Bøker utgitt av Baker's Plays

Drama / 18+ m, 9+ f, ensemble (some gender flexibility and doubling possible) A woman as Chief Executive? The 2008 presidential campaign proved it possible, yet it just might have happened more than half a century earlier. Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady from 1933 to 1945, might have run for president after the death of her husband, Franklin. Many thought about it, some talked about it, a few actually suggested it. That Eleanor Roosevelt did not seek public office was of her own choosing, and chiefly her own priorities as well as a sense that the time was not yet right. Act I of Eleanor for President briefly scans her career to a point where she might have run. Act II fictionalizes the fork in the road not takes. The net result is a unique, sometimes witty, and always insightful look at Eleanor Roosevelt and the political process.

ComedyCharacters: 4-16 male, 4-16 femaleBare stageNewly revised edition!What would happen if there were an instruction manual for freshmen? Things would certainly be a lot different come graduation, that's for sure. If a bully jams you in a locker, turn to Chapter 3. If you forget your homework, there's an excuse on Page 46. If the cafeteria serves mush, check the footnotes for some recipes. With the influx of how-to books for dummies, dealing with

All groups / Areas / Drama / 8m, 5f / Running time: 2 hours His first new play in 400 years! This tale of forbidden love and political intrigue fuses the texts of Shakespeare's two well-known tragedies into a new classic with unexpected plot twists. A young boy falls in love with the Roman Emperor, and all hell breaks loose. Controversy reigns in ancient Rome when a popular openly-gay politician takes as his lover the son of a homophobic arch-rival. Hate begets hate as a very public bashing/assassination leads to civil war and murder-suicide. Romeo and Julius Caesar intertwines two of Shakespeare's best known plays in an original work, which casts new perspective on the original texts, and a new light on our own modern problems. The first play offered in a new series of collaborations between Jeff Goode and Shakespeare.

MusicalCharacters: 2 males, 3 femalesMultiple settingsIn this twist on the classic fairy tale, Rapunzel is snatched from her parents on the night of her birth by the evil witch who lives next door and is raised in a tower for sixteen years. The beautiful young woman finds her prince, but he turns out to be quite different than she expected; he is her twin brother! Together, they defeat the witch and are reunited with their true parents. "In addition to the comedy, children will e

An enormously useful book hailed by teachers and students alike. Contains ten sections covering every phase of dramatics: entrances and exits, grouping, crosses and turns, transitions, motivation, stage business, miscellaneous business, speaking conversationally, tempo and climax, and radio broadcasting. There are also thirty-seven carefully selected scenes from contemporary and standard authors, each one clearly illustrating the text.

Libretto for the musical version of the traditional tale, set in Appalachia.

Comedy Characters: 7 males, 5 females, plus 4-6 others (m/f) Set Requirements: Multiple settingsMarjorie returns to Darkwood Hall after receiving a cryptic letter from her adoptive aunt Desdemona Bane, who has an aversion to garlic and direct sunlight. The other members of the Bane family are equally peculiar. Cousin Heathcliff digs in the villagers' flowerbeds whenever there's a full moon. Uncle Lester performs unusual experiments in his laboratory, Cousin Boris raises people-eating plants, Cousin Fenwick thinks he's Adolf Hitler, and Cousin Sylvia hasn't spoken a word since the day of the terrible accident which claimed Margorie's real parents. Todd Warrick, a struggling actor and Margorie's fiancé, follows her to Darkwood Hall, intending to rob her wealthy family - with the help of henchmen Fitzie and Higgins. Will Marjorie find out the terrible secret her foster parents have been keeping from her? Will she uncover Todd's true intentions before it's too late? Will she finally acknowledge her true feelings for Heathcliff, her childhood playmate? Actors and audiences will have a howling good time with this parody of the horror genre.

Short Play / Dramatic Comedy Characters: 7 males, 8 females with doubling possible Simple SetHorseman is a versed and rather broad and comic adaptation of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Irving's delightful characters find themselves facing questions of young romance, social status, and the supernatural. The narrative body, the old and wise women of Tarrytown, lead us through the tale of Ichabod Crane and his quest for love and security. Steeped in the tone of the original short story, this one act blends the energy of light character ensemble performance with the power of poetry, closing in a purely theatrical crescendo of sight and sound.

