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Comedy
Short, 35-45 minutes
7 females, 5 males, 4 either
(10-35 actors possible: 4-30 females, 4-20 males)
$45.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
This crazed mash-up parody of the Harry Potter and Twilight series (with nods to Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Alice in Wonderland, and other stars of the pop culture pantheon) features invisible rabbits, armies of babies, murderous lunatics, evil gourmets and much more. Hilarity ensues as everyone's favorite wizards, vampires, and werewolves battle to save the gloomy town of Spork -- and indeed the world -- from certain destruction at the hands of the nefarious Fine Diner and the bloodthirsty Euphoria.
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Comedy
Full-length, 90-120 minutes
8 females, 8 males, 5 either
(13-40 actors possible: 7-20 females, 5-20 males)
$85.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Forget all your dusty misconceptions about the traditions of commedia dell'arte as The Love of Three Oranges, based on a scenario by Carlo Gozzi, provides a wild, raucous slapstick comedy that is completely retooled and revised for today's audiences. Prince Tartaglia's life is filled with misery until an evil witch and her equally evil henchmen curse him to search for three giant oranges. But this quest proves more fruitful than anyone could have imagined as a once-lonely prince discovers love, friendship, and laughter when he encounters wizards, monarchs, and a wild narrator who isn't sure how far removed from the story he really is.
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| "...the cast members appear to be having so much fun on stage that it's hard not to get caught up in their playful spirit." |
| --Lisa Millegan, Modesto Bee (California) |
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Comedy
Short, 45-50 minutes
10 females, 9 males, 4 either
(9-31 actors possible: 5-21 females, 4-21 males)
$40.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Rose Red has just turned thirteen, and the pressure is on -- what will she do to get famous like her sister, Snow White? Everyone in the kingdom, from her parents to her close friend Miss Muffet, is pressuring her to get discovered. But Rose Red doesn't want to constantly be on the front page of the Grimm Times, even if Bo Peep, Cinderella, and Goldilocks eat up the attention. In her struggle to choose between doing what everyone else wants and forging her own path, Rose Red can't help wondering if a girl who wants to be "just normal" can live happily ever after.
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Drama
Full-length, 90-100 minutes
4 females, 4 males (8-30 actors possible: 4-15 females, 4-15 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
This is the heroic and true story of children coming of age in Terezin, the "Jewish city" established by the Nazis near Prague as a way station before the death camps. In the face of unspeakable horror, these children use their determination and creativity to build lives filled with hope and beauty -- playing, studying, making art, and writing an underground newspaper -- all at the peril of being executed. Their actual poems and stories are woven into a fast-paced drama, evoking the universality of children caught in the insanity of war.
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| "[And a Child Shall Lead] not only sheds light on this dark camp, it's also relevant to modern conflicts around the world." |
| --Christopher Stollar, Bend Bulletin (Oregon) |
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Comedy
Full-length, 75-90 minutes
10 females, 10 males, 10 either
(10-80 actors possible: 3-40 females, 3-40 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Travel around the world and explore forgotten myths and unusual legends in eight fast-paced and hilarious tales! Guided by a band of roaming gypsies, the audience is transported from the ancient Far East, where a hero must kill a giant centipede to save a dragon king, to the Russian countryside, where a poor orphan must defeat three witches who stole his grandfather's eyes. Always quirky, and sometimes bizarre, these eight tales are filled with magic, mystery, and morals.
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Comedy for young audiences
Short, 50-60 minutes
10 females, 3 males (11-19 actors possible: 8-15 females, 2-11 males)
$40.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
A fairytale wedding of the fake Cinderella and Prince Charming comes to a screeching halt when O'Reilly, a fairy tale fixer, breaks it up to reveal the true, untold story. In zany, fast-paced action, the fake couple is replaced by a Cinderella that's conveniently been sitting in the audience in costume, and an unprince-like character named Chip. The real Cinderella and newly-christened Prince Chip meet at the ball and fall in "like" instantaneously. However, to save the ending and become Prince Chip's true love, Cinderella must battle other classic princesses, such as Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and even The Little Mermaid.
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Comedy
Full-length, 75-90 minutes
2 females, 3 males (5-36 actors possible: 2-15 females, 3-20 males)
$75.00 per performance; $9.99 per book
NOTE: Each piece in this anthology can be licensed and performed separately.
Funny as a Crutch mixes ten vibrant short plays in an uproarious yet touching collection that explores the concept of disability. In tales ranging from a woman with a disability who is picked up for her first one night stand (Dutch Treat), to a young man who is turned away from the Army for having a prosthetic leg (All That He Can Be), to a waif whose fairy godmother promises to conceal her disability until midnight (Cripperella), Funny as a Crutch is guaranteed to make you laugh and raise your consciousness at the same time.
