Category Archives: Children & Youth

ESL by Tom Smith

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Drama/ 4 characters, 2 males, 2 females/ One Act

Synopsis: Trey has been doing poorly in his Spanish class, so his father has hired Ofelia to be his tutor. Throughout the course of many weeks, Trey slowly finds himself becoming attracted to Ofelia, despite his recent and rocky relationship with his girlfriend, Jackie. But when Trey confronts Ofelia about her cousin Jesús’s lack of English, they must grapple with the issues of multiculturalism, Americanism, and language. And when a hate crime is committed against Jesús at school, everyone must examine their own feelings of racism in this bilingual drama.

A portion of ESL 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.

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 Caroland Johnny and Sally Ann… (YouthPLAYS), Marguerita’s Secret Diary (Baker’s Plays);Gray (Original Works Online); and The 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. Website: www.tomsmithplaywright.com.

ESL was frst produced by Creede Repertory Theatre (Creede, CO), 2005.

From Shakespeare With Love by Jonathan Dorf

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Comedy/ 4 actors minimum, 2 Men, 2 Women; expandable up to 7-8 Men, 6 Women/ One Act

Synopsis:
Four of the Bard’s characters wait for an overdue flight to London. When Romeo reveals that he plans to revenge himself upon Shakespeare, whom he blames for ruining his life, by killing him in a duel, the others — Titania, Viola, and Antipholus — try to save the playwright by convincing Romeo that Shakespeare “does indeed love love.”

To do so, they recall scenes (excerpts from the actual Shakespearean plays) that show Shakespeare’s playful side. Titania, for example, shows her enchanted love for Bottom. Antipholus shows Romeo the confusion that occurs when he is mistaken for his twin brother — by his brother’s wife. Viola, dressed as a man, carries a Duke’s message of love to another woman — even though Viola has fallen in love with the Duke herself.

At the very last moment, they succeed in convincing Romeo to spare Shakespeare, and all’s well that ends well.

A portion of From Shakespeare With Love? may be read by clicking on the “Read It Now” button. To obtain a complete reading copy, please see the Contact Information on this page.

Presented by special arrangement with YouthPLAYS.

“A delightful portrayal and enriching experience of Shakespeare and some of the many ‘love’ interests in his plays.

“Comments we have received based on the evaluations that are mailed to us state that the show is ‘excellent, very funny,’ ‘very appropriate for 7th through 12th grades,’ ‘a clever concept,’ and ‘A delightful romp into a world that students rarely get to experience . . .’.”
– Francis Licopoli, Outreach Coordinator, Walnut Street Theatre

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

About the Playwright: Jonathan Dorf has had his plays produced across the United States, as well as in several foreign countries, including stagings of his work by Walnut Street Theatre, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Ensemble Studio Theatre – LA and the Pittsburgh New Works Festival. Mr. Dorf is the co-chair of the Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights, the former managing director of the Philadelphia Dramatists Center and a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. He has also written several produced short screenplays and a number of feature scripts.

In addition to writing for stage and screen, he serves as the resident playwriting expert for Final Draft: he created “Ask the Expert” Playwriting for their scriptwriting software and also writes a column about playwriting for their website. He is resident playwriting expert for The Writers Store, for whom he created Playwriting 101.com, and he also contributes regularly to their e-zine. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a degree in dramatic writing and literature and holds an MFA in playwriting from UCLA. He is available to playwrights and screenwriters as a script consultant.

From Shakespeare With Love? was commissioned and premiered (under the title Shakespeare in Love?) by the Walnut Street Theatre Outreach Program, Philadelphia.

Happy Happy Happy by Steve Lambert

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Comedy/ 2-5 males, 2-5 females, 1 either (7 total performers)/ One Act

Synopsis: It’s hard for a poor 19th-century family to hold their heads up, especially as the landlord has just lowered their ceiling. Life is certainly easier for the modern-day family who occupy their home and the amorous dolphin who visits them for dinner. But will a bomb under the kitchen table thwart their quest for ultimate contentment?

A portion of Happy Happy Happy 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.

