Dewey Decimals and Dragons, Brooklyn Publishers, 2017

One-Act
Cast: 3 M, 7 Female, 4-7 flexible, extras
Performance Time: Approximately 35 mins

COMEDY.  Prince Prescott is a bibliophile who takes little interest in princely pursuits, much to the chagrin of Queen Edwina and King Cranston. His parents consult a myriad of magical advisors including a trio of eccentric wizards about his reading malady, but to no avail. When his parents plan to send Prince Prescott to Fairy Godmother’s Finishing School to be instructed in charm, fashion, etiquette, archery, and fencing, Prince Prescott runs away to the only place he thinks he’ll be safe from princely pursuits; a dragon’s lair. There, he becomes the public relations manager for Darla, a dragon who loves a good bedtime story. Can a vicious dragon attack on the village by Draco the dragon, help bring Prince Prescott and his family back together?

Little Red Riding Hood Cowgirl Astronaut, Big Dog Plays, 2017

One-Act
Cast: 2 M, 5 F, 3 flexible
Performance Time: Approximately 20-30 mins

FARCE. In this school production of “Little Red Riding Hood” the costume designer has
taken some creative liberties with the costumes. Little Red Riding Hood has been transformed into a cowgirl astronaut, the Big Bad Wolf looks like a Wall Street trader, Granny is a superhero, Little Red’s mother is a witch, and the huntsman is now the “huntsfairy,” complete with a tiara, tutu, and fairy wings. No matter how hard they try, the cast and director just can’t bring themselves to tell the overly enthusiastic costume designer that her costumes are horrible. With the performance quickly approaching, they have to come up with a solution or resign themselves to performing the wackiest play in the school’s history, “Little Red Riding Hood Cowgirl Astronaut”! Easy to stage.

 

Ogre Etiquette, Big Dog Plays, 2017

One-Act
Cast: 3 M, 9 F, 6 flexible
Performance Time: Approximately 30 mins

FARCE. Fairy Godmother is at wit’s end with her class of unruly, misbehaved princes and princesses and all their fighting, dueling, and combative behavior. To teach her students that their behavior is most un-charming, the Fairy Godmother tells them the story of Princess Pearlette and Olga “the ornery” ogre. When Princess Pearlette meets Olga, she invites her to a tea party. At first, Olga thinks Princess Pearlette would make a good teatime treat, but instead the two become friends. Princess Pearlette teaches Olga to refrain from commenting on how plump and delicious someone looks, to smile without bearing her teeth, to greet others without growling, and to ballroom dance. In return, Olga shows Princess Pearlette how to do the ogre dance, which involves scratching oneself all over, rolling in the dirt, and fiercely staring at others while circling them. Princess Pearlette convinces her brother Prince Charming that it’s better to dance with ogres than fight them, and Olga shows the other ogres that it’s more fun to attend palace balls, dance, and eat crumpets with the royals instead of dining on them.

Till Emojis Do Us Part, Big Dog Plays, 2017

One-Act
Cast: 1 M, 1 F, 11 flexible
Performance Time: Approximately 20-30 mins

COMEDY. Two tweens, Piper and Liam, rarely take breaks from texting each other long enough to eat, sleep, or hang out with their friends. Their entire relationship consists of texting emojis to each other because they are too shy to speak and instead just silently pass each other in the hallway. Piper’s friends are beginning to suspect she may actually be a human phone cyborg, while Liam’s friends are beginning to think that the only relationship he’ll ever have is with his phone. Worried, Piper and Liam’s friends concoct a scheme to force the two to meet face to face and finally speak to each other with words. Easy to stage with minimal set pieces and props.

