Category Archives: Children & Youth

A Christmas Carol by Tom Smith

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A Christmas Carol

Drama with Music/ 5+ males, 5+ females (10-35+ performers possible)/ Full Length, Two Acts

Synopsis: An enchanting adaptation of Dickens’ classic tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and his redemption from a life of greed and sadness. When four ghosts visit Scrooge, he is forced to look at his life-past, present and future-and witness the effect he has on others. A “play with music,” the script includes four songs.

Most of A Christmas Carol may be read by clicking on the “Read It Now” button above. To obtain a complete reading copy, please see the Contact Information on this page.

Published by arrangement with YouthPLAYS

 

Read it Now
Performance rights must be secured before production
Contact information:
Amateur and Professional Rights:
YouthPLAYS
7119 W Sunset Blvd #390
Los Angeles, CA
USA 90046
E-mail: info@youthplays.com
Website: www.youthplays.com

About the Playwright: Tom Smith’s published plays include The Wild and Wacky Rhyming Stories of Miss Henrietta Humpledowning, ESL, What Comes Around, A Christmas Carol and Johnny and Sally Ann… (YouthPLAYS);Marguerita’s Secret Diary (Baker’s Plays); Gray (Original Works Online); andThe Pathmaker, Comedy of Errors (editor), Much Ado About Nothing (editor),Two Gentlemen of Verona (editor), and Love’s Labour’s Lost (editor) for Encore Performance Publishing as well as Dangerous, The Odyssey and Drinking Habits, published by Playscripts. His other plays have received productions both nationally and internationally. Tom is the recipient of the Robert J. Pickering Award for Excellence in Playwriting, the ATHE Playworks Award, the Orlin R. Corey Outstanding Regional Playwright Award, the Richard Odlin Award, a Seattle Footlights Award, and has been a selected participant in numerous playwriting festivals across the country. He is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild. Feel free to check out his website at www.tomsmithplaywright.com.

About the Composer: Roger Butterley has worked with artists ranging from Michael McDonald and Phoebe Snow, to Gavin DeGraw and Jill Sobule, and has appeared on more than 20 albums. He has a longstanding relationship with Sh-K-Boom Records, having music directed many of the Sh-K-Boom Room concert series, as well as music directing and co-producing the CD of Paul Scott Goodman’s Bright Lights, Big City. As a composer, he has written three full length musicals: Fallen Angel and Eagle Song (both with Justin Murphy), and Turandot: The Rumble For The Ring with Randy Weiner and Diane Paulus. Roger has also composed music for commercials and industrials for clients including Avis, Symbol Technologies, and Chase Manhattan. He recently completed music for a new ride at Hershey Park, The Reese’s Extreme Cup Challenge.

A Christmas Carol was first produced by American Southwest Theatre Company (Las Cruces, NM) in 2000.


A Stranger on the Bus by Ed Shockley

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Drama/ Flexible cast of 12-50, 7-25 males, 5-25 females/ Full Length, about 120 minutes

Synopsis:
A young African-American girl takes an epic fantasy journey set against the backdrop of the busing movement, as two families, one on each side of the racial divide, grow to discover their love for each other.

The audience experiences the landmark Swann v. Board of Education case that completed the integration of American schools through her dream. With Jim Crow appearing in the guise of a giant trickster bird to battle the forces of progress, this award-winning epic begins at World War II and journeys to the moment when two innocent children can sit side by side en route to a new era in our nation’s history.

A portion of A Stranger on the Bus may be read by clicking on the “Read It Now” button above. To obtain a complete reading copy, please see the Contact Information on this page.

Published by arrangement with YouthPLAYS

Read it Now
Performance rights must be secured before production
Contact information:Amateur and professional rights:
YouthPLAYS
7119 W Sunset Blvd #390
Los Angeles, CA
USA 90046
E-mail: info@youthplays.com
Website: www.youthplays.com

About the Playwright: Ed Shockley, MFA is author of more than 80 plays. His works have set five box office records and been honored with numerous awards, including the Stephen Sondheim Award for Outstanding Contributions to American Musical Theatre, a Pew Fellowship in the Arts and PA State Arts Council Playwrights Fellowship. He has received commissions for youth theatre plays from Seattle Children’s Theatre, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Dallas Children’s Theatre, Black Spectrum Theatre and the Harlem Renaissance Theatre. His historical short film, Stone Mansion, aired on Showtime television.

