Need a funny one-act play to perform at family gathering

May 30, 2007 4:58 AM

One-act play: I'm looking for a funny, perhaps topical, and maybe edgy one-act play for my family members to read as part of a family gathering.

My wife and I host our annual family gathering, a weekend-long event that is structured around games of all kinds. We always have a 'major' event on the last day, a surprise activity of sorts. This year I want to find a one-act play with multiple characters - the more the better - for family members to read/perform as a group. The play must be funny; topical/controversial is good too, and edgy is fine up to a point. Length should be under an hour.

I have only just begun to search for the right play, and I thought the ever resourceful hive-mind might help. Can anyone point me to a specific play? Or resources for finding one? Time is of the essence - I want to take the time to do this right. Thanks!

posted by charris5005 to media & arts (8 comments total)

My mind is a blank on this right now, but you might also consider looking into "ten-minute plays". You could do a handful of those, they're all short (by definition), and if one doesn't seem to be working, your audience can just wait a few minutes for the next one. It's like getting a new surprise every few minutes.
posted by amtho at 5:34 AM on May 30, 2007

Check out David Ives. His comedies are fast-paced and hilarious -- I've staged several with good result. In particular, All In the Timing is made up of fourteen very funny one-act plays (wikipedia descriptions of each play). I can personally vouch for "The Philadelphia," "Speed-The-Play," and "Sure Thing."
posted by ourobouros at 6:44 AM on May 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

All In The Timing

I'm a fan of this David Ives collection. The plays vary in length from 10 minutes to, say, half an hour. Many fun scenarios, as you can see, from two chimps writing Hamlet to a couple on a first date that keeps changing every few moments with the ring of a bell.

Your family sounds cool, btw.
posted by TryTheTilapia at 6:49 AM on May 30, 2007

Or, you know, what ourobouros said.
posted by TryTheTilapia at 6:50 AM on May 30, 2007

You might find some good suggestions in this previous AskMe.
posted by Otis at 7:24 AM on May 30, 2007

You know what might be fun? Taking a television script from a show you all know and performing it. There seem to be lots of these around the web, but this site is a good starting point.

In my family, I think it would be hilarious to have everyone act out a Seinfeld episode.
posted by redarmycomrade at 9:53 AM on May 30, 2007

I was going to suggest All in the Timing as well.
posted by oaf at 10:21 AM on May 30, 2007

david ives is great.

or grab daniel macivor's dark and funny here lies henry, and switch up readers every paragraph.

christopher durang may have something too- although i'm not familiar with tons of his stuff, they're pretty funny.

as for TV shows, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT has good dialogue and lots of characters- maybe assign two people to alternate stage directions every other scene to add more voices into the mix.

if you're up for shakespeare, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM is a comedy with 3 storylines, each peopled by 3-6 lead characters, and lots of funny parts for both genders. if you're not familiar with it, take a peek at a student resource site online to help you cast it well.

you could also go hokey classic if you can dig up a TV script from something like SAVED BY THE BELL, the COSBY SHOW, GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, some melodramatic soap your aunt loved, or BEVERLY HILLS 90210.
posted by twistofrhyme at 3:06 PM on May 30, 2007