Plays for All Year

72 pages

6 m, 5 w

Early morning July 1, 1863. Gettysburg, Pa. As thousands of troops from both North and South amass for what will become one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, five teenagers from several local farms escape to the safety of the surrounding hills. There's the level-headed Eliza and her little sister, Justine, who's strong-willed; Georgina, whose mother has sheared her hair to make her look like a boy; and Rachel and Jeremiah, a brother and sister from a wealthier family. As they witness the horrors of battle over the next three days, the teens are force...

17 pages

2 m

A young assistant has been hired by an old keeper. It is the Keeper's dream to have the young man accept his offer to continue the tradition of loving care and the keeping of the priceless treasures found in the Master Room. The Keeper's last hope, for the future and a peaceful death, lies in the acceptance of his offer by the young man, who despises the room and job because it has restricted his ideal of life. Thus, in quiet desperation, the Keeper purposely activates the time lock of the vault door, trapping them for the night. He has one last night to conv...

18 pages

6 parts (3 moms, 3 daughters)

Hilarious and heartwarming, wise and witty, this vocal collage grabs your audience with fast-paced dialogue between three moms and their daughters. Perched on boxes at different heights, they recount their love and frustration with each other all through life, from the moment the daughters are born to their wedding days! And at each crossroad in life they say in unison, "You just don't understand!" Absolutely minimal staging, this high-spirited play is guaranteed to make your next Mother's Day program memorable.

23 pages

4 m, 3 w

Investigator Keith Schwartz has been sent to look into the alleged suicide of Mr. Nazareth, a patient at the Fallen Oaks Correctional Facility for the Criminally Insane. But there are complications: The body has disappeared from the morgue, staff and patients are hiding something, and even the head psychiatrist seems reluctant to talk. Schwartz interviews the patients to discover what really happened that night. This one-act, single set drama is both a whodunit mystery and a retelling of the gospel for a modern audience.

24 pages

2 m, 4 w

A drama troupe is preparing a play about Charles T. Studd, a missionary to China, India and Africa from 1880 to 1930. Andy, one of the actors, challenges how relevant the play is to today and in the ensuing argument makes a surprising discovery. Suitable for touring. About 35 minutes.

51 pages

3 m, 3 w, 1 flexible

The biographer of the story of Berendina (Diet) Eman is interrupted by Diet herself as he begins a lecture about the Second World War and Nazi resistance in occupied Europe. Diet explains that her efforts to hide Jewish people were not unique, but were undertaken by many ordinary people. To explain, she begins to tell the exciting stories of her Resistance work. As she does, her younger self appears and narrates stories in ways which occasionally vary from the descriptions offered by her older self. In addition, her fiancé, Hein Sietsma, appears, and all thre...

33 pages

Approx. 3 m, 8 w, 1 flex. Doubling possible.

A simple but bright orange robe, discarded years earlier and now found at a church bazaar sale, makes an incredible journey of ministry. Trisha buys the robe for twenty-five cents, and on a wild whim, wears it to meet her daughter's future in-laws. She gives the "lucky" robe to them and it provides a comic moment, one which leads to them talking again to get their marriage back on track. Soon they give the robe to Chyna, a lonely newcomer at church. Hard to miss while wearing the robe, Chyna meets new friends and she soon gives it to Jackie, who is ill. The r...

37 pages

4 m, 4 w.

Dramatized from real life events, this contemporary 1-act play focuses on religious believers in the former Soviet Union who were jailed for their convictions. Inside a jail cell, a small group of prisoners are trying to survive harsh interrogations and lack of food. When Katya is denied the privilege of visiting with her family who have traveled two thousand miles to see her, several in the group try to comfort her with a piece of saved bread. But the bread is missing. They suspect it was eatern by the newest prisoner, Nadya, a tough, streetwise woman. Later that night, an older woman, ...

20 pages

2 m

Here is an inspired dramatization of the temptation of the Christ in the wilderness. It sets forth the clash between absolute goodness and diabolical evil as personified in the main characters, Yeshua, the Hebrew version of the name Jesus, and Satan, the Prince of Demons and god of this world. This one-act play seeks to bring into relief the struggle between good and evil that tugs at the heart of all of us. In a thought-provoking way, we see afresh the timely message of Jesus to a fallen and desperate world. This is a strong and moving piece and, in the hand...

76 pages

16 characters (approx. 8 m, 8 w)

You should never make a pact with the, well, you know, because the consequences can be disastrous. Jimmy Faust, Jr., great-great (etc.) grandson of the legendary Faust, makes that mistake. In exchange for his soul he first demands to be made valedictorian of his class, even though Essie outscores him on every test. Big mistake. Then he tells the, you know, that he wants a date with Deshara, the sexiest girl on campus. Bigger mistake. Greedily, he further requests great wealth. Biggest mistake. His friends and Essie disown him, and he becomes an outcast. But e...

46 pages

7 m, 5 w, 2 boys, 2 girls

Here is a lighthearted comedy about lonely millionaire Jonathan Bingsley whose life is turned upside down when, against his better judgment, he allows six energetic orphans to stay at his home. To complicate matters his long-time maid and butler disappear under mysterious circumstances. Jonathan's sister, Elizabeth, convinces him to use her lazy son and his wife as replacements with disastrous (and hilarious!) results. They do a terrible job keeping house and let the children run wild. So Jonathan is forced to hire questionable substitutes, who create chaos of their own.

39 pages

Approx. 10 m, 10 w, much doubling possible

Frankie meets his end in an act of wanton cowardice. This offense isn't bad enough to send him to the basement, but he isn't good enough for the attic. He is assigned to Angie the Angel in the "Situation Re-Modification Department." He is given three chances to try to correct something in history that didn't go the way it was supposed to go. He messes up all three chances, but is offered a fourth chance by Herman, Angie's boss. With this one, the toughest of them all, he succeeds.

36 pages

8 m, 5 w, or 4 m, 9 w, extras.

This play with music recreates the life of Fanny Crosby, a special woman who blessed our world by writing the words to more than 8,000 hymns. She felt her lifetime of blindness brought her closer to the heart of God. Actual events - some humorous, others sad, a few even tragic - surrounding the inspiration for her most well-known hymns are dramatized in this easily staged portrait of the blind poetess whose words, poems, and lyrics continue to be sung by millions around the world today. Let your actors, choir, or congregation sing the suggested hymns which this remarkable woman wrote. A ...

29 pages

11 roles with any combination of Men/Women in the Chorus.

A clever adaptation of the Old Testament Book of Jonah. Ease of staging, flexibility of cast, faithfulness to the original text, humor, theatricality and relevancy to today's world help to make this adaptation one which will interest any theatre group. The script follows the story of "Camel-trader, potter, jack-of-all-trades yet expert in none" Jonah as he is called to save a people for whom he has nothing but hatred. After attempting to elude his calling, Jonah reluctantly does God's bidding. His transformation from potter to Prophet is successful: he saves people. But does he save hims...

51 pages

14 m, 1 w, 1 child (can be doubled to 10 actors)

The play tells the true story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor who led the resistance to Hitler in the German church. Narrated by his friend Eberhard Bethge, the play follows Bonhoeffer from his early years as a seminary professor, to leading his students to organize an underground seminary and distribute clandestine anti-Nazi literature, and finally to his joining the secret unit of German military intelligence plotting the death of Hitler. Arrested by the Gestapo, Bonhoeffer is sent to prison, where he is visited by relatives and his fiancée in a poignant scene. In a poetic chorus, his...