A Stranger on the Bus was commissioned and produced by Charlotte Children’s Theatre (Charlotte, NC), 1997.

All Dolled Up by Shannon and Paige Underwood, music and lyrics by Will Hegarty

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A young girl in a "Darbie" doll box, with two others beside her, excited.

All Dolled Up
Paige Productions
Fountain Hills, Arizona

Comedy/ 26+ character, 13 female, 4 male, others various/ One Act

Synopsis: Darbie dolls have a pretty good setup. A dream house, endless wardrobe, and non-stop dance parties. Until, that is, a squad of third-graders set out to destroy everything.

But they’re no match for Darbie and her sisters. Move over mean girls, the original Plastics are back.

Buckle up for this wild ride through childhood in our modern world. A campy, witty, fun show with a record number of female and male lead roles for all ages.

Character Descriptions

“I loved being in this play. It was happy and funny and I wish it would never end”- Aubrey Erdos, an actor

“This play made people from age 5 to age 90 laugh and root for the characters” – Lara Palles, an actor’s mom

Read it Now
Performance rights must be secured before production
Contact information:
Amateur and professional rights:
Shannon Underwood
newyouthmusicals@gmail.com
Ph: 480-206-5343
newyouthmusicals.com

About the Playwrights/ Composer: Shannon Underwood is a professional speech and marketing writer in the wedding industry for over 15 years.

Paige Underwood is a 13-year-old co-writer and co-director of ALL DOLLED UP, the musical. She is the first-place winner of East Valley’s Got Talent and a second-place winner of Drama Notebook. Paige is the playwright of Shades of Green and Escape Room. Her goal is to make theater more accessible for everyone, and she is working on starting a non-profit to fund theater programs for schools that can’t afford them. Paige has acted in 35 plays, with her favorite roles being Ursula in The Little Mermaid, Emily Hobbs in Elf, and The Cat in the Hat in Seussical.

Will Hegarty is a professional songwriter specializing in creating songs for life’s key events, such as weddings, funerals, and birthdays. He has also written numerous college fight songs. Will has a background in business and journalism.

All Dolled Up was first produced by Paige Productions, Fountain Hills Arizona in June, 2023.

Arthyr: The Boy Who Would Be King by C. Michael Perry & Coni Koepfinger

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Musical/ 12 characters, 6 men, 6 women, plus ensemble/ Full Length, Two Acts

Casting is flexible enough to use age-appropriate actors from 14 to 60, or a cast of youth and/or children 9-18.

Synopsis: This musical re-telling of the King Arthur legend presents a unique take on it. Merlyn is a boy from the 21st century who has lived backwards in time, been educated in Atlantis and now grown into manhood. As the story opens, the older, wiser Merlyn mentors Arthyr, revealing the young man’s true lineage as the son of King Uther Pendragon and Igrayne.

He guides young Arthyr towards his destiny, which begins through his apprenticeship to Sir Lionel, and the mistreatment he must endure from Lionel’s son, Kay, a young knight in training. During a joust at Glastonbury, Arthur loses Kay’s sword and is guided by Merlyn’s magic to find and pull the sword in the stone. With that, as prophesied, Arthyr is proclaimed King of Britain at the age 12.

Act Two begins Arthyr’s reign, training under his father Uther, and Arthyr’s first battle victory. He also experiences challenges with the dark magic of Nimue, Morgan LeFay and Morgause, and proves the pureness of his heart by having the power to save Merlyn.

The play culminates with Arthyr and Uther, preparing to unite Britain and setting up their dynasty at Caerleon (which later becomes the infamous “Camelot”). The story is shaped by the magic and prophecies delivered by the Keepers and Protectors of ancient Atlantis, who aid in manipulating the facts and events that ensure Arthyr’s destiny.

