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 view its own special page, with a full synopsis, cast breakdown, production information and even part of the script for you to preview! If for some reason you have difficulty viewing the plays, try disabling your pop-up blocker (but you shouldn’t have to). Published plays also give you the option of going right to the publisher's order page!

CRASH POSITIONS (1M 1F) is a comedy about two passengers who think their airplane is about to crash. Order it from Brooklyn Publishers by clicking here!

LAST RIGHT BEFORE THE VOID (2M 1F) follows Christian, a teenage boy, as he hitchhikes along a highway that seems to disappear into a black hole.

NEWT GINGRICH VISITS A RESIDENTIAL YOUTH FACILITY NOT NEAR OMAHA (2M) is about a pair of residents at a home for troubled teens wait for a photo op with Newt Gingrich. Order it from Brooklyn Publishers by clicking here!


In PEPPERONI APOCALYPSE (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. Order it from Brooklyn Publishers by clicking here!


WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GODOT? (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. Order it from Brooklyn Publishers by clicking here!


In X MARKS THE SPOT (1M 1F) a modern-day Moses and Zipporah (Mo and Zippy) try to rekindle their flagging romance with a trip to a middle-American burning bush. Order it from Brooklyn Publishers by clicking here!

  • AFTER MATH (minimum 8-10 actors, no maximum, 30-35 minutes) 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 and ideal for school festivals and competitions. Order it from Playscripts, Inc. by clicking here!


    DEAR CHUCK     (10-30+ actors, flexible running time of 35-55 minutes) 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. Order it from Eldridge Publishing by clicking here!


    In FROM SHAKESPEARE WITH LOVE? (2M 2F, expandable to 12+ characters, 35-40 minutes), 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. Order it from Eldridge Publishing by clicking here!


    NOW YOU SEE ME     (3M 5F, expandable to 20+ actors, 30-35 minutes) 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. Order it from Brooklyn Publishers by clicking here!


    PLAY'S END     (2M, 20-25 minutes) is the story of John, a door-to-door gun salesman who helps his young son remember the "something sad" that happened at school. Order it from Brooklyn Publishers by clicking here!


    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 (minimum of 10-12 actors, no maximum, 30-35 minutes) , a new play about bullying that is already catching on at schools across the United States and Canada. Visit it at its own special website, http://www.thankyouforflushing.com!

    TICKING (3 males, 20-25 minutes) 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 (20+ roles, 30 minutes) is 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. Order it from Playscripts by clicking here!

    In THE WHITE PAGES (2M 2-4F, 25-30 minutes), 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. Order it from Brooklyn Publishers by clicking here!

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

    MUSICAL!!! Some people wish the high school years would last forever. Others would do anything to get them over with. The full-length musical DAY ONE (30+ roles, 90 minutes) asks, what if they all had a chance to get their way?

    HIGH SCHOOL (non) MUSICAL Comedy. In this parody of Disney's High School Musical, 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?

    WAR OF THE BUTTONS (10M 2F, 90-100 minutes) 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. Look for a version with more female roles in the future.


    More plays coming soon! Stay tuned and check this space for updates!

     

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