My plays have been performed all over the USA and the world by schools, churches, and theater groups.
I have just added FIVE new Christmas plays. (see below)
Disclaimer: The ideas, throughts and opinions expressed in these plays are not necessarily those of the author. These ideas were captured in mid air by a dream catcher made in Pennsylvania and although this dream catcher was inspected by the US Government years ago there is no guarantee that it is still in good working order. We can not be responsible for any ideas that rub off, opinions that are changed or thoughts inspired by these plays. It is suggested that if you have misgivings do not open your mind while reading or during performances. If you do choose to open your mind, we will not be responsible for anything that is deposited. Patrons are reminded to close their minds afterwards.
Big Apple Christmas
Two couples share in the winnings of a Christmas story writing contest. When they take their prize money and go shopping they are touched by poor beggars and end up giving most of their prize money to them. At the end of the play the audience discovers that the beggars were the Christ Child and his Mother Mary. The play can lead into a Christmas sing along with the play's characters leading the singing.
Minimum 3 men and 3 women plus as many Nativity actors as you want (shepherds, wise men etc.)
Saving A Hunter
A Hunter helps a lost man and finds something unexpected. Cast 3 Men, 2 Women and as many Carolers as you want.
These plays for children have casts that could be adjusted for almost any number of actors. There are few speaking parts. The actors perform to the story as read by a narrator. These plays could also be performed by puppets.
A Partridge in a Pear TreeA Partridge spends the weeks before Christmas in a holiday display at a shopping mall. She likes a man with whiskers and a red suit. She misunderstands when she finds out that she is to be his guest for Christmas dinner.
**NEW** Two Turtle Doves
Cliff and Sam are able to hear the doves talking to each other.
Three French Hens
Three French hens realize their dreams; one in the restaurant business and the other two in show business.
**NEW** Four Calling
Birds
This is a follow-up to Five Golden Rings and should be performed only after it. The four girls who call during Five Golden Rings are at the same restaurant and they send a bottle of the best Champaign to the couple.
**NEW** Five Golden Rings
Jake tries to propose marriage but keeps getting interrupted by his girlfriend's ringing phone.
Six Geese A-Layin'
Seven geese go on strike against the farmer's wife for more food and less work (laying eggs). When the strike is broken by unusal means on Thanksgiving Day they go back to a-layin'.
**NEW** Seven Swans A-Swimming
The farmer's wife misses the pretty girls in white dresses gliding across the pond.
**NEW** Twelve Drummers Drumming
Twelve Drummers (Salesmen) are putting in a pitch to Santa.
Eight Maids a Milking
Nine Ladies Dancing
Ten Lords a Leaping
Eleven Pipers Piping
OTHER PLAYS FOR CHILDREN (and puppet plays)
These plays are for children. They are fairy tales involving animals. They can be used for school plays, church plays and summer camps. The number of children in the casts can be adjusted. Some plays may not be suitable for all age groups. These plays could also be performed by puppets.
A Fish Story
A fish gets three wishes and goes from fish to rabbit to hound to wife back to fish again. This story shows the meaning of love.
Dickey Duck
Dickey the duck and a fellow animal get three wishes and become human. Dickey who becomes a landlord gets greedy and the other animal breaks the spell to rescue Dickey’s tenants from his greed. There is a real surprise in the end when we find out who the other animal is.
Under The Strawberry Moon
A frog becomes human and knows that he can remain human only if he kisses a “fair maiden” by the light of the Strawberry Moon (The full moon in June). He makes a mistake and is turned back into a frog. But all ends well and he lives happily ever after.
Sammy Squirrel
Sammy gets three wishes. He becomes human in order to get peanuts for his large family.
The Frog Prince
A frog prince does not want to become king. Thanks to magic wishes he becomes a writer instead and ends up helping the RAF (the Royal Academy of Fish Bank).
The following plays are approximately 20-30 min. long:
In Other News
Cast: 1 Man
A man loses his wife to an accident caused by a drunk driver and has trouble coming to terms with his grief.Life Inside A Hershey Bar
Cast:
5
Men (women could be used in some parts)
This play takes place in Hershey Pennsylvania
and is a protest against drinking. It is a bit strong and has a tragic
ending.