 

Happily Ever After’s Dating Show, Big Dog Plays, 2016

One-Act
Cast: 6 M, 10 Female, 2 flexible, extras
Performance Time: Approximately 30 mins

COMEDY. Welcome to the dating show where contestants find the prince or princess of their dreams and live happily ever after…um, well, maybe? Little Red Riding Hood gets to select from an “impressive” group of bachelors including a hyperactive gingerbread man, a shepherd boy who is a pathological liar, and a ravenous wolf who likes wearing sheep’s clothing. Then there’s Prince Charming, an inspirational speaker and author of several best-selling self-help books who must choose between Cinderella, a holistic health nut, or her spoiled, whiny stepsisters who have stinky feet and like to shop and party. Snow White’s bachelors include Rumpelstiltskin, a frog who advocates for wetland preservation, and her own stepmother, who has disguised herself as a bachelor so she can trick Snow White into eating a poisoned apple. Rip-roaring, riotous fun!

My Fair Dragon, Big Dog Plays, 2016

One-Act
Cast: 4 M, 7 F, 4 flexible, extras
Performance Time: Approximately 30 mins, 33 pgs.

FARCE. King Cuthbert and Queen Priscilla have to break the bad news to Princess Poppy: She can’t keep her pet dragon Dimpleton in the castle anymore. The monster just isn’t fit for palace life. He knocks everything over with his giant tail, he belches fire at the dinner table, and he accidentally burned down the royal apple orchard. To help Dimpleton adjust to palace life, Princess Poppy asks Prince Charming to give Dimpleton a crash course on castle charm and etiquette. Prince Charming tries to show Dimpleton how to introduce himself without roaring, how to dance in the ballroom without looking like he is circling prey, and how to smile without bearing his teeth menacingly or burping fire at the dinner table. Dimpleton tries his best to be the perfect palace pet, but he is a dragon after all!

Fairy Fort, Big Dog Plays, 2016

One-Act
Cast: 5 M, 6 F, 7 flexible, extras
Performance Time: Approximately 30 mins, 27 pgs.

SPOOF. In this fairytale spoof of the reality TV show “Shark Tank,” fairytale characters present business proposals to judges with the hope of achieving happily ever after. Contestants include an evil witch who pitches a new, improved sleeping potion for those suffering from putrid princess infestations. A wolf shows off his portable wind turbine machine powerful enough to blow down brick houses. Rumpelstitskin offers up a spinning wheel that spins straw into gold. Two childless Bakers request an enchanted oven that can turn gingerbread cookies into children. For use in the pest control industry, the Pied Piper promotes an enchanted pipe that lures away all types of vermin. And self-described footwear-o-phile elves request backing for cobbling their own line of fashionably chic shoes. Judges include a dragon, a fairy godmother, an enchantress, a witch with a skincare line for removing warts, and even the bestselling self-help author Prince Charming!

Photos from Moonlit Wings Productions rehearsals for Fairy Fort.

 

V.I.L.L.A.I.N.S, Big Dog Plays, 2013

One-Act

By: Lavinia Roberts
Cast: 5 M, 8 F, 7 flexible
Performance Time: Approximately 30 minutes, 36 pgs

FARCE. V.I.L.L.A.I.N.S. is a support group for recovering villains who realize their lives have become unmanageable and that they won’t live happily ever after unless they change their ways. Gisela, the evil fairy from “Sleeping Beauty” leads the group, which includes Snow White’s vain stepmother, a pack of wolves, a troll, a wicked witch, Cinderella’s evil stepmother, and many others. To motivate the villains to continue on their path to living happily ever after, Gisela has invited some inspirational speakers including a full-time fairy godmother, Prince Charming, and Jack from “Jack and the Beanstalk” fame. However, the meeting is interrupted by the Pied Piper, who offers transcendental music and hypnosis as a cure for villainy, and some fairies looking for their F.A.R.T.S. meeting.

Happily Ever After’s Top Chef, Norman Maine Plays, 2013

Plays for Young Audiences

One-Act
Cast: 6 M, 6 F, 4 flexible
Performance Time: Approximately 20-30 minutes, 22 pgs.

