NEW PLAYS
Amazing Mini-Mysteries of Nick Tickle, Fairy Tale Detective
Just have time for a very short Nick Tickle adventure? Try one, two, three or all four of these 15 minute mini-mysteries.
In “Witch Crook Took The Book?” Nick is contacted by Red Ridinghood’s Grandma Pollywog after a library book goes missing and he soon discovers there’s more at stake than just a fine – the new Children’s Wing at the library might have to close since ALL the books are missing! Can Nick stop the crime wave and avert disaster?
In “Saved In The Nick (Tickle) Of Time” our stalwart detective himself is in trouble – he’s been chained up by King Mousepants after someone steals the Golden Apple Nick’s been hired to protect! He’ll need all the assistance he can get to track down the thief and get that apple back so Princess Porcupine can get married (whether she wants to or not.) You can read a sample by clicking below.
In “The Great Glass Slipper Slip-Up” Prince Charming wants to find the beautiful girl who left the glass slipper behind when she ran out of his ball but wouldn’t you know it – he’s gone and lost the darn thing! Who can find it and save the day? Why, our own Nick Tickle, of course…if he can outwit a wicked witch and two nasty stepsisters who will do anything to keep the lost slipper lost!
Finally, there’s “The Curious Case Of H. Dumpty” where Nick is given the chance to put to rest the question once and for all – did Humpty jump…or was he pushed?
Plus, there’s a bonus extra adventure! Those who stage “Which Crook” and “Saved In The Nick Of Time,” might want to add “Revenge!” in which the villains from those two stories try to get even with Nick!
These stories may easily be staged in any combination and whether you have a small cast of actors who can double or a large cast where everyone gets a part, the simple set with small additions insures that anyone can produce this script! Plus, the royalties are very affordable. What are you waiting for – there’s no mystery about how much fun these shows are!
Fairy Tale Twist on Wry with a side of Ham
“Goldihood And The Three Little Red Riding Pigs or The Bacon’s Revenge”
The Big Bad Wolf is up to his old tricks again but the Pigs, Goldilocks and the Bear family are determined to teach him a lesson he won’t soon forget! A simple set, 20 minutes and as few as five performers are all you need. Read these intro pages and then let me send you copy!
What Turned Her Bad?
“Dr. Despicable vs. Captain Stupendous!”
Captain Stupendous and Sidekick Girl keep Metropolis City safe from the evil schemes of Dr. Despicable…until he acquires a new partner in crime – The Tooth Fairy! Seems she’s not a sweet as we’ve been led to believe and soon she’s even more despicable than Dr. Despicable himself (if that’s possible)!
This fast-paced, fun, 15 minute show for four performers is staged on a basic set so it couldn’t be easier to produce! Contact me for more info and here’s where you can read the first few pages.
A Wild West Mystery Adventure
“Cow-Napped!”
It’s just another quiet day in Tumbleweed Gulch (only three fights before lunch) but then Big Jim’s favorite cow Buttercup is cow-napped! And if that isn’t enough, the Crimson Kid has been seen skulking around town! Looks like Sheriff Andy has his hands full. Let’s hope that he can round up some volunteers from the audience to form a posse to help him capture the Kid and find Buttercup. This is one rootin’ tootin’ 15 minute adventure for five performers that anyone can stage quick as a wink. Here’s where you click to read a few pages. You won’t be sorry, pardner!
A Dark Ride
“The Girl Who Lost Her Heart”
This is the story of Avi, a 12 year old girl living in Victorian London who is unable to come to terms with the death of her father, a brave explorer whom she worshiped and hoped to join on his expeditions one day. After dreaming of a strange golden bird that wishes to be released from its cage, Avi awakes to find a hole in her chest and her heart gone. At first, she enjoys the sensation of lightness but she soon begins to change and not for the better – ice cream has no taste, her favorite dress is not quite so pretty, she bites a boy who teases her and worst of all she doesn’t recognize a picture of her father! Determined to find out who has stolen her heart and get it back, she bravely sets out one night for the Royal Parks where she encounters a number of odd creatures and makes the painful discovery that her heart has not been stolen but has left her on its own accord. Can she convince it to return to her? Can she defeat the evil creature who collects hearts and turns people into Hollow Phantoms? Can she help a Prince who has lost his own heart to a Daemon Lover? Can she heal herself?