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: Steve Lambert has written more than 20 plays. His work has been performed at UK venues in Bristol, Bath, Exeter, Salisbury, and in London at Camden People’s Theatre, Theatre503 and Upstairs at the Gatehouse. Work includes Last Train, Showing the Monster, Aftercare,Still, Little Deaths and Touch. A Good Send-Off was among the winners in 2009’s Pint-sized Plays competition in Wales. A common theme of his work is how people’s lives are affected by their sexuality. Steve is a member of the Heads & Tales story-telling group, whose series of Bristol audio stories can be downloaded for free (www.headsandtales.org.uk). For more details and reviews of Steve’s plays, please visitwww.writewords.org.uk/steve_lambert.

Happy Happy Happy was produced by the Max Theatre Company (Bristol, UK) in 2009.

Ichabod — by Phillip C. Wagner (Book & Lyrics) and Elizabeth DeVolder (Music & Lyrics)

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Ichabod, Tragically Comic Players, Vernon, BC

Musical Comedy/ 8 Characters, 4 Men, 4 Women/ Full Length, Two Acts

Synopsis: A family musical set in the 1780s in the eerie Dutch settlement of Sleepy Hollow along the Hudson River. The jealous Brom cannot stand the graceful, educated Ichabod winning over his girl, Katrina, and will have none of Ichabod’s flirting with the ladies. Determined to rid Sleepy Hollow once and for all of Master Ichabod’s superior airs, Brom does not stop at just smashing pumpkins!

Children from five to 95 will enjoy the lively music and spirited antics of all the characters. Everyone sings and dances — even the “horses.” As in the classic Disney animated film, the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the chase is the climax. Watch out for Brom Bones’ horse, Dare Devil, as he gallops after Ichabod Crane’s horse, Gunpowder!

“The kids nearly fell out of their chairs with laughter during the second half.”
– Shoe String Children’s Theatre

Read it Now
Performance rights must be secured before production
Contact information:
Amateur and professional rights:
Phillip C. Wagner
Artistic Director
Tragically Comic Players
1552 Creighton Valley Road
Lumby, BC, Canada
V0E 2G1
E-mail: phillipcwagner99@hotmail.com
Ph: (250) 547-6045

About the Playwright: Actor, director, musician, and playwright Phillip C. Wagner studied playwriting at the University of Iowa, and both playwriting and directing at the University of Alberta. His play Murder at the Empress was first performed in Victoria by the Vancouver Island Players in 1979, and later adapted for a summer run at the Jasper Lodge in Jasper, Alberta.

Ichabod and the Headless Horseman premiered at the Four Seasons Musical Theatre in Victoria in 1986. Later it toured to 14 schools in Greater Victoria. In 2009, Phil joined forces with lyricist and composer Beth DeVolder to rewrite the music. The new Ichabod debuted at the Schubert Centre in Vernon, B.C. in 2009, and was remounted the next year at the Powerhouse Theatre in Vernon.

Currently the artistic director of the Tragically Comic Players in Lumby, BC, Canada, Phil is also a screenwriter and story editor.

Ichabod was first produced under the title Ichabod and the Headless Horseman by the Four Seasons Musical Theatre Company, Victoria, BC, Canada in 1986. The current version, with new music, was first produced by the Tragically Comic Players at the Schubert Centre, Vernon, BC, in 2009.

Idols by Nicholas Bompart

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Comedy-Drama/ 11 Characters, 4 men, 5 women, 2 Either-Or, multiple casting possible/ Full Length, 70 mins.

Synopsis: As a pianist plays in a corner of the stage, we meet Alex, a 10-year old piano prodigy who has been diagnosed with ADHD after getting into trouble at school. His parents are given an ultimatum: Alex must take Ritalin or face expulsion. As they struggle with the choice, Alex’s grandparents object. Russian immigrants, they have vivid memories of the 2nd World War, when Hitler gave the drug to his troops. They don’t want to see Alex turned into “an obedient little soldier.”

