Great Small Cast Plays

November 01, 2023 by Tara Meddaugh in play collection

Large cast plays give good range and offer a way to get lots of actors involved. But there are many reasons why you might be looking for a small cast play, as well. Your budget may not be able to afford to pay a large cast or costuming; you may not have the sheer number of people needed for a large cast; you may want to pair small-cast one-acts together (easier for scheduling rehearsals) or your actors are all looking to have meaty roles, without the small side roles you may find in large cast. Check out these plays with small casts, all which have 2-5 actors. Scroll through and click on the play covers for more details, or check out the summaries below.

Ten (10) Great Plays with Animals as Characters

June 02, 2023 by Tara Meddaugh in play collection

Have you ever wanted to play a rabbit? Or a raven? Or a bear? Here’s your chance because in these ten (10) plays, all animal characters not only talk, but they have strong, interesting, fun acting roles to boot! The plays may feature animals but don’t assume they’re written for children (although younger audiences may enjoy too); they are complex, often with dark humor, high stakes, and poignant connections to each other. The plays range from absurd to dark comedy to drama-comedy (and yes, there are a couple for young performers/audiences!). There is so much room for creativity in directing, designing and acting and they’re enjoyable for audiences to watch and discuss. From a grieving raccoon to ostracized seagulls to frogs stuck in a tank, check out these ten (10) humanly relatable plays all featuring animals as the leading characters!

Nine (9) Plays About Husbands and Wives

May 09, 2023 by Tara Meddaugh in play collection

Check out these nine (9) plays which feature a husband and wife as central characters and showcase a relationship within marriage. From seeing just how far one husband will to go in order to please his wife, to a dinner party which changes the fate of one couple forever, to married frogs stuck in a tank, these nine (9) plays explore challenges and disconnect, desires and fears, love and connection between a husband and wife. These plays range from dramas to dark comedies to absurdist theater.

Plays About Sisters

February 25, 2023 by Tara Meddaugh in 10-minute play, all female cast, animal theater, bechdel test, children, comedic, dramatic, dark comedy, fairy tale, full-length plays, mature actors, Monologues, one-act plays, outdoor theater, play collection, play for mature actors, Plays, pre-teen, Teen, ten-minute plays, theater of the absurd, tween, women, women in the arts

Check out nine (9) plays plus a trio of monologues all featuring the sister relationship! From rabbits on the run to sisters contemplating marriage in the 1700s to adult sisters with a foster baby—and more—these 9 plays explore the challenges and connections of this unique sibling relationship. There are plays here for children, teens, young adults and mature adults, ranging from absurdist to dark comedies to dramas.

25 Plays That Pass the Bechdel Test

January 28, 2023 by Tara Meddaugh in 10-minute play, 5-minute play, absurdist theater, all female cast, animal theater, allegory, blind casting, Children's theatre, comedic, dark comedy, dramatic, fairy tale, full-length plays, gender neutral casting, inclusive casting, holiday, one-act plays, outdoor theater, Plays, pre-teen, Teen, theater of the absurd, ten-minute plays, thriller play, tween, women, women in the arts, bechdel test, play collection

The Bechdel Test or Bechdel-Wallace Test, is one measurement of how well women are represented in film, and has carried over into plays and other literary work. It was first written by cartoonist, Alison Bechdel and she credits her friend, Liz Wallace, for the test. The test is simple. Your writing passes the Bechdel-Wallace Test if you can answer YES to the following 3 questions:

Does your writing have at least 2 women in it?
Do the 2 women talk to each other?
Do the women talk to each other about something other than men?

Two One-Act/Ten-Minute Plays About Sisters - for Youth and Mature Adult Actors

January 27, 2023 by Tara Meddaugh in children, Children's theatre, comedic, dramatic, family, historical, one-act plays, outdoor theater, Plays, pre-teen, Teen, ten-minute plays, tween, women, all female cast, mature actors, play for mature actors, play collection

I’ve written about sister-relationships before (in The Bronze Lining and The Moon River Raft to name a few), but the relationship is especially unique in my two Ruby and Millie plays. These plays both feature the same sisters, but at two very different points in their lives.

