Plays for Production


If you're looking to produce a play at your school, youth theatre, college, community theatre, camp, church or professional theatre, you've come to the right place.

Below, you'll find my plays broken down roughly by length, with bulleted cast, run time and age-appropriateness information, along with a one-liner about the story.  Click on the title of any play below to go to its own page, where you'll find production information, a synopsis, a short excerpt and order information or, in the case of my published plays, a direct link to its publisher's order page.

(WARNING: All material on these pages is protected by U.S. and international copyright law. Using any part of it without my explicit permission and without properly crediting me as the author is illegal.)

Want to look only at plays that were written particularly with teens in mind?  Click on the Teen Favorites link from the Plays for Production menu above.  If you wish to produce one of my published plays, while I'm happy to answer questions, please contact the publisher directly to place your order.  Happy hunting!



A NOTE ABOUT COPYRIGHT

Producing any play by a living author (or even by a recently dead author) requires explicit permission and payment of a royalty. It doesn't matter whether you charge admission, whether you make a profit or whether you pay your actors. Forgetting the fact that infringing upon a playwright's copyright violates federal law and is potentially subject to statutory damages of up to $150,000 per incident (plus actual damages and lawyers' fees), morally, expecting a playwright to provide his or her work for free makes the statement that the work is of no value, and that's simply not fair. Is it fair to pay someone to flip hamburgers at McDonald's but not pay a playwright for his or her time and effort? So if you want to produce my work, expect to pay a royalty (depending on your situation--for example, if it's a ten-minute play staged only for a class and not open to the public--it may be extremely nominal).

Scroll down to browse a complete list of my plays and musicals, or use one of the "Jump to" buttons to browse only scripts of the length you need.



Jump to  • Musicals    • Full-Length Plays    • One-Act Plays    • Ten-Minute Plays    

Musicals

 4 A.M. (the musical)
Musical. 75-80 minutes. Ensemble cast of 8-30+ (minimum of 4 males, 4 females).
Suitable for high school and older actors (possibly skilled middle school performers) and middle school or older audiences.

A world full of teen characters, ranging from a lonely short-wave radio DJ to a modern Romeo and Juliet to the writer of a most unusual letter, try to balance their fears and dreams and navigate that magical hour between night and morning.  Order it now from YouthPLAYS!

(more info)

 Day One
Musical. 90 minutes. 3 males, 5 females plus an ensemble of flexible size and gender.
High school and older.

Some people wish the high school years would last forever. Others would do anything to get them over with. What if they all had a chance to get their way?  Order it now from YouthPLAYS!

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Full-Length Plays

 Ben
Drama. 90 minutes. 4 males, 3 females.
College and older, though suitable for mature high school audiences.

A homeless teenager in Cambridge looks for the woman he believes to be his mother but instead finds a surrogate father in a gay restaurant owner.

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 Harry's Hotter at Twilight
Comedy. 90-100 minutes. 5-25+ males, 7-25+ females.
Suitable for middle school and older.

Everyone's favorite vampires, wizards and werewolves battle lots and lots of evil in this crazed mash-up parody of the two biggest megahits of recent years, Harry Potter and Twilight.  Order it from YouthPLAYS now!

(more info)

 High School (non) Musical
Comedy. 75-80 minutes. 6 males, 5 females plus a flexible ensemble (14-40+ actors possible).
Suitable for middle school and older.

In this parody of Disney's High School Musical, join Toy Boatin, Gaberella, Shitzu, Cryin and the rest of your favorites as the Roswell High bowling team goes for a state championship, students pursue their dreams of performing in the Winter Muse Cycle and surgical decathletes compete in real live surgery. But when Gaberella's singing voice turns out to be so bad it could cause mass casualties, what will win out--following your dreams, or preserving life as we know it?  Order it now from Playscripts!

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 Milk and Cookies
Dark Comedy. 70-80 minutes. 2 males, 2 females.
College and older.