FARCE/SPOOF. Greetings elves, witches, dwarves, and magical beasts to this week’s episode of “Happily Ever After’s Top Chef,” where fairytale guests prepare an array of mouthwateringly marvelous morsels. This week’s gastronomic “geniuses” include Rumpelstiltskin, who tries to spin straw into pie; a big bad wolf, who wants to share his recipe for “grandma in a blanket”; and the Three Bears, who attempt to get the temperature of their porridge just right. There are even guest appearances by Prince Charming, Puss in Boots, the Pied Piper, a princess who is allergic to everything, a hyperactive gingerbread boy, a witch, and even an evil stepmother! Audiences of all ages will enjoy this fun show.

The Cheerfully Geeky, Dramatically Bullish, Talentless Talent Show, Big Dog Plays, 2013

One-Act
Cast: 4 F, 13 flexible
Performance Time: Approximately 30 minutes, 25 pages

COMEDY. To raise enough money to paint the kiwi-green gymnasium another color, students have organized a school talent show. The contestants include drama kids acting out the death scenes from every Shakespeare play, a math club member playing chess against himself, cheerleaders performing a soliloquy from Hamlet as a group cheer, and a talentless student who tries to play the flute, ballet dance, perform rope tricks with a lasso, and disco dance. In the end, this may prove to be the world’s first talentless talent show!

 

Delight in a Fright Night, Big Dog Plays, 2013

Collections

One-Act
Cast: 4 M, 12 F, 5 flexible (With doubling: 2 M, 8 F, 2 flexible)
Performance Time: Approximately 45 minutes, 41 pgs.

COMEDY COLLECTION. This collection of easy-to-stage short plays is perfect for Halloween and for audiences of all ages. In “To Bite or Not to Bite,” two old-school vampires from Transylvania realize they can’t compete with younger, hipper vampires when it comes to luring hapless victims. In “Franken Date,” a science geek creates her perfect prom date. In “The Phantom of the Gymnasium,” a ghost earns a spot on the cheerleading squad. In “Night of the Living Lunch Ladies,” a student suspects the lunch ladies may be zombies. And in “My Cat Ate My Homework,” a teenage witch has to deal with a cat that won’t stop eating her chemistry homework.

The Grateful Beasts, Big Dog Plays, 2012

Plays for Young Audiences

One-Act
Cast: 4 M, 4 F, 17 flexible, opt. extras (With doubling: 3 M, 2 F, 17 flexible)
Performance Time: Approximately 45-60 minutes, 49 pgs

COMEDY. Inspired by the story “Stone Soup.” In this play within a play, a crafty traveler with a flair for storytelling arrives at a village and has to persuade some stubborn farmers to contribute a few of their prized vegetables to his soup pot. The traveler tells the farmers the story of Lionel, a charitable farm lad who saves the lives of five unfortunate animals. Determined to seek his fortune in the big city, Lionel ventures forth with five silver coins his mother gave him for his journey. Along the way, Lionel buys a loyal hunting dog, a faithful horse, a cat with an attitude, a blues-singing nightingale, and a bear who hates puns, saving them from a certain death. When Lionel reaches the city, he discovers that an evil ogre has transformed King Percival into a rat, taken over the kingdom, and has his sights set on marrying Princess Bianca. It is up to Lionel and his animal friends to recover a magic wishing ring and save the kingdom from the clutches of the selfish ogre.

By Zeus! Olympus’ Got Talent, Big Dog Plays, 2011

Plays for Young Audiences

One-Act
Cast: 3 M, 9 F, 5 flexible (Doubling possible.)
Performance Time: Approximately 45-60 minutes, 45 pgs.

SPOOF. Good evening, satyrs and dryads, nymphs and centaurs. Live from Mount Olympus, home of the gods, welcome to the reality TV show, “Olympus’ Got Talent.” There’s more talent here than a Hydra can have heads…and that’s a lot! Gods and demigods alike will demonstrate their diverse and amazing talents for your viewing pleasure. Zeus will break dance, Circe will attempt to turn audience members into animals, Aphrodite will “sing,” and Athena will recite the entire periodic table. Tune in next week for semifinals!