To purchase this book of 10 plays, click "Order this play" above. To perform an individual play, click on its title below:
All That He Can Be
Cripperella
Dutch Treat
I Didn't Know You Could Cook (ten-minute version)
Just One of Those Things
Nellie
The New Land
Position Available
Toes
Totally Accessible
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| "Many, many pleasures. Rich Orloff's witty, unpredictable script fends off pity and preachiness with a daffy sense of humor." |
| --Neil Genzlinger, The New York Times |
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Comedy for young audiences
Short, 45-50 minutes
11 females, 10 males (4-21 actors possible: 0-11 females, 2-10 males)
$40.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
This fast-paced and funny adaptation brings Homer's original story to life for young audiences. Odysseus and his crewman Pete must overcome many perils on their long voyage home from Troy, including an awkward teenage Cyclops named Polly, some Sirens crooning elevator music, and various other gods and monsters. Along the way, they both learn some hard lessons in trust, humility, and the power of brains over brawn.
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Comedy
Short, 50-60 minutes
2 males (2-8 actors possible: 0-8 females, 0-8 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
A hysterical historical romp through four thousand years of history's greatest literature -- from a hip-hop take on The Odyssey, to a play-by-play broadcast of 19th-century oppressed literary characters as they race to suicide, to a high-octane Japanime version of The Old Man and the Sea...
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| "You get the impression that Will Averill had a lot of fun writing this... I'd compare it to a well-known store's 'extremely chocolatey mini-bites'; tasty morsels of treats that would be far too much to consume in the whole. Avoid literary indigestion and take the short-cut." |
| --ThreeWeeks (Edinburgh Festival Newspaper) |
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Comedy/Drama
Full-length, 75-90 minutes
1 female, 3 males, 2 either (4-6 actors possible: 1-3 females, 3-5 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
A history of America in the 1980s, an idiosyncratic genealogy of punk rock music, and a personal narrative of growing up as an outsider, punkplay is a mix tape tribute to the excesses and energy of adolescence. Mickey, a thirteen-year-old suburban misfit, is befriended by an angry runaway named Duck. Together, the boys attempt to reinvent themselves using punk rock, but as reality threatens to crash in on them, their fabricated world of amped-up music and shocking band names becomes just as oppressive as the society they're desperate to reject.
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| "In staccato scenes inspired by punk anthems, Moss captures the clammy intensity of adolescent bonding: arousal by contraband porn; battles over band names; preening in search of authenticity... [It's] political satire meets Pee-wee's Playhouse." |
| --Jacob Gallagher-Ross, Village Voice |
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Seasonal Comedy
Full-length, 60-100 minutes
1 male, 3 either (4-18 actors possible: 0-18 females, 0-18 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
A narrator's retelling of Christmas tales quickly unravels into an action-packed adventure when the Xmas, a malicious force of holiday ruination, sweeps in to destroy all things red and green. Classic holiday characters are the only hope to stop it: reluctant Ebenezer Scrooge, intrepid Frosty the Snowman, and timid Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer among them. This dream team embarks on a journey to restore the Spirit of Christmas to the mysterious Ice Palace -- but can they do it before the Xmas demolishes every last candy cane, sugarplum, and shred of Christmas cheer?
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| "...an irreverent twist on some of the most beloved stories of the Christmas canon." |
| --Tim Dunleavy, talkinbroadway.com |
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Comedy
Short, 40-50 minutes
3 females, 3 males (6-15 actors possible: 3-11 females, 3-12 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
In this wry, farcical revision of the classic fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel once again find themselves lost in the forest. This time, however, the siblings come across characters from other fairy tales who both hinder and help their journey, including a wicked stepfather, three obnoxious pigs, a wolf, Sleeping Beauty, and of course, the evil witch.
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Dramedy
Short, 30-35 minutes
2 females, 1 male, 7 either (10 actors possible: 2-9 females, 1-8 males)
$40.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
In this modern Russian fairy tale, a young man must decide whether or not to sell his wild forest mushrooms to a beautiful young woman in the Moscow marketplace. Only five things stand in the way: One, his mushrooms are radioactive. Two, three, four, and five are his twin brothers, who were born on the fingers of his right hand, a result of the accident at Chernobyl. And then there are the market's inspectors, who are hot on his trail and closing in fast...
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Comedy/Drama
Short, 45-55 minutes
2 females, 3 males, 4 either (4-9 actors possible: 0-9 females, 0-9 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
Computer magnate Gill Bates has the greatest software company on earth, billions of dollars, and more power than he ever dreamed of...but there's still something missing in his life: children. So he builds a little robot named Pinocchio to keep him company. But this mischievous little bundle of microchips has his own headful of ideas about how to enjoy life, including following two shadowy characters into worlds of increasing consumer frenzy. What follows is a wacky, charming 21st-century retelling of the 19th-century classic about what it takes to become a real human being, for both father and child.
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| "A fast-paced action comedy that's a blast to watch...a charming, delightful diversion." |
| --The Cleveland Plain Dealer |
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Convoluted fairy tale
Full-length, 120-140 minutes
5 females, 4 males, 10 either
(9-19 actors possible: 5-15 females, 4-14 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Kate's sister Anne, a ravishing beauty, wakes up one morning to discover a sheep's head between her shoulders. Thus begins the journey of the two sisters in their quest to return Anne's true head to its proper place. The journey is sidetracked, however, by Kate's obsession with a slim raver-boy who has a nasty little addiction. Based loosely and lyrically on the British fairy tale "Kate Crackernuts."
