Seniors Still Acting Up: Short Comedies

The Young at Heartland playwrights, an outreach program of the Heartland Theatre, wrote this vibrant collection of 16 short plays and monologues. You’ll find comedies, usually 4-6 minutes long with 1-3 actors. Use the pieces as readings, memorized shows, or in class. The collection is one that you’ll turn to often for fun and useful scripts.

The book includes:

• A Promise Kept
  3 women
  A trip to Niagara Falls could be just the start.
• Afternoon Antiquing
  2 women
  A cranky sales clerk deals with a finicky shopper.
• The Car and the Garage Door
  1 man, 1 woman
  He just wants to read his morning paper. She has to give him bad news.
• What Emergency?
  1 man, 1 woman
  A husband’s birthday cake leads to much more than a woman bargained for.
• Two of a Kind
  1 man, 1 woman
  Twin sisters and a long delayed confession.
• Lend Me Your Ear–Puhleese
  2 women
  Can anyone hear me?
• Gadgetry
  1 woman
  The do-dads of our modern world can get a woman down.
• First Time
  2 women
  Mismatched strangers meet on a plane.
• Lemme See
  1 man, 2 women
  In a restaurant, be careful what you order. Your server may have to ask about it.
• For Better or Worse–But Not for Lunch
  1 man, 1 woman
  He thinks retirement is time to relax. She thinks it’s time for fun.
• Doctor’s Office
  2 women
  Right idea, wrong doctor, oddball discussion.
• Fire
  Coping with a smoke-filled house in a small town.
  1 woman
• Ladies Who Lunch
  Sustaining life isn’t always delicious.
  3 women
• Pink
  1 man, 1 woman
  Things are changing at home, beginning with a pink shirt.
• Good Grief 
  3 women
  Commiseration leads to finding new hope and a new café.
  3 women
• Storm
  1 man, 1 woman
  Sometimes leaving the past behind is easier said than done.

The Young at Heartland Playwrights began crafting plays for their many senior audiences then taking the shows on the road wherever seniors gather in the community. Now, several years later, the company has grown to 30 members. Their performances are so popular that they are often scheduled a year in advance!