Dancing with the Olympians, Brooklyn Publishers, 2011

Type: One Act Play
Genres: Comedy, Parody, Legends and Myths
Running Time: 30 minutes
Speaking Cast: 6-16 females, 3-8 males, 6 either, 15-30 total cast
Flexibility: doubling possible, gender flexible

Hold on for a hilarious spoof on the popular television show, Dancing with the Stars. Instead of Hollywood’s elite competing on Dancing with the Olympians, Greek gods and goddesses boogie and swirl their way to the top. Hosted by Hermes, messenger of the gods and trickster, the show’s judges are the nerdy and prudish Athena, goddess of wisdom, accompanied by her close companion, the cheer-leading goddess of victory, Nike, surfer dude Poseidon, god of the ocean, and motherly Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home. Although a dancing competition, relatively little dancing happens. Zeus and Hera, king and queen of the Olympians, don’t see the need to dance. Aphrodite refuses to dance with a partner, and the evil enchantress, Circe, turned her partner into a pig. Terpsichore, the muse of dance, can’t actually dance, and the Furies just showed up to torment the losers. Dancing with the Olympians is a zany comedy full of fun, over-the-top characters and provides an excellent way to educate students about Greek mythology.

The Emperor’s New Creme Brûlée, Big Dog Plays, 2011

One-Act
Cast: 3 M, 6 F, 8 flexible, opt. extras (Doubling possible.)
Performance Time: Approximately 45 minutes, 40 pgs

COMEDY. Inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” An English biscuit manufacturer has its sights set on stealing the dessert recipes of the most celebrated Parisian restaurant so that they can develop the desserts into mass-produced snacks sold in gas stations around the world. Two British con artists arrive at Emperor’s Restaurant and pretend to be world-renowned French chefs who have discovered the secret to the making the world’s finest crème brûlée while studying with monks in Tibet. They convince the restaurant’s owner and staff that their recipe is so divine that only a true connoisseur can taste or see their masterpiece. Delighted to offer such a heavenly dessert on the menu, the restaurant’s owner invites only the most prestigious Parisians to sample the dessert. When the patrons arrive, they are proudly presented with empty dessert dishes. The patrons eagerly “taste” the crème brûlée and offer rave reviews. It is only Emile, the restaurant’s lowly dishwasher, who realizes something is fishy…and it isn’t the bouillabaisse!

Dummling and the Golden Goose, Big Dog Plays, 2011

Plays for Young Audiences

One-Act
Cast: 3 M, 9 F, 5 flexible (Doubling possible.)
Performance Time: Approximately 45-60 minutes, 45 pgs.

COMEDY. Audiences of all ages will enjoy this wacky adaptation of the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale, “The Golden Goose.” It’s Queen Phillipa’s birthday and she is too busy with royal decrees, paperwork, and meetings to have fun, celebrate her birthday, or spend time with her daughter. An unemployed jester looking for a good dental plan arrives and convinces the Queen to take a break from her tedious castle duties and listen to a story. In the story, a King and his Advisor have tried everything to get Princess Muriel to laugh, including silly jokes, silly noises, silly faces, silly dancing, and even silly walking. Desperate, the King decides to Tweet and Facebook citizens in surrounding kingdoms to find someone who can make his daughter laugh. Meanwhile, Dummling encounters a hungry stranger, gives her some of his stale bread, and is rewarded with a magical golden goose. While on his way to the city, Dummling runs into his stepmother, three milkmaids, a damsel, and a knight who soon find themselves hopelessly stuck to Dummling’s golden goose. When Dummling and his entourage arrive at the King’s palace, Princess Muriel only has to take one look at this ridiculous spectacle before she bursts out laughing!