What I am trying to show is the evil of drinking and especially
drinking and
driving. Mike drives after having too many drinks and is hit by a truck
(off
stage). There is a surprise ending. The bartender who has been
convincing every
one to have just one more drink turns out to be the devil. At the end
he offers
the audience "One for the Road". This play has quite an effect on the
audience and could be your closer. We did it that way and our audience
was
silent for about a half a minute while it all sank in. It was well
received and
our local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving even considered
using it.
Tea Time
Cast:
Play
- 2 older women, 2 men
Radio show - The radio show can use any number of actors
doing a total
of 10
voices and sound
effects.
This show incorporates a radio show as well as the play. Both are
complete
stories. The hero's two aunts like to write letters. They write to
everyone,
even characters in books. They listen to their favorite show "Tea
Time" on the radio. This radio show is performed on stage. First in the
dark then, when the aunts fix their radio by hitting it, we see the
radio actors.
The radio show is a typical sitcom with confusion over a play gym that
looks
like a flying saucer, which causes the husband to call out his National
Guard
unit. In the end the hero's aunts write to the president and suggest
the
founding of NASA. This was a big hit when we performed it at the
Goddard Space
Flight Center
in Maryland.
Father John's Boxers
Cast:
6
men, 1 woman & 2 kids
This is a play on words. Father John blesses his former boxing students
who are
going out as policemen to fight a crime family. When he says, "Bless
these
and all of my boxers" he blesses the men but he also blesses his own
boxer
shorts. These shorts end up fighting crime in very unusual ways. There
is the
opportunity for a whole family of actors here. The script calls for a
mother, father
and two kids who are the gangster and his whole family.
Strawberry Moon
Cast:
5
women, 1 small girl or boy and 4 men
This play has a puppet show within it. There are two performances of
the puppet
show. The ending is nice. We see a grandmother reading her
granddaughter a
story. As she reads "and they lived happily ever after." Megan asks
what "happily ever after" means. Grandma tells the girl her own love
story. She worked at a TV kid's show where she met and married an
actor. We see
several of the shows and after she finishes her story grandpa comes out
in the
frog prince costume from the puppet shows. Megan realizes that grandma
and
grandpa are the two people who fell in love in grandma's story and
after
kissing grandpa she tells grandma "Happily ever after" is kissing a
very old frog."
Trooper O'Neil Rides Again
Cast:
2 women and 9 men
This is my tribute to the old time western movies. Good guys, bad guys,
girls
(no kissing) and saving the ranch. The boys save Ranch Studios by
convincing
the Calico Kid that he is doing another movie about saving the ranch
and he and
the boys arrive just in time to save the studio.
The
Frog Plays:
The following plays are about 5 min. long and each has the same ending.
In the endings there are three frogs on a lily pad catching and eating
flies.
One frog
moves over to the other two and says; "I told you so". All have three
actors; two men and one woman. More than one should be performed as
this is a
running joke. I would suggest that you do the first and last and take
your pick
of the others. For the most fun inter-mix them with other plays and
watch your
audience guessing which plays will have the frog ending.
Here After
Three moderns discuss "the here after". One is a believer and the
others do not believe.
Blind Double Date
Two
brothers are joined at the hip and meet a very lovely young blind lady
who
offers to use magic to separate them.
Tastes Like Chicken
A
husband and wife have dinner. He does not like chicken - "It tastes
like
Flies". He should know because he was once a Frog.
Fly Fishing
Performed
in the dark until the last scene. It sounds like a couple of fly
fishermen talking about their day of fishing to come - as soon as the
sun comes
up. But in reality it is my frogs again.
Forever
In
the dark again but this time it is the flies talking. They think that
they
might live forever until a mysterious voice, that they believe to be
God, tells
them that they will not. When the sun comes up we see the three frogs
again
munching on flies.
Honey Mushrooms
Two
friends have eaten some funny mushrooms and discover that they are not
really who or what they think they are.
The End
This
one is me writing frog story after frog story, - "I could go on
forever"- until a voice from heaven tells me to stop. I do not obey and
we
have the frog ending.