to take a look at:

    SMILE LINES
    10F or Nonbinary Actors
    This groundbreaking and emotionally charged play immerses you in the fervor, intensity, determination, and selflessness of the Silent Sentinels protest at the White House in 1917. A century later, do we appreciate the sacrifices and convictions made by those brave individuals? SMILE LINES delves deep into the National Woman's Party's historic protests, connecting them to the ongoing struggle for all voices in today's world.  
    https://www.theatricalrights.com/show/smile-lines/

    UnResigned
    16 Actors
    Alejandro has revolutionized student government at his Pennsylvania high school and changed it for the better, so when he unexpectedly resigns from being student body president halfway through his senior year, the entire school is shaken. Who will take over? Who should take over? This exciting play looks at the ways we contribute to our community, the power of the vote, and what it means to be a United States citizen.  
    https://community.schooltheatre.org/discussion/one-act-plays?ReplyInline=5359b77a-99d3-413a-97b3-c13c27a0ecd2

    We also have three short play anthologies, TRW Presents: SHORT PLAYS, Vols. 1-3, each of which contains ten new one-acts, from comedy to drama, absurdist to naturalistic, and more, which might have plays that would work as well.

    https://www.theatricalrights.com/show/trw-presents-short-plays-vol-1/
    https://www.theatricalrights.com/show/trw-presents-short-plays-vol-2/
    https://www.theatricalrights.com/show/trw-presents-short-plays-vol-3/



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    Craig Pospisil
    Vice President - TRW
    TRW - Theatrical Rights Worldwide
    New York NY
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    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: ONE ACT PLAYS

    Posted 08-18-2025 15:52

    Hello, 

    I think you'd love The Goosegirl! It's a comedic adaptation of a German fairy tale. The writer adapted it with a modern sensibility and humor, and it's got a great lesson at the end about humility, kindness, and the value of genuine character over status or appearances. You can read a free perusal by clicking here. Let me know if you have any questions :-)



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    Jason Sebacher
    Founder, Managing Editor
    Gitelman & Good Publishers
    Chicago, IL
    jason@gitelmangoodpublishers.com
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    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: ONE ACT PLAYS

    Posted 08-18-2025 17:24

    This one is probably too long for what you need right now, but I think you'd love Just Great: A Retelling of Some Book by F. Scott Fitzgerald by Dani Stoller.

    https://www.playscripts.com/play/5562?srsltid=AfmBOoq4fh9qlWQUUCuvJN0nazLd9RDZ8TMRZYbXTuxvbauZQZDWmKo8



    ------------------------------
    Rosalind Flynn
    Head of the M.A. in Theatre Education
    Director, The High School Drama Institute
    The Catholic University of America
    Washington, DC
    drama.cua.edu/graduate/MATE
    drama.cua.edu/summer
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


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