Meanwhile, Alex practices for his momentous upcoming piano recital with his inspiring teacher, Mr. Hoffman. “When I wake up I hear music,” he tells Mr. Hoffman, “when I do anything I hear music.” As he and his family continue to struggle with the effects of his ADHD, his grandfather makes a decision. Appearing to Alex dressed as the tooth fairy, he delivers an impassioned plea for his grandson never to believe “there is something ‘wrong’ with you,” and to remain true to his talent. In this tender and powerful play, the pianist playing in the corner of the stage — Alex as an adult — suggests that he listened to his grandfather.

Read it Now
Performance rights must be secured before production
Contact information:
Amateur and professional rights:
Nicholas Bompart
Ph.: 917-670-7097
NTBWorking@gmail.com

About the Playwright: Nicholas Bompart is an actor, director, writer, and musician from Forest Hills, New York. He began acting at the age of five and has continued in the theater up until the present. He has written and acted in more than 15 short films, which have been screened at multiple national and international film festivals and won extensive laurels, including awards for Best Horror Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor. In addition to writing and directing many plays, he has starred in numerous off-Broadway productions. His plays have been selected for the Rogue Theater Festival, CHAIN Theater Festival, Strawberry Theater Festival, and others. He has received favorable media reviews and been referred to as “a new up-and-coming artist” and “someone to watch” for upcoming work. Nicholas earned a B.A. in Theater Arts from Pace University. He also sings opera and has performed at Carnegie Hall.

Idols was first produced at Teatro LATEA in New York, NY in October 2022.

Jack and the Beanstalk — Libretto by Marcy Telles, Music by Jason Sherbundy

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Children’s Musical/ 4 Characters, 2 Men, 2 Women/ One Act

Synopsis: A musical version of the classic tale about a boy who must travel to the fair to sell his beloved cow. After a run-in with some buyers who think his cow is too scrawny, Jack meets an Old Woman who buys the cow for three beans. The beans, she promises, will allow him to ascend to the sky, where he’ll find a giant’s castle full of riches stolen from his late father.

When Jack angrily throws the beans aside, they grow into a giant beanstalk, which he climbs. At the top, he meets the Giant’s Sister, who hides him just in time: The Giant comes home and demands that his treasure — a goose, a purse filled with gold, and a singing Harp — be brought to him. Listening to the Harp, he falls asleep, and Jack and the Giant’s Sister escape down the beanstalk.

Home again, Jack is overjoyed to discover that his cow has been returned to him and, even better, they all learn a wonderful secret about the Giant’s Sister!

 

Read it Now
Performance rights must be secured before production
Contact information: Amateur and professional rights: Alan Rossett Amateur and Professional Rights:
Marcy Telles
754 Bamboo Terrace
San Rafael, CA 94903
Ph. 415-472-7639
mtelles@sbcglobal.net
About the Playwright: Composer and lyricist Marcy Telles has created scores for the musicals The Toymaker and the Elves (Das Puppenspeil, 1974) and The Three Golden Hairs(Morning Glory Theater, 1981). She has provided lyrics and librettos for two children’s operas Jack and the Beanstalk and Brementown Musicians (Cinnabar Theater, 1990 and 1997), and several children’s musicals: The Snow Queen, It’s a Wonderful Life (Cinnabar Theater, 1992 and 2001), Remote Control, Plants, and Princess Goodenough (1998, 2001, and 2002, various). In addition to her theatrical work, Marcy has provided compositions and lyrics for the Occidental Community Choir, Viva! Musica (a Japanese musical circus), and recording artists and groups such as A Few Good Friends, Biaja, Blake Derby, Michael Smolens, Randal Collen, and others. Marcy makes her home in Northern California and is always interested in new projects.Jack and the Beanstalk was first produced by the Cinnabar Opera Theatre, Petaluma, California.

 

Johnny and Sally Ann: The true-life tall tales of Johnny Appleseed and Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind by Tom Smith

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Comedy/ 5 males, 1-5 females, 2-28 either (3-35 performers possible)/ One Act

Synopsis: Traveling the American wilderness to distribute apple seeds to the poor, Johnny Appleseed and his friend Pete encounter Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind (the future wife of Davey Crockett), who proves that a girl can do anything a boy can; Betsy Ross, who tells them about the creation of the American flag; and Belinda, who seeks the help of Johnny and Pete to save an orphanage. Throughout, Johnny shares many of the adventures that have made him famous: both true stories and tall tales.