Read it Now

The first act of Arthyr: The Boy Who Would be King may be read by clicking on the “Read It Now” button above. To obtain a complete reading copy, contact C. Michael Perry at cmichaelperry53@gmail.com.

Contact Information:
Amateur and professional rights:
C. Michael Perry (Music, co-lyricist)
cmichaelperry53@gmail.com
Ph.: 801-550-7741
or
Coni Koepfinger (Book, co-lyricist)
Ph.: 412-983-1029
koepfingerc@gmail.com

About the Creators:

C. Michael Perry was born in Colorado and raised in Chicago. He discovered theatre in high school and has built a lifelong career in theatre, film, and television. A graduate of Brigham Young University with a BA in Theatre, he has worked on more than 25 major network television shows, 300 commercials, and two feature films. On stage, he has performed before over 2,000 live audiences across the United States and Europe, earning multiple acting awards for his leading and supporting roles.

As a director, he has helmed over 40 productions at the community, educational, and professional levels and choreographed more than 50 shows. His work has also been recognized for excellence in lighting and scenic design.

An Emmy Award–winning composer, playwright, and lyricist, Perry has written or co-written over 30 musicals and 20 plays produced nationally and internationally. His credits include Cinderabbit (PBS), Entertaining Mark Twain, Anne with an ‘e’, Great Expectations, and The Miracle of Mirador. In addition to his theatre work, he is the author of several fantasy-adventure novels, including The Miracle of Mirador and The Blood Rose of Panador, the first two installments of his Daniel Light and the Children of the Orb series.

Perry is the founder of Leicester Bay Theatricals, which publishes and licenses nearly 200 plays and musicals worldwide. He lives in Newport, Maine, with his wife, Sharon, and is the proud father of four grown children.

Winner of the 2021 Olwen Wymark Award from the Writers Guild of Great Britain, Coni Koepfinger believes creative energy is never lost — it simply changes hearts, heads and hands. She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon (Literary and Cultural Theory MA 2002) and Penn State (Theatre Arts BA 1980), and also a member of the National League of American Pen Women, Theatre for Young Audiences/USA, the National Association of Musical Theatre, the Lifeboat Foundation, a lifetime member of the Dramatists Guild, a former board member of the International Centre for Women Playwrights, and former committee Chair for the League of Professional Theatre Women. Her work has been produced by the Gene Frankel Theatre, the American Theatre of Actors, the Rogue Theatre Festival, the UNFringed Festival, The Secret Theatre, the Manhattan Repertory Theatre, Cosmic Orchid, the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, the Harlem Me Too Project, Untold Stories of Jewish Women, The Producers Circle at the Players Club, the Playbill Virtual Theatre Festival, Open Eye Theatre, the Phoenicia Playhouse, and Theater for the New City. Her published plays and musicals can be found at Leicester Bay Theatricals and Next Stage Press. Her most recent work, The Unusual Chauncey Faust, won first place in the 2025 15 Minutes of Frame Play Festival, presented at the Gene Frankel Theatre in New York.

As an academic, Coni has enjoyed teaching at various major universities, including Duquesne, Carlow, and Point Park, specializing in composition, literature and playwriting, and developing a new pedagogy that examined the stages of creative form, something she applies to her own writing as well. Website: www.awakeneddreamtheatre.com.

Arthyr: The Boy Who Would Be King awaits its first production.

Assignment: Impossible by William Allen Brooks

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Comedy/ 4 characters, 2 Men, 2 Women/ One Act

Synopsis: Three students (Janice, Beth, and Paul) and one teacher (Mr. Ankart) have all been sentenced to a special weekend detention by Mrs. Donnelly, the school principal. Each of them is in hot water with the principal for their own reasons. Partly as punishment and partly as a last chance to redeem themselves, the four have been given a special task in this day long detention. It is the job of these four to come up with some sort of presentation on teen sex issues and present it to the rest of the school on Monday.

When the students are uncooperative in their attempts to form the presentation, Mr. Ankart pulls out the script that he has written for the day. It turns out to be far from anything that the student body would care about. Secretly, Janice writes her own script. When Monday morning rolls around, she takes over the stage from Mr. Ankart and holds a vote with the student audience to see which play they want to hear. Naturally, they choose hers.