Marge Nancy Reagan Ballmoth goes on the lam after her children poison the cookies they give the drive-through teller at a local bank. She meets up with another fugitive, Bruce, who believes there is a milk conspiracy. They hit the road for Montana in search of the mysterious Rufus, a man they believe can provide them with new identities

(more info)

 Neverland
Dark Comedy. 90 minutes. 1 male, 2 females.
Suitable for college and older.

Eight year old Wendy decides that Peter is the boy for her, then proceeds to "stalk" him, reinventing herself and reappearing in his life each time he moves on. She follows him into a new neighborhood, through college, homelessness, even incarceration--until her own crisis reverses their relationship.  Order it now from Original Works Publishing!

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 Run Like the Dickens
Comedy. 90-100 minutes. 4 males, 8 females plus a flexible ensemble of 2-40+ actors.
Suitable for high school and older.

When Tiny Tim throws away his crutches and declares his intention to run the marathon, he could inspire millions--but with big business behind Oliver Twist as their inspirational figure of choice, Tiny Tim may never make it to the starting line...  Order it now from Playscripts!

(more info)

 Shining Sea
Tragicomedy. 90 minutes. 2 males, 3 females, 90 minutes.
Suitable for college and older. .

Three squeegee people, two mayors, one Winnebago and a parking authority that gives new meaning to the phrase “parking Nazis,” all set in a self-destructing New York City.

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 War of the Buttons
Drama. 90-100 minutes. 10 males, 2 females.
Suitable for high school and older performers and audiences 10 and up.

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.  Order it now from YouthPLAYS!

(more info)

 Yard Wars
Comedy. 65-75 minutes. 1 male.
Suitable for high school and older.

A backyard wrestler traces his career as he wrestles with whether to continue in a match after suffering a concussion. One performer shifts in and out of ten different characters in this challenge for an actor of high school age or older. Available in both an unedited version and in a version edited for language to make it appropriate for high school audiences.

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One-Act Plays

 4 A.M.
Dramedy. 30-35 minutes. 3+ males, 3+ females (6-30+ performers possible).
High school and older.

A world full of teen characters, ranging from a lonely short-wave radio DJ to a modern Romeo and Juliet to the writer of a most unusual letter, try to balance their fears and dreams and navigate that magical hour between night and morning.  Order it now from Playscripts!

(more info)

 After Math
Dramedy. 30-35 minutes. 2+ males, 3+ females (8-40+ performers possible).
Middle school and older.

A student mysteriously disappears in the middle of math class. What happened? Why? In 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? Order it from Playscripts now!

(more info)

 Beef Junkies
Dark Comedy. 25-30 minutes. 2 males, 1 female.
High school and older.

A woman addicted to beef searches for her fix, and there's only one cow left on earth. Order it now from Brooklyn Publishers!

(more info)

 Bookends
Dark Comedy. 35 minutes. 1 male, 1 female, 1 either.
College and older.

A college student's absurdist nightmare about the break-up of his first sexual relationship. Not appropriate for high school production except in the most liberal of high schools, but ideal for colleges.

(more info)

 Crash Positions
Comedy. 10 minutes. 1 male, 1 female.
High school and older.

Mayhem takes off when two passengers think their airplane is about to crash.  Order it now from Brooklyn Publishers!

(more info)

 Dear Chuck
Dramedy. 35-55 minutes. 10-30+ performers (gender flexible).
Middle school and older.

Through a series of scenes and monologues--everything from taking over the kiddie pool at the local swim club to dealing with a skinhead classmate--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.  Order it now from Eldridge Publishing or license it from me directly in the United Kingdom!

(more info)

 From Shakespeare with Love?
Comedy. 35-40 minutes. 2-8 males, 2-6 females.
Middle school and older.

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—Titania, Viola and Antipholus—to save Shakespeare by convincing Romeo that Shakespeare “does indeed love love.”  Order it now from Eldridge Publishing or license UK productions directly from me.

(more info)

 Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Comedy. 35-40 minutes. 4-20+ males, 4-20+ females (10-40+ performers possible).
Middle school and older.