This full-length piece calls for multiple simple sets, 5 females, 5 males, 9 either and extras (doubling possible) as well as puppets. As always, I’m here if you’d like some further information and you can click here to read the opening scene.
Maybe Listen To Your Mother
“Rainy Day Comics”
Little Sally just wants to spend a rainy day reading comic books even though her mother forbids it. She loves envisioning herself in each story – a super hero saving the world, a western sheriff tracking down a missing cow, a detective trying to solve the mysterious death of Humpty Dumpty. Unfortunately, she mistakenly picks up a horror tale and things go south from there…
This 60 minute script with numerous simple set pieces requires 8 females, 4 males and 14 either (doubling possible) so there is a part for everyone! I know you’d love to find out more about it so contact me after you’ve clicked here to read the first few pages.
2021 Aurand Harris Memorial Playwriting Award Winner!
“High School Confidential”
Finally! It’s the last day of high school and after what happened at Thanksgiving, summer vacation can’t come soon enough. Before the final bell rings, however, nine students are summoned to the auditorium by the principal. When they arrive, the place is deserted – there’s not an adult in sight. As they talk and argue amongst themselves waiting for an explanation, the unthinkable happens – the school goes into lockdown…and then things start to go very wrong. Why have the doors been locked from the outside, trapping them in? What is the meaning of the garbled cell phone message they’ve received? Is there a shooter on campus and if so, is he roaming the halls…or is he much closer? Class is in session, pay attention if you want to survive…because, confidentially between you and me, in this high school story, nothing is as it seems…
This intense 60 minute show for high schoolers requires only five females and five males in every day clothes, a few props plus an empty space to perform in (written for an auditorium but may be adapted for any empty room). Read the beginning here and contact me for more info.
Third Place - East Valley Children’s Theatre Aspiring Playwrights Contest - 2021
“The D.I.Y. F.G.”
(The Do-It-Yourself Fairy Godmother)
Ever since Cinderella blabbed about the assistance she received from her Fairy Godmother Fizzybit, the poor soul has been inundated with similar requests for help. After she leaves town to escape the pressure, her servant Catbreath is tasked with delivering rejections to the latest batch of petitioners…only to be mistaken for the Fairy Godmother herself! Relishing her new identity and not wishing to disappoint anyone, she takes it upon herself to try to solve a myriad of troubles without a lick of magic to rely on. Pinocchio, the Bear family, Jack and his mother, Snow White and a lost prince are just a few of her cases. But she soon discovers happy endings are not always easy to come by. For a cast as large as 29 or as few as 12, this 60 minute easy-set show is full of fun and surprises. Read the opening bit here and let me know if you want to see the full script.
Winner - Old Miner Chidren's Playwriting Contest - 2021
“Sleeping Beauty Stays Awake”
“Sleeping Beauty Stays Awake” is a modern variation on the classic story written with memories of Covid-19 still fresh in our minds and reassuring us that since we seem to be living in a fairy tale, things will be all right in the end.
Princess Georgie’s happy life is turned upside down when she is cursed on her seventh birthday by a Wise Woman of the Forest – from the day of her official Princess coronation, she will be susceptible to a great danger from being scratched by digitalis flowers – she will sleep for a thousand years! The other Wise Woman try to fix things but only make the situation worse so that when the curse does come to pass, everyone in the kingdom falls into a deep sleep…EXCEPT for Georgie! Now it’s up to her and her pet fox Mitty to break the spell…but how can her true love give her a kiss when no one can come within six feet of her?
Written for a cast of 17 (fewer with doubling) and a simple set (castle on one side of the stage, forrest on the other), this 60 minute play with charm your audience to pieces. Want to read a bit? Just click here and then contact me to read the entire thing.
A Two-Minute Play for Three Women (And a Dummy)
“Everybody’s Ever After”
…and Cinderella and her Prince lived happily ever after! But what about everybody else? Find out here!
This sci-fi spoof may be more REAL than it seems...
“Invasion Of The Brain Eaters From Outer Space”
In 1956, aliens infiltrate a high school in small town America to test a weapon before a full-on invasion, a weapon that is capable of changing reality and warping minds. Only our heroine Mary Sue seems immune to its effects and the fate of the planet rests with her. That’s what happens…but the play is actually about a threat that is all too real, insidious and contemporary – banning books in school libraries.