All four characters take on roles in the play and tell the story of two couples at a party (Britney/Kevin and Cameron/Justin) trying to make decisions about sex in their lives.

In the play-within-the-play, Cameron, who has had sex before, convinces her friend Britney that she should have sex with her boyfriend Kevin if she wants to keep him around. On the boy’s side, Cameron’s date, Justin, tells Kevin that he has to go for it as well. The two couples leave the party early, but at the last minute Britney and Kevin decide not to go through with it.

The next Monday at school, Britney overhears Kevin and Justin sharing bedroom stories from the weekend. When she hears Kevin lying about what happened she confronts him with a slap in the face. Feeling awful about what he has done, Kevin tells the truth to the whole school over the intercom system. Inspired, Cameron tells the truth about her weekend, too.

Once the truth is out in the open, all four characters have the opportunity to talk honestly about what they’re feeling. They can work through all of the questions that they each have surrounding this difficult issue and come to the conclusions that are right for them.

And backstage, after the play, the actors share some surprises of their own.

Read it Now
Performance rights must be secured before production
Contact information:
Amateur and professional rights:
William Brooks
204 Hilliard St. E.
Saskatoon, SK.
Canada
S7J 0E4
Ph.: (306) 934-8278 or (306) 341-4089
e-mail: williamallenbrooks@yahoo.ca
Playwright’s website: www.williambrooks.ca


About the Playwright: William is a playwright and actor living in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. As a playwright, two of his plays, The Captive and Hope & Fury, have been featured at the Saskatchewan Playwrights Centre’s Spring Festival of New plays. Hope & Fury was premiered in Saskatoon in May of 2005 produced by Flux Theatre, followed by a production at Calgary’s Lunchbox Theatre. His youth play, Assignment: Impossible was toured by Persephone Theatre in 2006. His plays have also been seen at Globe Theatre’s On the Line and the University of Saskatchewan. As an actor, William’s work has been seen with Persephone Theatre, Quest Theatre, Vertigo Mystery Theatre, Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, As-Q Theatre and Last Exit Theatre, among others.

Assignment: Impossible was first produced by Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon on tour in 2006.

Betterland by David Lohrey

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Drama/ 6 Characters, 3 Women, 3 Men/ Full Length, Two Acts

Synopsis: (from Absolutearts.com): “In Betterland, a veteran schoolteacher, faced with dismissal, discovers that her principles are no longer valued by the institution she serves. Her enlightenment is triggered by the arrival of the first genuine student she’s had in years. The other high schoolers, catching the subversive scent of curiosity, set into motion events that compel the teacher’s final act of defiance. Finally, defeated, she is nonetheless set free by her realization that neither she nor the student is welcome in a system devoted to the unexceptional.”

From Show Business: “As the play opens, Miss Vanderhoff is being pressured into transfer or early retirement by school administrator Stiles due to a single ‘incident’ marking an otherwise officially acceptable career . . . . The story of an intimate relationship that develops between Miss Vanderhoff and Lafayette, a transfer student placed in her High School English class, is renacted as Vanderhoff relates it to Stiles.

“Lafayette epitomizes everything popular culture has led us to believe characterizes ‘inner city youth.’ He’s black, he’s hostile, he’s done time in juvenile detention for car theft. But much more than a menace to society, Lafayette turns out to be the first ‘real student’ Vanderhoff has ever had. He begins to show a personalized enthusiasm for critical thinking that contrasts the years of resistance or passionless, grade-focused ambition she has come to expect from her students.

“In spite of her continual claim not to ‘love children,’ which she sees as a prevailingly sentimental and unrealistic reason to pursue the needed job of teaching, Vanderhoff develops a concern and interest in Lafayette’s well-being that eventually alienates her other students — especially Billy. Out of resentment for the new teacher’s pet and a fear of summer school, Billy pushes both student and teacher to points of no return through manipulation of Lafayette’s insecurities and a brutal attack upon Miss Vanderhoff’s already harried defenses. Supported by a cabal of students, administrators, and parents, Billy then engineers the downfall of both.”