Everyone's favorite vampires, wizards and werewolves battle lots and lots of evil in this crazed mash-up parody of the two biggest megahits of recent years, Harry Potter and TwilightOrder it now from Playscripts!

(more info)

 Just Add Zombies
Comedy. 35-45 minutes. 3+ males, 8+ females.
Middle school and older.

When a desperate high school drama troupe gambles that adding a zombie or two to the cast will bring them enough audience to save their program, their hungry new actors threaten to change forever the meaning of "live theatre."  Order it now from YouthPLAYS!

(more info)

 Now You See Me
Dramedy. 30-35 minutes. 3+ males, 5+ females (8-22+ performers possible).
Middle school and older.

A play about what happens when young people slip through the cracks, and what drives them to violence. Order it now from Brooklyn Publishers!

(more info)

 Play's End
Tragicomedy. 20-25 minutes. 2 males.
High school and older.

A door-to-door gun salesman comes home from work to learn from his young son that "something happened today."  Order it now from Brooklyn Publishers!

(more info)

 Rumors of Polar Bears
Drama. 30-35 minutes. 3-4 males, 8+ females.
Suitable for middle school and older.

A band of teenagers struggles for survival and to find the little moments of joy in the wake of a global warming disaster.  Order it now from Playscripts!

(more info)

 Supermodels in Jeopardy
Comedy. 30-35 minutes. 1-2 males, 4-5 females, 4-24 either (4-30 actors possible).
High school and older.

When a convention center collapses and all of the world's supermodels are trapped in their dressing rooms beneath the rubble, will the "regular folks" ride to their rescue? No supermodels required to cast this play.  Order it now from Brooklyn Publishers.

(more info)

 Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Dramedy. 30-35 minutes. Flexible cast of 8-30+.
Middle school and older.

Using scenes and monologues and a combination of wild theatricality and quiet, thoughtful moments, the play explores one of the toughest issues facing teens today: bullying. As two bullied students try to survive their daily lives, they wrestle with a terrible question: is the only way out to become the people they hate?  Order it now from Playscripts!

(more info)

 This Magic Moment
Dark Comedy. 30 minutes. 1 male, 1 female.
Suitable for high school and older.

Boone just wants to leave home and start college. Forget that his father has mysteriously disappeared. Forget that there's a man stuck in the garage door. But Debbie, his mother, isn't ready for the days of motherly tips, sipping cocoa and watching car crashes together to end--not by a long shot. Probably suitable for high school production.

(more info)

 Ticking
Dark comedy. 20-25 minutes. 3 males.
Suitable for high school audiences.

A gun disappears from the pot on the right rear burner in the Doe family kitchen, replaced by an egg. John Doe, traveling gun salesman, thinks his teenage son Jay has taken it, and he wants it back.  Order it now from YouthPLAYS!

(more info)

 Twisting Carol
Comedy. 30 minutes. Flexible cast of 8-30+,.
Suitable for middle school and older.

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.  Order it now from Playscripts!

(more info)

 Vital Organs
Dark Comedy. 15-20 minutes. 2 females, 3 males with some gender flexibility.
Suitable for middle school and older.

A recovering transplant patient determined to stock up before he leaves the hospital. Doctors supplementing their salaries by selling an organ or two. A kleptomaniac kid on the loose. A soup-cooking candy striper right out of Sweeney Todd.  Calling it a health care crisis would be an understatement...  Order it now from YouthPLAYS!

(more info)

 The White Pages
Comedy. 25 minutes. 2 males, 2-4 females.
Suitable for high school and older.

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.  Order it now from Brooklyn Publishers!

(more info)

 You're Next
Drama. 15-20 minutes. 2 males.
Suitable for high school and older.

A teenager brings a gun to school for a friend to defend against a school bully.  Order it now from YouthPLAYS!

(more info)

Ten-Minute Plays

 A-Bomb Wedding
Comedy. 10 minutes. 1 male, 1 female.
High school and older.

Two twentysomethings strapped to nuclear weapons look for love in a convenience store.  Order it now from YouthPLAYS!