Comedy / 5m, 6f, plus extras / Multiple Settings This year, in a stroke of good will, Mr. Masterson invites bus kid Davey Bryant over for Thanksgiving dinner. The Masterson kids are appalled; Davey, the biggest bully the kids at Faith Baptist Church have ever seen, is coming to eat at their house! Together, the four Masterson kids (and guests) hatch an anti-Davey campaign to get rid of the pest for good. To add to the mayhem, Mrs. Masterson has been doing a little inviting-and matchmaking-of

High School/Community TheaterWinners of the Baker's Plays High School Playwriting CompetitionBaker's Plays has been an advocate for theater in schools for over one hundred years. In the spirit of that commitment, we offer this playwriting competition for High School students. Plays may be about any subject and of any length. It is our hope that this competition will encourage aspiring high school authors to explore the creative possibilities of writing for the stage.This collection incl

Childrens' Theatre, TYA / 7m, 7f, plus extras / Simple SetStanley, a young dragon, has run away from home. He feels that he is a failure. As dragons go, he probably is. He's kind, soft spoken, and a good friend. But he can't, for the life of him, breathe FIRE! A lady bug named Persnickety is Stanley's best friend and side kick. Emma is an earthling girl who lives on a farm and plays in the nearby forest with her magical friends. The loveable villain is a raven named City Slick, the Third. Thom

Dramatic Comedy3m, 5f / Interior Set in Southern West Virginia in the 1990's when the last coal mines were closing, Business as Usual is a hilarious slice of human comedy based on economic hardship. Tom Woolwine, who entered the coal mining business at 16, is out of work after the closing of his mine in rural Gary, West Virginia. Despite facing poverty and an uncertain future, Tom does not want a severance check, nor welfare, nor a handout; he wants a job. He and his son Joey have tried e

Comedy / 2m, 3f Ghosts are haunting the woods of Ontario and Alice Wimbley - avid ghost hunter and disgruntled Tim Hortons employee - is going to prove it! Armed with her recorders and a crew consisting of her skeptical friend, her sardonic sister and her paranormally-inclined cousin, Alice boldly treks into the deep forest determined to get the spirits on tape. She's finally found the perfect place to investigate when suddenly a terrified deer hunter bursts on the scene. There's definitely something strange and scary in these woods, but Alice and her friends are about to find more than they bargained for. This adventure turns up few ghosts but lots of laughs. A sharp and spirited new comedy, suitable for a general audience.

TYA, Children's Theatre / Characters: 4m, 9f / Simple Set Pre-teen Harriet always gets stuck with her little brother Walt tagging along everywhere she goes. The last thing she wants is an accident prone little brother interferingrnwith her and her friends' preparations for the Winter Carnival. When Walt almost gets hurt, Harriet realizes how much he means to her and stands up to her friend George, who criticized her kid brother. Based on the classic childrens' book by Nancy Carlson, Harriet and Walt, this story teaches an important lesson about sibling rivalry.

Tomorrow We Go to Bethlehem -- A Christmas Play, by Patricia Wells (5m, 4f). Through the wonder of time-warp, a group of 21st century tourists arrives in Bethlehem just as Mary and Joseph come along looking for a place to stay. A Word with You -- A Christmas Play, by Marney Heatley and Brian Martin (3m, 4f, 1 infant, real or imaginary). Simon, a shepherd, misses work one night when his wife gives birth. The same evening Jesus is born and Simon witnesses strange events leading to adventure and discovery. The Third Wish -- A Play for Christmas, by James Taylor (6m, 2f, 1 young girl or, alternatively: 3m, 5 f., 1 young girl). Three Wise Ones, called Islam, Buddhist and Hindu, remind us of the religiously pluralistic context in which the Christmas message is set. The Mouse's Discovery, by Marion McTavish (12 children or more, m or f, except for the boys playing Joseph and Herod, and the girl playing Mary). A Christmas pageant for children of all ages featuring some very human looking mice who happen to be on the spot one night as shepherds gather, a king plots, and a special child is born. The Good Samaritan, by Richard Coleman (1m or 1f). A pantomime based on the famous parable with people in the audience providing an echo. The Face of Jesus, by Patricia Wells (2m). Two modern day prisoners meet on death row reminding us of Jesus and Barabbas.