“Raises a host of difficult questions about education in general, and shows the precarious balance between politics, ethics and practicality . . . . When the cast came out for their final bow, it took me a long moment to remember that I had not been again sitting in a classroom, led by the type of teacher whose commitment I’d remember gratefully for the rest of my life.”
– Show Business

Read it Now
Performance rights must be secured before production
Contact information:
Amateur and professional rights:
David Lohrey
411 Walnut Street #7829
Green Cove Springs, Florida
USA 32043
E-mail: davlohreyjp@outlook.com

About the Playwright: David Lohrey completed his undergraduate degree at UC, Berkeley. Later, he studied creative writing at San Francisco State University, UCLA, and California State University, Los Angeles where he completed his MA. David now teaches at the college level in New Jersey, and is Literary Manager at Theatre-Studio, Inc. in New York City.David’s plays have received productions and staged readings across the country, including Group Rep and FirstStage in Los Angeles, The Long Beach Playhouse, the Dayton Playhouse, the Turnip Company, ArtGroup, and TRU’s 2nd Annual NYC Play Festival.

His work has received awards in competitions such as New Century Writers’ Competition, Riverside Stage Company’s Founder’s Award Competition, Harvest Festival of New Plays at the Sonoma County Rep, the 1998 Writers’ Digest Writing Competition, the 1999 Writer’s DigestWriting Competition, and the Generic Theater Company’s Dog Days Festival. For three years, David has been a voting member for TheatreLA’s annual Ovation Awards. He has been a member of the Dramatists Guild since 1982, and recently joined the Play Selection Committee at the Long Beach Playhouse.

Betterland was first produced by the Long Beach Playhouse, Long Beach, California in 1999.

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, adapted by Lee Wilson

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Drama/ 40 characters: 21 Nonbinary, 11 Female, 8 Male, 8 actors minumum, doubling/tripling possible/ One Act

Synopsis: Charles Dickens himself takes us through this new adaptation of one of the greatest Christmas stories ever told. Lee Wilson had yet to find a version of Dickens’ masterpiece that satisfied him as a director, so he was inspired to create one. He has endeavoured to create a version that is true to Dickens’ original story and also catered towards non-traditional proscenium theatre spaces (although this version works beautifully on those as well).

Read it Now
Revision posted Oct. 4, 2026
Performance rights must be secured before production
Contact information:
Amateur and professional rights:
Lee Wilson
wilsonle@tcd.ie
Ph.: 1-289-934-0154 (Ontario, Canada)

About the Playwright: Lee is an Assistant Professor in Acting at The University of Windsor, School of Dramatic Art, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Mr. Wilson holds Canadian, British and Irish citizenship.

In 2019, his production of A Fear and Loathing Actor in Dublin by Mark McCauley premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Theatre@36 in Dublin, Ireland. While living in Ireland, he directed the world premieres of Running with Dinosaurs by Nadine Flynn (The New Theatre); The Eurydice Project by Joanna Crawley (The Project Arts Centre Main Space); Fray by Margaret Perry and Pork by Nadine Flynn (Smock Alley); and The Sea Brothers by Padraig Colum/Joanna Crawley (O’Reilly Theatre/The Lir). In addition, his critically acclaimed production of East of Berlin by Hannah Moscovitch played to sold out houses at The Project Arts Centre in 2014/15. Lee was the Associate Director to Joe Dowling on Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge at The Gate Theatre, Dublin for the Dublin Theatre Festival in 2015.

His Canadian work includes being the founding artistic director of Resurgence Theatre Company in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada where he directed critically acclaimed productions of Hamlet, Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet. In 2013, he was nominated by his peers for the Christopher Plummer Fellowship Award for his outstanding contribution to the classics and Shakespeare performance in Canada. This award is administered by the Globe Theatre in England (Globe Centre in Canada) and recognized Lee as one of the most exciting young directors of Shakespeare in his native home of Canada.

