5 Tips For Picking a GREAT One Act Play

5 Tips for Choosing a Great One-Act Play:come and see it, you have to deliver on that
1. Is it a complete story?promise. Give them something that they believe will
A good one-act play has a clear beginning, middle andbe worth paying for.
end, and emotionally engages the audience with yourNow the reason why someone might enjoy a play
main characters. This can be extremely challenging forcan vary – it can be topical, funny, moving,
a writer to achieve in a short space of time. Manythrilling, thought-provoking or something that just
writers will start off with a good beginning idea, or amakes someone feel good – that part is up to
good character, but are not able to make a completeyou. Always remember though: it is not a privilege for
or satisfying story out of it. The ending in particularsomeone to see your play; it is a privilege that
has to have some kind of believable or satisfyingsomeone would pay to see it.
pay-off for the audience.5. Will it complement the other play?
2. Simplicity of locationOne of the difficulties with a one-act play season is
Look for plays that don’t require too manythat more than one play is making up the evening's
different set locations and props. In a short playentertainment, so you have to consider the multiple
where you don't have a lot of time to communicateplays as a "whole performance".
new information to the audience, the simpler ideasConsider selecting plays therefore with similar themes
tend to work better. So steer clear of short playsor intensity, or which complement each other in
with multiple locations, unless you feel the play really"some way".
works well.It is reasonably difficult to move from one emotional
In addition, set changes in a middle of a play canenvironment into another. Audiences would not find it
cause the play to lag, and ruin the reality of theeasy, for example, to move from a "light comedy" to
performance for the audience, so opt for plays thata "dark tragedy".  It's a little bit like playing someone
occur across 1 or 2 locations, and require no seta pop song, and then switching to a Russian
change during performance.symphony. While we might like both, it takes a while
3. Simplicity of set structureto “adjust”, and in a one-act play you
One-act plays tend to be performed in groups of 2don’t have a lot of time for that adjustment.
or more on same night, so avoid plays that requireThis doesn't mean you can't run different genres -
highly complex set pieces. You need to haveyou just gotta consider the style and themes of the
something which can be put up and taken downplay, and think about what kind of emotional shift
again very quickly.you're expecting from the audience, and whether
The set must also be able to be stored in the wingsthat is reasonable.
of whatever facility you are performing in – doesTo help, include the genre of each play in your
your theatre have the capacity to house each set,program. This will prepare the audience for how they
while the other play is in production?are allowed to react.
Talk with your set builder or art director - this isIn addition, identify a common “theme”
really their realm, and they will be able to give you anrunning through both your plays that audiences can
idea of feasibility.latch on to - for example, love, family, comedy,
4. Will the audience enjoy it?theft, betrayal, etc.
We are often drawn to plays for personal reasons -Final tip: if you do want to run a tragedy and a
the story resonates with us, or the play presentscomedy together, run the tragedy first.
certain challenges we’d like to explore. However,To find good one-act plays, visit
putting on a play should be about one thing only: theGood luck!
audience. If you expect someone to pay you to