One-act dramas dive straight into the heart of the action, delivering intense emotion, gripping conflict, and unforgettable characters—all within a compact format. These works prove that brevity doesn’t mean sacrificing impact. Here are ten compelling one-act dramas that leave audiences captivated.
Trap by Stephen Gregg
An incomprehensible event: every person in the audience of a high school play falls unconscious—every person but one. Using interviews with witnesses, loved ones, first responders, and the investigators pursuing the case, a theatre ensemble brings the story of the strange event to life, documentary-style. But as the strands weave together into an increasingly dangerous web, it becomes clear that this phenomenon might not be entirely in the past. Unnerving, exhilarating, and wildly inventive, you’ve never walked into anything quite like Trap.
Oz by Don Zolidis
Reeling from her sister’s death, Beth suddenly finds herself journeying through a world suspiciously resembling the film The Wizard of Oz. But with the yellow brick road sold to foreign investors after a financial meltdown, the Scarecrow reveling in his ignorant bliss, the Cowardly Lion acting like a paranoid sociopath, and the Tin Man embracing his emotional numbness, Beth wonders what role she plays in this classic story gone awry. A hilarious and heart-wrenching exploration of grief and perseverance on the road to acceptance.
Where the Sky Meets the Sea by Mandy Conner
Five Greek children find themselves abandoned on an island until an oracle sends then on a mystical quest to seek their release—at the cost of a sacrifice.
Dark Road by Laura Lundgren Smith
When Greta, a young girl in Nazi Germany, learns that a nearby women’s concentration camp is hiring guards, she sees it as a chance to find her place in the world and provide for her sister Lise. But as she confronts the reality of her duties, she learns to justify her crimes, descending further into the darkness of the Third Reich. Kind-hearted Lise is horrified by what her sister becomes, and though they drift apart, their fates remain dangerously intertwined. A powerful drama about the choices that make evil ordinary.
Antigone Now by Melissa Cooper
In the midst of a bombed-out city still feeling the aftershocks of war, the rebellious and intense Antigone defies her uncle to bury her disgraced brother. This contemporary response to the myth of Antigone brings powerful, modern prose to an ancient and universal story.
Lockdown by Douglas Craven
In a dark classroom, eight students sit in an “official lockdown,” not knowing if it’s just a drill or an actual emergency. When a hysterical younger girl bolts from the room and the teacher follows, the remaining students are left alone to decide if it’s safer to stay or run.
Forthcoming by Alan Haehnel – NEW!
Five teenagers are visiting their favorite theme park, Forever Fun Amusement World, and are lucky enough to win lifetime passes in a raffle that only occurs every thirty years. When they gather in a strange building next to the Haunted Castle to collect their prize, it becomes clear that the passes come with life-changing consequences.
Frankenstein (One-Act) adapted by Jon Jory, Michael Bigelow Dixon – NEW!
It’s 1818, and Victor Frankenstein is a medical student at Ingolstadt University on the verge of a scientific breakthrough: His goal is to reverse death. Ignoring warnings from those around him, Frankenstein puts together a human body with parts from different corpses and brings it to life. But rather than celebrate his success, Frankenstein abhors the “Monster” he created and curses its existence. When the Monster pleads for compassion, Frankenstein rejects him, and the Monster seeks revenge through a series of murders. This succinct one-act retelling of Mary Shelley’s masterpiece calls into question the lines between hero and villain and asks: What are the costs of science without responsibility or empathy?
Shattered by Molly Horan – NEW!
Janie is a high school student who knows the lay of the land; she is intelligent, quick-witted, cultured, and it seems like Adam, her classmate who she has had a crush on for forever, might actually be interested in her. But after a freak accident at school, Janie is left to reckon with her mom, her friends, how the world sees her now, and if Adam really wants to be a part of her future.
The Identity Project by Brent Holland – NEW!
Dr. Egan is using seven people as test subjects for his research on identity. Is our sense of self taught, or is it part of who we are? Are abilities tied to our sense of self? And how much of ourselves and our sense of shared humanity are we willing to give up in order to survive?