(more info)

 The Cooking Gene
Dramedy. 10 minutes. 2 males.
Suitable for high school and older.

When a high school home economics family budgeting assignment requires each student to choose a pretend husband or wife, a gay teen chooses his boyfriend to be his husband.  Order it now from YouthPLAYS!

(more info)

 F-Stop
Dramedy. 10 minutes. 1 male, 1 female.
High school and older.

A couple sorts out the drowning death of their son--in a water fountain--and their own second-hand lives. Nothing offensive, but probably too difficult for high school performers to handle.

(more info)

 Jesus at the Taco Stand
Dark Comedy. 10 minutes. 1 male, 2 females.
College and older.

A breast cancer survivor working as a waitress at a taco stand receives a new breast as a tip from a customer who claims to be the Messiah. Is her miracle cure merely an insidious plot to push her out of her breast cancer survivors group so that he can take her spot?

(more info)

 Last Right Before the Void
Comedy. 10 minutes. 2 males, 1 female.
High school and older.

Reality gets seriously bent as a teenage boy hitchhikes at the last exit before a Minnesota highway turns into nowhere. Order it now from YouthPLAYS!

(more info)

 Leapers
Dark Comedy. 10 minutes. 1 male, 1 female.
High school and older.

When two jumpers end up on top of the same building, it's a fight to the finish, because nobody likes having their thunder stolen.  Order it now from Brooklyn Publishers!

(more info)

 Menagerie
Comedy. 10 minutes. 1 male, 1 female.
High school and older.

A missing roommate. An eight year old thief on the loose. Sleep deprivation. A gift of a chicken. It all comes to a head on Valentine's Day in this ten-minute duet.  Order it now from Brooklyn Publishers!

(more info)

 Newt Gingrich Visits a Residential Youth Facility Not Near Omaha
Dramedy. 10 minutes. 2 males.
High school and older.

A pair of residents at a home for troubled teens wait for a photo op with Newt Gingrich.  Order it now from Brooklyn Publishers!

(more info)

 Pepperoni Apocalypse
Dark Comedy. 10 minutes. 5 males (flexible).
Middle school and older.

A pizza delivery man arrives at the exact moment a doomsday cult expects the world to end.  Order it now from Brooklyn Publishers!

(more info)

 Stealing Saxophones from Homeless People
Dark Comedy. 10 minutes. 1 either.
Middle school and older.

When your mother tells you at the age of three that you're going to end up stealing saxophones from homeless people, it's all downhill from there.  Order it now from Brooklyn Publishers!

(more info)

 Sudden Death Debating League
Dark Comedy. 10 minutes. 1 male, 1 female.
Middle school and older.

When a high school debate tournament's sudden death round turns out to be exactly that, losing is no longer an option...  Order it now from Brooklyn Publishers!

(more info)

 Ten Minutes
Drama. 10 minutes. 1 male, 1 female.
High school and older.

After two of their classmates stage a Columbine-style massacre at their high school, a pair of students hiding in a custodian's closet must decide whether ten minutes of silence means it's safe to come out, or something else entirely...  Order it now from Brooklyn Publishers!

(more info)

 The Wash
Dark Comedy. 10 minutes. 1 male, 1 female.
College and older.

A strange man and his laundry invade the laundry room of a woman's New York apartment building. Pushes the high school envelope a bit, but not impossible.

(more info)

 Whatever Happened to Godot?
Comedy. 10 minutes. 3 either.
High school and older.

The untold story--until now--of why Godot, one of the most famous characters in all of theatre, never showed up.  Order it now from Brooklyn Publishers!

(more info)

 X Marks the Spot
Comedy. 10 minutes. 1 male, 1 female.
High school and older.

A modern-day Moses and Zipporah try to rekindle their flagging romance with a trip to a middle-American burning bush.  Order it now from Brooklyn Publishers!

(more info)

 
Co-Chair of the Alliance of Los Angeles
Playwrights
, member of The Dramatists Guild of America, and life member of the Philadelphia Dramatists Center.

Final Draft Resident Playwriting Expert and author of Playwriting101.com.

