Page 30 - K12 Catalog 2020-2021

28 More One Acts

If Girls Asked Boys for Dates
Comedy | Cast: 2m., 3w. | One int. set. | Run time: 20 min. | Code: I12000
In this play, the whole dating problem is reversed. George is getting dressed but he can’t
decide what to wear. His mother helps out with last-minute advise: “Always let the girl open
the door for you and remember that some girls are—well—aggressive.” The girls arrive
with their boxes of flowers for the boys. Nancy tries to kiss George, but he remembers his
mother’s advice. Nancy has not been able to get her father’s car, so they’ll have to walk to
the dance. In the grand finale of mix-ups and embarrassments, the couples leave for the
dance. By Anne Coulter Martens.

The Importance of Being Earnest

Comedy/Farce | Cast: 5m., 4w. | Simple set | Run time: 40 min. | Code: IA8000
This superb adaptation is ideal for high-school one-act play contests, classroom studies and mini-
productions. The Importance of Being Earnest is a masterpiece of high comedy, sparkling with
provocative observations. All of the highlights of the play are retained in this short adaptation—
the plot’s unexpected farcical twists, the characters and the dialog. Oscar Wilde called his play “A
trivial comedy for serious people.” He commented that the first act is “ingenious,” the second act
“beautiful” and the third “abominably clever.” Audiences and critics alike applaud the play as a
celebration of wit. Adapted by Aurand Harris. From the play by Oscar Wilde.

The Infamous Soothing System of Professor Maillard

FUN ADAPTATION OF A POE COMEDY Drama | Cast: 14+ actors, flexible. | Simple set
Run time: 30 min. | Code: IC8000
The play begins when the hero of the story decides to visit the private sanitarium operated
by the renowned Professor Maillard. The professor is famous for his method of treating the
insane, “The Soothing System.” But Professor Maillard has not been heard from for some
time. What happens during the play, and the activities of the unusual characters, are comical
and frightening—with an ending that may come as a surprise. Adapted by Raleigh Marcell
Jr. Based on Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether.

Just a Stage He’s Going Through
Comedy | Cast: 4m., 4w. | Simple set | Run time: 30 min. | Code: J25000
This theatrical fantasy involves Dwight, an average guy, who wakes up in the middle of
the night with a horrible feeling that he’s onstage somewhere. He looks out and, sure
enough, he is onstage somewhere. At least, that’s what he sees. Unfortunately, the rest of
the characters see the world as it should be, according to them, anyway. His wife, Blanche,
simply wants him to go back to bed or go to work. When he does try to go to work, both his
reality and the type of characters he runs into seem to get wilder and wilder until he ends
up on a couch and talking to (who else?) Dr. Sigmund Freud. By Pat Cook.

Ladies of the Tower

Drama | Cast: 9w. | Bare stage with props | Run time: 25 min. | Code: L11000
The Tower of London provides the setting for this provocative play. Two cleaning women come
to scrub down a forgotten room and are visited by the spirits of the ladies who met death inside
the dark walls. Each is doomed by her own bitterness to walk the Tower. What is particularly
interesting is their youth: Lady Jane Grey (15), Queen Catherine Howard (19) and Lady Rochford
(18). Much of the dialogue is taken directly from historical record. In a brief overlapping of the
present and the past, there is a touching scene of communication and understanding that sets
the embittered women free of their bondage to the past. By Ruth Perry and Tim Kelly.