Popular Full-Length Plays for Schools
Below you will find some of the most popular full-length plays for schools, including hit comedy plays, acclaimed adaptations, and riveting dramas that are perfect for high school plays and middle school drama. Click the images to read the plays for FREE!
Hit Comedies!
100 - 120 Minutes
8 - 25 Actors
It's opening night of a brand-new mystery play, perfectly suited for high school plays and middle school drama productions. Just as the killer is about to be revealed, the body of the play's director falls onstage instead. In that moment, the theater transforms into an active crime scene, and everyone from cast to crew, even the audience, becomes a suspect. How is the intrepid detective supposed to find the killer when everyone and their mother (literally) has a motive to want the demanding director gone? This Murder Was Staged is a fast-paced, backstabbing comedy play within the full-length plays genre. (READ THE PLAY FOR FREE HERE!)
75 - 85 Minutes
10 - 50 Actors
On a sunny day in the town of Bloomington, a devastating occurrence happens. No, it’s not famine, or floods, or loss of your basic rights. The internet has gone down! And it will continue to be down! For a whole week! Pandemonium! In a world that is so dependent on the internet for everything, how will society function? Not well, as it turns out. This full-length play, The Day the Internet Died, hilariously explores how inept we are at dating, research, and basic human interactions when we don’t have a screen to look at. It's a fantastic choice for high school and middle school drama programs, proving that comedy plays can highlight our modern-day challenges in a fun and engaging way. (READ THE PLAY FOR FREE HERE!)
90 - 120 Minutes
4 - 40+ Actors
Have you ever wondered what the classic story of Oedipus would be like if it featured...on ice? Or what the beloved high school play 12 Angry Men would look like if it were performed by just one woman? Imagine if Dr. Frankenstein opened a shop in the mall! Well, now you don’t have to wonder! Parody This! is a seriously unserious comedy play that pays tribute to theatre, classic literature...and bananas.
Performed with as few as four actors, minimal set, and maximum costumes, this full-length play is perfect for middle school drama programs. (READ THE PLAY FOR FREE HERE!)
ACCLAIMED ADAPTATIONS
100 - 120 Minutes
8 - 25 Actors
Alice falls down the rabbit hole. Mad tea parties, sarcastic caterpillars, depressed turtles, and one, very, very irrational Queen. Will Alice ever escape this dream-like landscape? Or was she never meant to at all? (READ THE PLAY FOR FREE HERE!)
75 - 85 Minutes
10 - 50 Actors
Thomas lives in both the world of his mind and the reality of his troubled family’s home in postwar Amsterdam. Whether imagined angels support him or his father beats him, he records it all in his Book of Everything. But when Thomas begins to form surprising connections with the people around him, suddenly it seems that maybe the two worlds don’t have to be so far apart. Maybe the miraculous really looks like a letter from the witch next door, a sister who takes a stand at the dinner table, or a tropical fish in the canal. Maybe things can change. Witty, wise, and bursting with magical realism, this stage adaptation brings the acclaimed book to life with an ensemble cast.(READ THE PLAY FOR FREE HERE!)
90 - 120 Minutes
4 - 40+ Actors
The Austin family has a cherished tradition of doing something special every day counting down to Christmas - from baking cookies to decorating the tree. This year is a stressful one for Vicky Austin as she's cast as the youngest angel in the Christmas Pageant. Plus the family is preparing for the birth of a new brother or sister. Will the baby wait until January? Will Vicky mess up her big role? Will Christmas be ruined? The love between the members of the Austin family shines as bright as a Christmas star in the heart-warming tale for the holiday season. Filled with elves, carols, and laughter this timeless adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's The 24 Days Before Christmas is sure to bring a smile to your face and a tear to your eye. (READ THE PLAY FOR FREE HERE!)
60 - 70 Minutes
5 - 20 Actors
A tap at a chamber door, and the beat of a hideous heart evoke the very best and creepiest of Edgar Allan Poe. In this unique adaptation, Poe's stories come alive through a blend of comedy plays and classic horror, thanks to an otherworldly radio studio. Wandering spirits gather to play roles in Poe's most renowned works, from The Cask of the Amontillado to The Fall of the House of Usher. However, the grim master of the macabre finds himself navigating the peculiarities of radio. What's all this about commercials? And why is a skeptical cemetery cat lingering during these tales? This flexible piece is perfect for both audio performances and onstage drama, making it an ideal choice for high school plays and middle school drama alike. (READ THE PLAY FOR FREE HERE!)
75 - 90 Minutes
8 - 50 Actors
Former citizens of a mythical Midwestern town speak from the grave about their day-to-day hopes and dreams. Touching, anguished, and contemptuous, their voices and stories weave together in this full-length play, offering a fresh new take on a modern American classic. This piece not only showcases the struggles of small-town life but also serves as one of the most poignant middle school drama options available. You won't forget what you've heard from these distinctively small-town folk as they evoke universal themes of hope, despair, and love, making it a compelling choice for high school plays as well. (READ THE PLAY FOR FREE HERE!)
A Little Bit of Drama...
100 - 120 Minutes
8 - 25 Actors
The residents of the small town of Bethel are facing a crisis: Their beloved park has been sold out from under them and it's sending their lives into a tailspin. In nine interconnected vignettes, sixteen locals grapple with the loss of jobs, homes, and spouses, but find love, courage, and forgiveness as the park magically transforms through four seasons of the year in a single day. From a tired security guard trying get home to her kids, to a young mayor in over his head, to a nostalgic fisherman who can't seem to catch anything, everyone takes a fall... and picks themselves up again. Bethel Park Falls draws a group of complex, fascinating, funny people together into one poignant story about the spaces where communities connect. (READ THE PLAY FOR FREE HERE!)
75 - 85 Minutes
10 - 50 Actors
A birthday for a man who doesn't know his age. A song that taunts a desperate prisoner. A storm bearing down on an unusal roadside motel. A couple finds them all in a mysterious book, said to be cursed, called... The Continuum Tales. In the spirit of The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror, this genre-bending collection of seven short plays explores weird, futuristic, and haunting worlds eerily similar to our own. Filled with strange and humorous tales of technology gone wrong, nightmares of the mind, and what happens when we let our fears get the best of us, this modern sci-fi collection is sure to entertain.(READ THE PLAY FOR FREE HERE!)
MORE COMEDY GOLD!
100 - 120 Minutes
8 - 25 Actors
Travel around the world and explore forgotten myths and unusual legends through eight fast-paced and hilarious tales! Always quirky, and sometimes bizarre – these eight fables are filled with magic, mystery and morals.(READ THE PLAY FOR FREE HERE!)
75 - 85 Minutes
10 - 50 Actors
In an ambitious plan to bring peace to Ancient Greece, Dialysis and Peon create Betterland, a city where once-doomed tragic characters can start a better life. But this new society of refugees must face enemies and Gods who don't tolerate free will or utopian ideals. Weaving together the stories of Ancient Greek characters from Oedipus to Hercules, this hilarious reinvention of the classics asks the question, “Is it possible to escape your own fate?” (READ THE PLAY FOR FREE HERE!)