Resident Playwriting Expert of The Writers Store.





Recent News
Upcoming Productions
Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Salina Central High School (Salina, KS), February 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Richard Henry Dana Middle School (Hawthorne, CA), February 2012

High School (non) Musical
Heath High School (Heath, OH), March 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Pine Prairie High School (Pine Prairie, LA), March 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Washington High School (Martinsburg, WV), March 2012

4 A.M.
Randolph High School (Randolph, MA), March 2012

4 A.M.
Blue Valley Northwest High School (Overland Park, KS), March 2012

Pepperoni Apocalypse
Hopkins HIgh School (Minnetonka, MN), March 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Magnolia High School (New Martinsville, WV), March 2012

After Math
Bold as Brass Productions (Stoke on Trent, United Kingdom), March 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
J A Williams High School (Lac La Biche/Edmonton, AB, Canada)

High School (non) Musical
Morris County School of Technology (Denville, NJ), March 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Immaculate High School (Danbury, CT), March 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Newton Falls Drama (Newton Falls, OH), March 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
South Winneshiek Elem/Middle School (Ossian, IA), March 2012

4 A.M.
STARS (Tucson, AZ), March 2012

Run Like the Dickens
Central MN Christian School (Prinsburg, MN), March 2012

The White Pages
H. Harcastle School (Edam, SK, Canada), March 2012

After Math
Sock & Buskin Community Theatre (Sidney, OH), March 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Fletcher Public School (Fletcher, OK), March 2012

From Shakespeare with Love?
Central College (Pella, IA), March 2012

After Math
Bill Sybert School (El Paso, TX), April 2012

4 A.M.
Holy Rosary Catholic School (Argyle, TX), April 2012

X Marks the Spot
Lemon Bay Playhouse (Englewood, FL), April 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Oddfellows Playhouse (Middletown, CT), April 2012

After Math
Florence High School (Florence, AL), April 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Annapolis Area Christian School (Severn, MD), April 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Carson High School (Carson City, NV), April 2012

Just Add Zombies
High Desert Middle School (Bend, OR), April 2012

Now You See Me
David W. Butler High School (Matthews, NC), April 2012

Run Like the Dickens
Park River Public School (Park River, ND), April 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Thoreau High School (Thoreau, NM), April 2012

4 A.M.
Edmondson County High School (Brownsville, KY), April 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Edmondson County High School (Brownsville, KY), April 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Academy ACL (Colorado Springs, CO), May 2012

High School (non) Musical
Riggs High School (Pierre, SD), May 2012

4 A.M.
Jay M. Robinson Middle School (Charlotte, NC), May 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Jane Addams Middle School (Bolingbrook, IL), May 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Excelsior Springs High School (Excelsior Springs, MO), May 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
The Capitol School (Tuscaloosa, AL), May 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Osceola Middle School (Seminole, FL), May 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Edgren High School (Misawa, Japan), May 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Simonsen 9th Grade Center (Jefferson City, MO), May 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Jefferson Middle School (Jefferson City, TN), May 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
South Park High School (Fairplay, CO), May 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
East High School (Cheyenne, WY), May 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Fremont High School (Sunnyvale, CA), May 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Bay Theatrix: Dover Bay Secondary (Nanaimo, BC, Canada)

Harry's Hotter at Twilight (one-act version)
Sequoia Middle School (Pleasant Hill, CA), June 2012

Harry's Hotter at Twilight
Drama With a Difference (Melbourne, VIC, Australia), October 2012

Thank You for Flushing My Head in the Toilet and other rarely used expressions
Westwood High School (Palestine, TX), January 2013

 
The Locker Next to Mine: 

Stay tuned for more information about this play commissioned by Wantagh High School (NY), coming in spring 2012.


Rumors of Polar Bears: 

Though the one-act version, available from Playscripts, stands on its own (and is perfect for competition!), this play was always intended to be a full-length composed of three acts:  Rumors of Polar Bears, Ursa Major and Northern Lights.  Look for the other two plays in the cycle sometime in 2012.


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