The plays of Jonathan Dorf for school age actors and audiences

Need a play to produce at your school?

"Jon Dorf is the voice of this generation's high school student. He has captured the inner and outward struggles that confront today’s youth and brings light to those issues that we deem important but are too afraid to broach. The significance of his work is far beyond that of his writing genius. It speaks to everyone on a personal level and gives a voice to a growing population that has so much to say. His plays have proven vital, not only to the growth of our young actors but also to the development of their young minds. We continue to use Jon’s works here at Choate Rosemary Hall and look forward to his next creation."--Paul Tines, Executive Director of the Paul Mellon Arts Center and Head of the Choate Rosemary Hall Arts Department.


Click on the title of any play listed below to read a synopsis, cast and production info and even preview the script. All of the plays listed here are available either at YouthPLAYS, the web's premier resource for plays for young actors and audiences, or with their respective publishers.

CRASH POSITIONS (Comedy. 10 minutes. 1M 1F) Mayhem takes off when two passengers think airplane is about to crash.


LAST RIGHT BEFORE THE VOID (Comedy. 10 minutes. 2M 1F) A teenage boy encounters everyone from Elvis to Darth Vader as he hitchhikes along a highway that seems to disappear into a black hole.

NEWT GINGRICH VISITS A RESIDENTIAL YOUTH FACILITY NOT NEAR OMAHA (Drama. 10 minutes. 2M) A pair of residents at a home for troubled teens wait for a photo op with Newt Gingrich. Finalist for the Actors Theatre of Louisville Heideman Award.


In PEPPERONI APOCALYPSE (Comedy. 10-15 minutes. 5 actors, gender flexible) A pizza delivery guy who arrives at the door of a doomsday cult at the exact moment they expect the world to end.


STEALING SAXOPHONES FROM HOMELESS PEOPLE (Comedy. 7-9 minutes. 1 either) When at the age of three your mother tells you that you're destined to steal saxophones from homeless people, will you really be destined for a life of crime?

SUDDEN DEATH DEBATING LEAGUE (Comedy. 10 minutes. 1M 1F) When a high school debate tournament's sudden death round turns out to be exactly that, losing is no longer an option...


TEN MINUTES (Drama. 10 minutes. 1M 1F) After two of their classmates stage a Columbine-style massacre at their high school, a pair of students hiding in a custodian's closet must decide whether ten minutes of silence means it's safe to come out, or something else entirely...


WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GODOT? (Comedy. 10-15 minutes. 3 actors, gender flexible) is the untold story--until now--of why Godot, one of the most famous characters in all of theater, never showed up.

  • 4 A.M. (Dramedy. 30-35 minutes. 6-30+ actors) What's it like to be awake when the rest of your world is asleep? Meet an early-morning jogger, a lonely short-wave radio DJ, a modern Romeo and Juliet, and even the monster under the bed--among many others--as they search for connection in the magic hour. Written specifically for teen actors.


    AFTER MATH (Dramedy. 30-35 minutes. Minimum 8-10 actors, no maximum) When a student mysteriously disappears in the middle of math class, through a series of scenes and monologues, those left behind try to find some answers. Did anyone really know who he was? And why is it they've only noticed him now that he's gone? Written specifically for teen actors.


    DEAR CHUCK     (Dramedy. Flexible running time of 35-55 minutes. 10-30+ actors) Through a series of scenes and monologues, the play's eclectic assortment of teen characters, caught between being children and adults, search for their "Chuck," that elusive moment of knowing who you are. Commissioned and developed by the Choate Rosemary Hall Summer Arts Conservatory specifically for teen actors.


    In FROM SHAKESPEARE WITH LOVE? (Comedy. 35-40 minutes. 2M 2F, expandable to 12+ characters), four of the Bard's characters wait for an overdue flight to London. When Romeo reveals that he plans to revenge himself upon Shakespeare by killing him in a duel, it's up to the others to save Shakespeare by convincing Romeo that Shakespeare does indeed love love. Originally commissioned by the Walnut Street Theater to tour to schools.


    NOW YOU SEE ME     (Seriocomedy. 30-35 minutes. 3M 5F, expandable to 20+ actors) is a one-act about what causes young people to slip through the cracks and what drives them to violence. Commissioned and developed by the Choate Rosemary Hall Summer Arts Conservatory specifically for teen actors.


    PLAY'S END     (Tragicomedy. 20-25 minutes. 2M) is the story of John, a door-to-door gun salesman who helps his young son remember the "something sad" that happened at school.


    The Springfield Academy of Arts and Academics production of Thank You for Flushing for My Head in the Toilet... (Springfield, OR)


    • THANK YOU FOR FLUSHING MY HEAD IN THE TOILET AND OTHER RARELY USED EXPRESSIONS (Dramedy. 30-35 minutes. Minimum of 10-12 actors, no maximum) A play about one of the toughest issues facing teens today: bullying. It's become one of the most widely produced plays on the subject in the US and Canada. Visit it at its own special website, http://www.thankyouforflushing.com!


    TICKING (Dramedy. 20-25 minutes. 3M) Dark comedy. A gun disappears from the pot on the right rear burner in the Doe family kitchen, replaced by an egg. John Doe, traveling gun salesman, thinks his teenage son Jay has taken it, and he wants it back.


    TWISTING CAROL (Comedy. 25-30 minutes. 8-20+ actors) A one-act slaughter of the Dickens classic. Young Ebenezer Scrooge dancing with a popsicle stick, a ghost named Bob, another ghost who thinks his name is Bob and a Tiny Tim who considers himself short but not tiny.


    THE WHITE PAGES (Comedy. 25-30 minutes. 2M 2-4F) A customer takes matters into his own hands when he discovers a used bookstore is removing the pages from classic books and replacing them with blank ones.


    YOU'RE NEXT (Drama. 15-20 minutes. 2M) Two teenagers struggle with how to defend themselves against a bully.

    DAY ONE (Musical. 90 minutes. 3M 5F, plus a flexible ensemble of 7-40+ actors) Some people wish the high school years would last forever. Others would do anything to get them over with. The full-length musical asks, what if they all had a chance to get their way?


    HIGH SCHOOL (non) MUSICAL (Comedy. 75-85 minutes. 5-25M, 5-25F). In this hit parody of the Disney phenomenom, join Toy Boatin, Gaberella, Shitzu, Cryin and the rest of your favorites as the Roswell High bowling team goes for a state championship, students pursue their dreams of performing in the Winter Muse Cycle and surgical decathletes compete in real live surgery. But when Gaberella's singing voice turns out to be so bad it could cause mass casualties, what will win out--following your dreams, or preserving life as we know it? Visit its dedicated website at http://highschoolnonmusical.com!


    WAR OF THE BUTTONS (Drama. 90-100 minutes. 10M 2F) the youth of a town on the brink of ruin battle the students of a local prep school that is gradually buying up their town, all the while protecting one of their own whose parents have abandoned him.


    Tiny Tim Runs the Marathon is coming very, very soon...

     

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