In Ruby and Millie and the Dying Cucumbers, Ruby is a child around 9 years old and her older sister, Millie, is around 16. It’s 1943 and their father is a Prisoner of War in Europe. He has charged Ruby to lead her apartment building’s rooftop Victory Garden on the homefront in White Plains, NY. With their mother working long hours and their father gone, teenage Millie carries weighty responsibilities of her own. In the play, Millie has been searching for her little sister at night, and finally finds her on the rooftop. While Millie tries to convince Ruby to come inside to bed, Ruby discovers some of her vegetables are dying, and fears this is a harbinger of bad news for her father and the war.

In Ruby and Millie and The Old Chemical Plant, we fast forward 50+ years. The war is a distant memory while Seinfeld blares on the tv at night. Ruby has had a successful career but never married; Millie is a widow with children living all over the globe. The sisters live in the same senior apartments, and are tending to a fig tree in their 1990s community garden together. Ruby and Millie have always been close. Neither one can imagine life without the other by her side. But now they struggle with decisions that may, for the first time in 60+ years, take them very far away from each other.

Over 15 Great Plays for Outdoor Theater

August 31, 2021 by Tara Meddaugh in 5-minute play, absurdist theater, allegory, animal theater, Children's theatre, comedic, dark comedy, dramatic, fairy tale, family, frog, monologue for female acto, mystical creatures, outdoor theater, one-act plays, Reader's Theater, socially distant theater, ten-minute plays, theater of the absurd, thriller, Plays, play collection

Outdoor theater has always evoked a unique energy to its cast and audience, and throughout the covid-19 pandemic, more people have been taking advantage of staging and enjoying theater outside. The abundance of fresh air and space coupled with the natural environment can be appealing and invigorating. So if you’re looking to stage theater outside, consider these 10-minute and one-act comedies, dramas, and dark comedies for adults, teens and children. From a garden to a campfire, a beanstalk to a forest, a zoo to a parking lot, all of these plays are naturally set outdoors. You don’t need to force a kitchen sink into your local park. The world of these play is already outside. Enjoy!

Christmas Plays: talking reindeer, mistletoe melancholy, Christmas tree blood and more!

December 03, 2018 by Tara Meddaugh in children, monologue for child actor, monologue for female acto, Monologues, monologues for male actor, monologue collections, 2-minute monologue, 3-minute monologue, 30-second monologue, 5-minute monologue, 5-minute play, child monolog collection, Children's theatre, Christmas, comedic, comedy monolog collection, dramatic monolog collecti, inclusive casting, one-act plays, Plays, pre-teen, socially distant theater, Teen, teen monologue collection, tween, virtual theater, play collection

As we sled into December, first, a very warm Happy Hannukah or Happy Chanukah (or use one of the other 14 spellings!)! And second, the Christmas Theater season is upon us! Is there a classic holiday play you see every year? Or a new Christmas show you are looking forward to this season? For me, I recently enjoyed A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live On Stage followed by one of those crazy milkshakes shared by 4 of us (check out the pic!)! Nothing says Christmas like tons of sweets, right (Okay, yes, lots of things say Christmas other than sweets! But one must exert some sugar will power around the holidays!)? Next weekend, I’m looking forward to nestling into an historic Dutch church in legendary Sleepy Hollow to watch a one-man show of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. The following weekend, I’ll enjoy a one-hour version of The Nutcracker. I love to suppor theater year-round, but there is something special about seeing a warm holiday show in December!

As much as I love seeing Christmas Drama, I also love writing it! So check out some of my Christmas theater below (a one-act play, a 5-minute one-man show, and several monologues for kids to adults)! Click on the links to read excerpts from all of the holiday monologues or holiday plays or to get the full versions. Enjoy the holiday season!…

Great Plays for Halloween

October 26, 2018 by Tara Meddaugh in Plays, one-act plays, ten-minute plays, dark comedy, Halloween, play collection

If you’re looking for an eerie, creepy or thriller play in the spirit of Halloween, check out these plays that just might give you a chill or two! From the witch in that gingerbread house, to a mysterious heart, a domineering bingo chip, a lust for human hair—and more—enjoy these uniquely dark (and sometimes comedic) plays by Tara Meddaugh…