A portion of Johnny and Sally Ann 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.

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 Caroland Johnny and Sally Ann… (YouthPLAYS), Marguerita’s Secret Diary (Baker’s Plays);Gray (Original Works Online); and The 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.Johnny and Sally Ann… was first professionally produced by Creede Repertory Theatre (Creede, CO) and California’s Enrichment Works.

Kipling’s Jungle Book Stories, an adaptation by John Chambers with verse by Rudyard Kipling

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The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

Drama/ 16 Characters, 7 Men, 2 Women, 7 either/or/ Full Length, Two Acts

Synopsis: This epic version of Kipling’s classic was first performed professionally as an outdoor promenade production by Lancaster Dukes Theatre. Torn between his wolf family and his human mother, and between the law of jungle and “civilization,” Mowgli faces threats on all sides — crazy monkeys, an idiotic hunter, and a malevolent tiger.

Sticking closely to the ethos of the original, John Chambers’ lively adaptation offers plenty of humour and drama, not to mention some original Kipling lyrics. At its heart is a boy growing up and trying to discover who he really is . . .

A summary of the original novel, from penguinreads.com (PDF): “A very young boy, called Mowgli, lives in the jungle. Shere Khan, the tiger, wants to look after him, and so do the wolves. Akela, the wolf leader, decides that Mowgli will stay with the wolves. Baloo the bear and Bagheera the panther also look after him. Mowgli stays in the jungle for ten years. When Akela becomes old, Shere Khan thinks he might now get Mowgli with the help of the young wolves who don’t like him. Mowgli defends himself by throwing fire at his enemies, but he must leave the jungle. He says goodbye sadly to his friends and family and goes to live in the village.”

“Not to be missed.”
– Westmoreland Gazette

“A must for youngsters, the show is great fun for mums and dads too.”
– Sunday Express

Read it Now
Performance rights must be secured before production
Contact information:

Amateur and Professional Rights:
John Chambers
E-mail: artistan38@tiscali.co.uk

About the Playwright: John’s stage plays include: Stiff Stuff; Shouting at the Radio; Raw Material; Albert Finney Doesn’t Live Here Any More; Robin Hood – The Raven’s Revenge – all at the Library Theatre Company where he was Arts Council Resident Dramatist; Two Wheel Tricycle (Contact Theatre); Silver Lining (Oldham Coliseum); Yoiks Oiks (Bolton Octagon); The Marigold Trilogy (Real Life Theatre. M.E.N. Best Fringe Award); Balling the Blues (One Step); City of Gold (Arden).

John has written three epics for Lancaster Dukes Promenade Seasons – Tales of King Arthur,Jungle Book and The Three Musketeers, and several pieces for/with young people at Manchester Youth Theatre and M6 where he was also Resident Writer.

Co-written theatre work includes: Scandals – The Life & Liver of Frank Randle with Keith Clifford (which John also directed); Crazy People with Marvin Close (LTC); I’m Marrying Ryan Giggs (Robbie Fowler in Liverpool!) with Dave Simpson (Liverpool Playhouse & national tour); Koff with Brian Morgan (One Step).

He has written around 100 hours of television including: The Bill (Thames); Emmerdale(Granada-YTV). Working on it during BAFTA Best Soap year 2001); Eastenders; Runaway Bay (YTV / Lifetime); 14 episodes of Children’s Ward (Granada. Including RTS Best Children’s Drama Series); 3 fifteen minute films for BBC Education’s Turning Points, (which won BAFTA and RTS awards, 1999); Away From Home and Grease Lightning – 30 minute plays for BBC2 (Northwest); Dramarama (ITV).

Kipling’s Jungle Book Stories was first produced at the Lancaster Dukes Promenade Seasons in 1996.