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| "Strange, dense, brilliant wordplay...part poetry slam, part rave, part dog-eared storybook theater, and all edgy, infectious, ultra-theatrical entertainment. Kate Crackernuts is an adult fairy tale that, like its tough but vulnerable heroine, follows a warped dream logic while keeping its sharp-tongued wits about it." |
| --Rob Kendt, Los Angeles Times |
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Drama (with comedy)
Full-length, 75-90 minutes
6 females, 6 males (8-36 actors possible: 4-28 females, 4-28 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Fictional and historical figures cross paths in this fragmented tale of the birth of the atomic bomb, its first test in Los Alamos, and the subsequent bombing of Hiroshima. Incorporating elements of Japanese Bunraku puppet theater -- as well as history, mythology, literature, and parody -- Hiroshima: crucible of light weaves together a story of fear and dark humor, creating a fractured, multimedia look at one of the most dangerous tightropes humankind has ever walked.
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Comedy for young audiences
Short, 50-60 minutes
5 females, 4 males (4-9 actors possible: 3-5 females, 1-4 males)
$35.00 per performance; $7.99 per book
In this twist on the beloved fairy tale, a traditional storyteller reading from his all too well-known book of Sleeping Beauty is quickly usurped by the story's feisty villain, the evil Griselda. With a magical spell, she literally turns back the hands of time to show what really happened to "Sleeping Betty." Fortunately, two good fairies and a magical frog help set the story straight, and make sure everyone lives happily ever after.
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| "A lot of creative twists and turns... Sleeping Beauty is a keeper for the younger crowd, a nice romp through fairy-tale land that offers plenty of fun without all the sugar that most similar productions throw in." |
| --Matt Reville, Sun Gazette (Virginia) |
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Children's play with music
Full-length, 60-70 minutes
7 females, 7 males (8-70 actors possible: 4-35 females, 4-35 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Amid the daily bustle of a Chinese marketplace, a group of villagers tells four tales featuring strong women. In "Yulan's Search for Beauty," a young woman obtains a potion from an Old One to change her face to one of great beauty, only to become vulnerable to the Emperor's demand of the sacrifice of the most beautiful girl to cure his illness. "The Mysterious Stranger" features the actions of a kind old woman toward a stranger, earning her an unexpected reward. In "Li Chi and the Serpent," a young woman dares to face a monster whom the villagers have been placating with an annual human sacrifice. "The Khan's Daughter" follows a poor shepherd to the court of the great Khan, where he undertakes absurdly difficult challenges to win the princess in marriage -- satisfying her final test of his character.
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Comedy
Full-length, 70-85 minutes
3 females, 5 males (8-22 actors possible: 3-22 females, 5-22 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Melchior, Balthasar, and Caspar are just three ordinary kings on a top-secret mission: follow a mysterious star to track down a new baby king. Brought together by the scheming King Herod of Judea, their differences initially end in stalemate sword fights and spiteful bickering. When they realize they can combine their unique skills to overcome their obstacles -- clowning bandits, bumbling Roman soldiers, riddling Gryphons, and omnipresent spies -- the kings find their way to Bethlehem and greet history's most famous baby.
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| "...a fun new twist on a very famous story." |
| --Martin Denton, nytheatre.com |
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California Scenarios
a collection of short plays about the history of Latinos in California
by Luis Alfaro, Rick Coca, Joann Farias, Anne Garcia-Romero, et al. |
 
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Comedy/Drama
Full-length, 90-110 minutes
6 females, 3 males, 6 either
(8-20 actors possible: 4-10 females, 4-10 males)
$75.00 per performance; $9.99 per book
NOTE: This book contains 6 plays. Each piece in this anthology can be licensed and performed separately.
Rich in history, fantasy, triumph, and longing, this collection of short plays captures aspects of Latinos in California, from a group of women waiting in the night to be swept away by their bandit-boyfriend (Desert Longing or Las Aventureras by Anne Garcia-Romero), to a young monk who finds introspection in the form of a skeleton (The Seven Visions of Encarnacion by Octavio Solis). Inspired by Isamu Noguchi's sculpture garden "California Scenario," each play reveals a complex view of the California landscape as it has never been seen before.
To purchase this book of 6 plays, click "Order this play" above. To perform an individual play, click on its title below:
Desert Longing or Las Aventureras by Anne Garcia-Romero
The Gardens of Aztlan by Luis Alfaro
The Hanging of Josefa by Rick Coca
Odysseus Cruz by Jose Cruz Gonzalez
The Seven Visions of Encarnacion by Octavio Solis
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back by Joann Farias
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| "The collected work of five talented Hispanic playwrights is picking up where John Steinbeck's tales of outsider anguish and California woe left off...where Steinbeck's words painted dire portraits of migrants and immigrants leaden with social criticism, these playwrights display a common optimism for the next generation. Without waxing sentimental, each playlet ends with renewed vigor and promise of better days." |
| --Denise Martin, Orange County Register |
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