 

Shakespeare’s Next Top Model, Big Dog Plays, 2011

One-Act
Cast: 6 M, 18 F, 10 flexible, opt. extras (With doubling: Minimum cast of 15.)
Performance Time: Approximately 30 minutes, 32 pages

SPOOF. Greetings and welcome to “Shakespeare’s Next Top Model,” the TV-reality show where the lovely ladies of Shakespeare compete for a modeling contract and the chance to be Shakespeare’s next top model. The three judges?Cleopatra, Puck, and Princess Catherine?will speak with contestants and review their modeling portfolios to decide a winner. Contestants vying for a modeling contract include Bianca, Desdemona, Juliet, Ophelia, and Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth arrives on set and mistakenly thinks she’s competing for “Shakespeare’s Next Top Queen” and Othello shows up in a jealous rage thinking Desdemona is auditioning for “Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire”!

Shakespeare’s Got Talent: A One-Act Parody of “America’s Got Talent”, Pioneer Drama Service, 2010

Cast: 8F, 8M, 13 M OR F; Possible doubling
Time: About 40 minutes

Shakespeare’s characters come to life in this TV talent show parody! Hosted by Puck, the mischievous fairy from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the Fool, Shakespeare’s characters are silly and humorous when seen from a contemporary perspective. The judges, King Duncan, Romeo, and Portia (Brutus’ wife) are even funnier. Hamlet mocks and threatens the judges, but is challenged to a pillow fight by Laertes. Macbeth’s three witches refuse to be voted off stage and predict that Macbeth will become a judge. Soon after, King Duncan disappears. MacDuff wants to fight Macbeth to the death with rubber chickens. None of the contestants are able to finish their acts, so the hosts and judges do their own dance act and vote themselves the winners. A fun and entertaining way to introduce students to Shakespeare. Easy to perform in the classroom or on stage. One scene, minimal costumes and props.

Olympic Idol: A One-Act Parody of “America Idol”, Pioneer Drama Service, 2010

Cast: 13F, 9M, 6 M OR F (13 Players with doubling)
Time: About 35 minutes

Characters from Greek mythology come to life in this TV talent show parody. It’s hosted by Poseidon, the surfer dude Sea God, and Hades, the stage manager. All the Greek gods and goddesses compete to see who’s the ultimate hero based on audience text message voting. Judges include rock star Apollo and goddesses Artemis and Hestia. Zeus and his illegitimate son Perseus keep Medusa’s head covered to save the audience from turning to stone, but they run off when Zeus’ nagging wife Hera shows up. Nike runs in with a victory cheer, but sad messenger Hermes is obsolete due to text messaging. Appearances are made by Athena, Medea, Odysseus, Aphrodite, Atalanta, Ares, Calliope, Clio, Circe, and other gods, muses, and heroes. All explain who they are and why they should win. But the texts say that humble Hestia’s homemade cookies rock, so she’s the ultimate hero. A fun way to introduce students to the characters of Greek mythology. Easy to stage.

The Bremen Town Musicians, Big Dog Plays, 2010

One-Act
Cast: 13 flexible, opt. extras
Performance Time: Approximately 30 minutes, 28 pgs.

CLASSIC/COMEDY. Three traveling minstrels arrive at a town where everyone hates minstrels. With nothing but their own shoes to eat, the minstrels have to come up with a story entertaining enough to earn their supper. The minstrels decide to tell the villagers the story of an aging donkey, dog, cat, and rooster who run away from their masters and head to the Town of Bremen to become famous singers and musicians. Along the way, the animals encounter a tiny house hidden in the woods where a band of dimwitted thieves are hiding out with piles of stolen treasure and an abundance of food. With their “beautiful” singing voices, the animals manage to scare off the thieves, enjoy a grand meal, and live out their lives happily ever after. Audiences of all ages will adore this humorous version of the classic tale by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.