His Canadian work includes being one of a handful of directors who participated in the Inaugural Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Directors at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. As part of this program, he was the resident director to Des McAnuff on The Who’s Tommy and The Tempest film and stage production starring Christopher Plummer. Other credits at Stratford include assistant director to Antoni Cimolino on As You Like It and to Leon Rubin on Measure for Measure. He was the apprentice artistic director/artistic associate at the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario, Canada (2008/2009 season). In 2008, Lee was invited to The Old Vic in London, England to participate in a directing and writing workshop with the Peter Hall Company. He was an Intern Director at the Shaw Festival during the 2005/2006 season in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada; and the Resident Director in the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre Training at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in 2004/2005. In 2003/2004, he was awarded the Urjo Kareda Residency Grant to study directing/artistic direction with Richard Rose at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, Canada. Lee started off his professional career as a member of the Inaugural Soulpepper Training Company studying acting, design, and directing with his mentor Robin Phillips.

Lee is an associate member of ADA (Association of Drama Adjudicators) in Ireland and holds an MFA in Directing from The Lir, Irelands National Academy of Dramatic Art, Trinity College, Dublin; and a BFA in Acting from Ryerson Theatre School, Toronto, Canada.

A Christmas Carol is scheduled for production at the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada in December, 2023.

Crystal by Fred Rohan Vargas

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Drama/ 4 Characters, 3 Men, 1 Woman (teens)/ Full Length, 85 minutes

Synopsis: Set in a suburban community of eastern Pennsylvania, Crystal takes place in an abandoned woodshed, circa 1981. Andy, 17, has left the body of a 16-year-old girl under the floor. Hoping to gain status with two close friends, Ralph and Joey, he brings them to view the body. When they return the next day, however, the hole under the floor is empty, and Crystal, the girl, appears soiled and livid from outside.

What follows is an intense and gritty character study of teens whose behavior is a mirror of the chaotic world outside the shed. Overweight and insecure, Andy takes out his frustrations on the women around him; Ralph hides his pain at his brother’s death behind a thickening emotional wall; Joey will do almost anything to dispel his all-American boy image; and Crystal’s search for love leads instead to violence. Insightful, compassionate, Crystal provides a startling glimpse into four desperate young lives.

Read it Now
Performance rights must be secured before production
Contact information: Amateur and professional rights:
Fred Rohan Vargas
E-mail: info@miuprod.com
rohanvargas@gmail.com
Website: miuprod.com

About the Playwright: Fred Rohan Vargas is the author of several full lengths, one acts and children’s plays that have been produced throughout the country and abroad. He holds a MFA in dramatic writing from New York University. Two of his plays have been published by The Riant Theatre (Anything But Black) and JAC Publishing and Promotions (Crystal). He is founder and executive producer of Mixing It Up Productions, LLC. He has received three nominations for his play Tide Beyond the Rift at the Midtown International Theatre Festival (2014) and has had his play Crystal produced in Bucharest, Romania the same year. As a producer, Fred has just finished a  three month run at the 13th Street Repertory Theatre of his children’s musical, Yaki Yim Bamboo the Musical.

Fred also shows his ability in other genres by writing instrumental pieces for jazz, film and TV. A renaissance artist in the making, he has been noted by Song of the Year Songwriting Contest, Unisong International Song Writing Contest, Billboard World Song Contest, John Lennon Songwriters Contest and Great American Song Contest. His music is on a compilation of 3 CDs.

Fred has served on the theatre/dance grants panel for the Queens Council on the Arts, the board of judges for the Daytime Emmy Awards (sponsored by The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences), the grant committee of the Huntington Arts Council, and the Board of Directors of the New York Children’s Theatre and Ripple Effect Artists, Inc. He is a member of The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, Dramatists Guild, Resource Unlimited (TRU), and the Off-Broadway Alliance.

Crystal was first produced by The Latino Experimental Fantastic Theatre (L.E.F.T.) at The Clemente Solo Velez Cultural Center, New York City in January, 2001.