Comedy, TYA6-17 performersSimple SetEveryone's favorite gumshoe is back with another thrilling adventure! Old Granny Possum is entertaining us with her slightly irregular version of "Snow White and Just the Two Very Tall Dwarves" when she's kidnapped by Bluebeard and his band of scurvy pirates! Thank goodness Nick Tickle has been hired to get her back. Can he outwit the kidnappers and save her or is she gone for good? He'll need any help he can get with this tough case - fortunately, Pu

Flexible cast of 15, plus extras if desired"If you see any birthday parties today, let me know. It might be mine," moans the despondent piggy Oinkie to her friends, two hens and a rooster. It's her sixth birthday, but everyone ¿ including her mother, father, and brother and sister, Pigtail and Pigsty ¿ seems to have forgotten. It's no wonder that she cries, "Wee, wee, wee" all the way home. And what about the "little piggy that went to the market," the one who "stayed home," and the ones w

An an orientation camp for new teenage clones, teens are sent to ¿Camp I.M.U.¿ fresh from the lab to make a transition into the world of the ¿Originals¿ who have ordered them made. The newest ¿Copy¿ (a word they prefer to ¿clone¿) to arrive is a very bright and positive teenager named Michael who soon realizes what the other copies in his cottage have known for awhile ¿ that their stay at the camp is much longer than they had thought. Michael befriends a rebellious Copy named Melissa, who does not get along with her Original and refuses to change her attitude in order to please her. She informs Michael, and the other Copies, that she is going to escape from the camp and fight for what she calls ¿copy rights¿. This is a story right out of tomorrow¿s headlines. Not good at math? Have a clone of yourself made from your own DNA, but gifted in math to do your problems for you. Need a spare part for the future? Your clone is a walking talking parts store. Copies explores the heart and soul of clones, bred specifically to do all those things you don¿t want to do.

Dramatic Comedy / 1m, 5f Three sisters, Rose, Brenda and Harriet Cooley, have been separated since childhood. Now forty-years later one of the sisters, Rose, decides to find her lost siblings and reunite the 'girls'. All of them have secrets to hide, but it is curiosity that finally brings them together for their unexpected reunion. Only when Harriet is forced to admit her most damning secret does this hard bitten and at times humorous play resolves once and for all the bond each shares with the other. Perfect for community stages.

Comedy / Jr. High / High School / 8m, 9f, Flexible Casting / "Car" and Unit Sets A romantic comedy (with a touch of fantasy and myth) about the hopes, struggles, and adventures of Corky, Tad, and Jinx, on a day-an-a-half trip from San Francisco to San Diego. Tad, a serious, practical "desert rat," anxiously eager to get to his sister's wedding on time, is traveling with his cousin and friend, Corky Saylors, a mischievous, slightly zany "beach bum" and talented photographer. The trip is complicated when they encounter Jinx, a charmingly flirtatious young woman, who is eagerly seeking her father, a rodeo man, to write his story for a movie. She convinces them to visit Carnival people, Jinx's relatives at the Swan Café who give her a Treasure Box - not to be opened - and her mother, an actress, where she hears her father is in the California desert. Squabbles over more side trips to the journey, fears from a hitchhiker, a rescue from an old Prospector, who was the friend of her father's, temptations over opening a Treasure Box given to Jinx, and romance between Jinx and the two young men cause delays, adventures...and fun.

Verse with lyrics / 4m, 4f. Plus Ensemble. Newly Revised! Based on the Dumas(pere) version used by Tchaikovsky in his ballet The Nutcracker. The well-loved story of a young girl from childhood to emotional maturity condensed into a single evenings' series of dreams brought forth by a fever. She learns some valuable lessons from the beautiful to the frightening apparitions she encounters until she is saved by a Nutcracker/Prince.

Poetic drama5m, 3f. Some doubling, 1 Klezmer musician.Dreams are sometimes considered metaphors that help us understand the events in our lives. In this dramatic adaptation of Kafka's novella, Gregor Samsa awakens into a dream in which he finds himself transformed into a cockroach. The Stage Manager "summons" the dream-play while a mime and a musician communicate his thoughts and emotions, invoking a nightmarish atmosphere. Set in early 20th century Prague and written in verse, Thomalen capt