“Winning hearts in a new way.”
– The Stage

“It’s a great play.”
– Lancashire Evening Post

Lockdown by Julia Edwards

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Lockdown at South Coast Repertory, 2012

Comedy-Drama/ 4-6 males, 9-11 females (15 performers total)/ Full Length, 75-90 minutes

Synopsis:
It’s just another day in the CliffsNotes Library (more books, less filling!) until a siren sounds, the doors automatically lock, and the not-so-studious students discover they are trapped. What’s going on? Did the high-tech security system malfunction again? Or are they the subjects of a sinister state-sanctioned experiment? Then someone hears a gunshot (he thinks), a freaked out substitute teacher is found barricaded in the bathroom, and Crazy Lily has a diabetic seizure. In a claustrophobic pressure-cooker of fear, paranoia, and social strife, this motley crew of hackers, delinquents, surfer dudes, and prom queens must rise above the chaos to save a life and discover the meaning of tolerance along the way.

A portion of Lockdown 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.

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: Julia Edwards is an LA-based playwright, children’s author and illustrator, and teacher. Her plays — some of which include Family Planning, The Rats Are Getting Bigger, The Ravaging, and Lockdown — have been seen at The Public Theatre (NYC), the LAByrinth Theatre (NYC), The Flea (NYC), South Coast Repertory Theatre (Costa Mesa), Chalk Repertory Company (LA), Circle X (LA), and Salvage Vanguard Theatre (Austin) among others. Family Planning, produced in LA-area residential homes, won the LA Ovation Award for Best Production. She is a member of the Playwrights Union of LA. Her website is at www.JuliaEdwards.com.

Lockdown was commissioned and first produced by South Coast Repertory (Costa Mesa, CA) in March, 2012.

Ludlow Ladd — Libretto by Michael Colby, Music by Gerald Jay Markoe

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Ludlow Ladd

Christmas Musical/ 8 Characters, 4 Men, 4 Women/ One Act

Synopsis: Part Dickens, part Gilbert and Sullivan, part Fractured Fairy Tale, this family operetta evolves through mock-Christmas carols. It centers on Ludlow Ladd, a poor young orphan in Victorian Liverpool. It’s Christmas night and his birthday, as Ludlow wanders the streets, searching for a home. The eccentric Grimbles take him to their house, already crammed with animals, plants, and Prudence, their bratty daughter. After annoying the Grimbles, Ludlow is left alone with their Christmas tree. He dreams of the tree turning into the magical Misssus Pinecones, who whisks him to the Land of Yuletime Cheer. The dream becomes a nightmare. But, once he wakes, a miracle leads Ludlow to become the Grimble’s son.

The first half of Ludlow Ladd may be read by clicking on the “Read It Now” button. For a complete reading copy, please see the Contact Information elsewhere on this page.

“Musical of the week. A jolly romp.”
– Show Business

“A fascinating prize. Plays off all the gooey sentiment that has been built up around the modern Christmas in story and song. Energetic, charming fun.”
– The Rockford Register

“Really wonderful.”
– Bill Thompson, Literary Manager, Actors Theatre of Louisville

Read it Now
Performance rights must be secured before production
Contact information:
Amateur and professional rights:
MIRACLE OF 2 PRODUCTIONS
330 West 42nd Street, 18th Floor
New York, NY 10036
(212) 757-6466
E-mail: info@miracleor2.com
Playwright’s website:
http://www.michaelcolby.com

About the playwright: Michael Colby is the librettist/lyricist of such musicals as Charlotte Sweet (Drama Desk Award nomination), Tales of Tinseltown (Coconut Grove Playhouse), North Atlantic (Show Business Award), Mrs. McThing (Goodspeed), and Ludlow Ladd (New American Theatre). He was chief writer for the Drama Desk Award-winning New Amsterdam Theatre Company, and has written special material for numerous celebrities and Theatre by the Blind. He is a member of the BMI and The Dramatists Guild.

About the composer: Gerald Jay Markoe studied at the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School, receiving Master and Bachelor of Music Degrees. His musicals include Charlotte Sweet (Drama Desk nomination), Delphi or Bust, Happy Haunting, and Ludlow Ladd. In addition to his theatre scores, he is the widely acclaimed composer of numerous CD’s which have topped the New Age best-seller charts. These include Music From the Pleiades, Music of the Angels, Zen Meditations and Celestial Mozart Volumes I and II.

Ludlow Ladd was first produced by New American Theatre, Rockford, Illinois in December, 1982.