Dear Miss Ophelia by Maria Rio

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Dear Miss Ophelia by Maria Rio

Dear Miss Ophelia
St Julian’s School
Lisbon, Portugal

Comedy/ 18-20 Characters, gender flexibility; Ophelia is female, all other characters can be male or female/ One Act

Synopsis: Miss Happy, Mr. Hurry, Miss Shy and various other children in New York City have a problem: Nobody understands them, and their parents and teachers criticize them just for being themselves! They decide they’d like to try being someone else for awhile, and write to Miss Ophelia of the “Dear Ophelia” advice column to ask for help. When they don’t hear back, they embark on a journey to Ophelia Headquarters in Chicago to demand some answers.

Alarmed by their disappearance, the President of the New York City PTA hires a detective to find them. In the meantime, en route, the children meet an eccentric fortune teller who has a surprising message for them — they’re fine just as they are. Everybody has flaws — but flaws can sometimes be useful.

Arriving at their destination, the children find Miss Ophelia eating chocolate and watching romance movies with a box of tissues by her side. It turns out she doesn’t want to be herself anymore either. All day she has to give people advice, but she doesn’t have anyone to turn to for advice for herself. That’s why she’s stopped answering letters.

But the children have lots of advice for her. Take a break, don’t be so hard on herself, and soon she’ll realize — she’s fine just the way she is! And with that, the detective arrives, and the children all happily head home.

This delightful, imaginative play about self-accepatance and helping others was created with input from students at Space for Drama in Lisbon, Portugal.

Read it Now
Performance rights must be secured before production
Contact information:
Amateur and professional rights:
Maria Rio
spacefordrama@gmail.com
Ph: +351-929-026-268 (Lisbon, Portugal)

About the Playwright: “I grew up spending my summers in Lisbon around theatre and Fado, a Portuguese music genre. My grandfather, Varela Silva, had a 45-year acting and directing career and my grandmother, Celeste Rodrigues, was a Fado singer for 70 years. So I spent a lot of time around the performing arts.

“Very early on I realized working with children through drama was my gift, so I studied theatre at George Mason University and did a post-graduate program in Theatre Education in Lisbon. I had lived in the U.S. most of my childhood around the rich culture of Washington, DC, where I was always amazed by the many artistic community centres for children. Being around these places and having my American ‘you can do anything you set your mind to’ mentality, inspired a dream: To create a space in Lisbon in which children could be free to be themselves. They would use this space as a vehicle to find their inner expression without any type of judgment, and be the owners of their creativity.

“So, I created Space for Drama in 2017 and have passionately been on this voyage ever since.”

Dear Miss Ophelia was first produced by Space for Drama at St Julian’s School in Carcavelos, Lisbon, Portugal in June 2018.

Dinosaur Rock by Shari and Jerry Tallon

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Dinosaur Rock

Musical / Multiple Characters, 2 Female, 2 Male, other characters can be played by males or females / One Act

Synopsis: This delightful story is a musical theatrical performance packed with original songs as well as hits such as “Wooly Bully,” “Alley Oop,” and “Louie Louie.” As the characters journey back in time to find the missing rock from “rock ‘n roll,” you will be transported to the wild world of dinosaurs, learn important lessons, and participate in the adventure. Special segments about bullying, life lessons, and fun information about dinosaurs are included.

Dinosaur Rock is more than a play; it is a musical theatre romp with songs, dancing, live music, and tons of audience participation.

Production notes & school kit

“Terrific . . . . The children enjoyed participating with the songs, especially “The Bird Dance.” And they loved Bonehead!”
– J.R. Henderson School, Kingston, Ontario

Read it Now
Performance rights must be secured before production
Contact information: Amateur and professional rights:
Shari Tallon
PO Box 414
Sharbot Lake Ontario
K0H 2P0
(613) 876-0293
Email: shari.tallon@gmail.com

About the Playwrights: Shari & Jerry have been performing to family audiences for more than two decades. They have performed their own music, as well as favorite audience standards, on tours that have spanned North America and Europe. They have also performed widely on TV and radio. Their CDs include “Simple Songs For Circle Time,” “In My Backyard,” “Songs For Every Season,” and “Birthday Blast!”

Running since 1985, Dinosaur Rock has been performed throughout Canada, most notably at the Ottawa Children’s Festival in 1992.