Flexible cast of 16 m and 21 f, or 8 m and 12 f with doublingComedy, Jr. High/High School / Simple setIn a spooky graveyard, the darkly lovely Claudia, a Guardian of Dark Tales, retells famous horror stories much to the delight of her lumpy husband, Igor. As she tells classics such as "Dracula", "Frankenstein", "The Three Werewolves", "Jekyll and Hyde", "The Tragic Tale of the Mummy", and "The Three Witches", the characters come to life. However, the stories are all a bit different than we ex

Comedy/Drama/FantasyFour heart warming Christmas plays, just in time for the holiday!:THE OFFICE PARTY (2m, 1f) - Bill and Joyce meet at a holiday office party, rekindling a love affair that leads to Joyce's living room and the possible early arrival of Richard, the third side of an unresolved triangle.SANTA'S CLARA (2m, 1f) - In the shadows of a Hell's Kitchen bottle redemption center, a fired department store Santa meets a teenage runaway toting a shopping cart of empties and a cynical h

6m, 6f / Drama, High School/Community Theatre / Simple set Shakespeare's bloodiest romance. King Lear of Navarre splits up his kingdom, and swears off women, in hopes of spending more time with his books. But the unexpected arrival of the Princess of France, and the presence of Lear's three beauteous daughters at court, threaten romantic and political chaos int he land. From the authors of Romeo & Juliet [Caesar] and Ham/thello: the Moor of Denmark, award-winning playwright Jeff Goode intertwines two of Shakespeare's best-known plays in an original work of classic theatre. The third in a new series of collaborations between Goode and Shakespeare: the Bard's first new plays in 400 years.

Drama / 4m, 6f / Interior Ever look at a family portrait and wonder what those people, posed and smiling, are really like? This family portrait shows you the inner workings of the Rogers family - how they deal with everyday things, how they deal with both happy and sad events which effect each and every one of them. These funny, poignant and all-too-human characters go through life the best way they know how. Austin does his best to keep the house running smoothly, unless he has to take Pawpaw's trunk out of the basement. Mary Jo is outwardly pleased when son Mitchell gets engaged to Tish but explains "They're too young!" Her sister, Brenda, helps out by saying "Not any younger than you were when you got married." Brenda's husband, Dale, has his own advice for young Mitchell - "Marriage consists in large part of just giving up!" And Pawpaw keeps hearing voices and seeing people who aren't there. The very fabric of the family unit meets it's ultimate challenge when Brenda and Dale have to move in with them. Daughter Jan has to put up with a whiney dog, Mitchell and Tish can't seem to find time to talk about their upcoming marriage and everyone is bunking up with everyone else, leaving the men to sleep on the couch - any of this sound familiar? Brought to you by the same author of Good Help is So Hard to Murder.

Flexible Cast, 15m, 13f / Comedy / Jr. High/High School / Simple setSwashbuckling pirates, sea battles, buried treasure and a pygmy or two make up the high seas adventure of The Pirate Show! ARG! Set in late 19th century London, Nigel and Virginia Huddersfield, orphaned brother and sister, are living under the cruel Miss Persimmon Crudmudgeon. Fed up with their life, the brother and sister flee. Pursued by Crudmudgeon and her Constable boyfriend, Nigel and Virginia hide in pier side barrels, b

Drama / 9m, 8f + 4 flexible / Single setA ghost! Slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad! A kooky psychic! A haunted house! Dangerous bounty hunters! A dead, poisoned dog in the oven? Just what kind of play is this exactly?The Williams family has not even finished unpacking when they discover that their new house is haunted! Who is the ghost and what does it want? As the family tries everything from Ouiji boards to psychics for help, we learn of the house's original owners - the Jameson f

ComedyCharacters: flexible cast of 12-28 males & Females (doubling possible)This extremely adaptable comedy shows the other side of several familiar fairy tales when two of their biggest villains, the Big Bad Wolf and the Wicked Witch, are brought to trial. Both the Wolf and the Witch have been frolicking from fairy tale to fairy tale wreaking havoc as they try to prevent the general public from living happily ever after. Hear the personal accounts of what happened, told in testimonies and

Comedy / Casting: 3m, 6f / Scenery: exterior Somewhere in the middle of nowhere in the south, there's a place where the bee-hive hairdo is still the rage and Saturday nights are reserved for the tractor pull in nearby Pickler. A colorful collection of good ol' country folk gather 'round for this year's county fair, and there's stiff competition in the arts and crafts category. Faith County enjoyed a thirty-five week run on WLYX and was featured on the television special, "Dateline." "Faith