Ten Minute Plays With Two Characters for Youth and High School Groups

Greetings everyone, and welcome to Theater is a Sport.  My name is Bobby Keniston, and this is my blog where I talk about all things having to do with theater.

Today, since it's Friday, and I have nothing better to do, I thought I would indulge in a little self-promotion.  When I first started getting my plays published in 2010, a whole new world was opened up to me by my editor at Brooklyn Publishers.  He encouraged me to write ten minute plays, duets for two characters, monologues for a single actor or actress, and skits involving 3 or more performers.  I had never focused on writing ten minute plays before, but there is a definite market for them.  It's relatively easy and cheap to produce an evening of ten minute plays and offer a great deal of variety for the audience.  And, of course, there are speech and forensic teams at high schools all across the country that are looking for ten minute monologues and duets.

So I began to write some ten minute plays.  At first, it was quite a challenge, as my mind seems to always stretch to half hour one acts or full-length stories, but, once I started getting the hang of it, I really began to enjoy writing these short, self-contained plays, and consider many of them to contain some of my best writing.

Below are a list of some of my ten minute works, followed by a little description.  I have decided to share only the duets today, as they tend to be my most popular ten minute works, and are all suitable for either productions or forensic competitions.  Please click on the title to learn more about each play, or to even order it if you're of the mind.

BIG BAD WOLF GETS BUSTED!
When the Big Bad Wolf meets Little Red Riding Hood on the way to her grandmother's house, he gets a whole lot more than he bargained for!  This ten minute duet is a twisted take on a classic story, perfect for middle schools and high schools.

COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT
Jeffrey Butter just wants to return his cell phone.  Unfortunately, the Returns Department is run by a very bizarre young woman named Helen, who insists on calling in the "Complaint Department".  But, hey, complaining is good for the soul, right?  Another duet.

CONFESSIONS OF THE EIGHTH DWARF:  A BEHIND THE FAIRY TALE EXCLUSIVE!
In this ten minute play, the eighth dwarf, known as Conspiracy Dwarf, is on the popular talk show, Behind the Fairy Tale.  He plans to tell the TRUE story of Snow White!

DEATH AND PEZ
This is one of my most popular ten minute duets.  Reggie is a hard-working high school student, and is busy studying when Death knocks on his door.  The Grim Reaper (or "Necessary Reaper" as he likes to be called), teaches Reggie a little lesson about living life to the fullest, while Reggie tries to bargain for his life with his Pez collection.

END OF THE MOVIE
At 17, Derek has had enough.  He plans to leap off the railroad trestle in his hometown.  That's when he meets Kelly, an unorthodox Angel-in-Training.  Here's a testimonial from Gail Wagner, who directed the play for the Reedy Point Players:  "Another winner from Bobby Keniston!  This play won our theatre One Act Festival and was awarded an Ensemble award at the state level"  By the way, this is my most widely produced ten minute duet.

A FORGETFUL REMEMBRANCE
Colin and Mya, an elderly couple, sit on a park bench, reminiscing about their married life together. While Colin is forgetful about many things, there is no doubt about the love he has for his wife.  This is another popular ten minute duet of mine.  Here's a testimonial from Laura L. Abuhl, director for Trinity Christian School:  "This piece is touching, emotion, and yet full of hope.  Thank you, Bobby, for writing it."

Well, that's all for today.  Some time I'll do another blog post about my ten minute monologues and my ten minute pieces with three or more characters.  Feels right to focus just on the duets today.

Thank you for reading and considering my work.  I hope you have a great weekend!

As always, please feel free to comment below...

NOW AVAILABLE: A Salutatorian's Gratitude (how and why I wrote it)

Hello everyone, and welcome to Theater is a Sport.  My name is Bobby Keniston, and I like to talk about all things theater.  Why?  Because I love it oh-so-much.

Today I'm going to introduce you to a new script of mine that is now available and give you a little insight into how and why I wrote it.  I have always found it interesting to read about the "behind-the-scenes" of different writers, so I thought I would share a little of that with you, in hopes that you find it entertaining or informative. 

The script is a 10-minute comedic monologue called A Salutatorian's Gratitude, and it is available from Brooklyn Publishers.  Here is the description of it that you will find on their website:

After four years of hard work, graduation is finally here, and James (or Jamie) is about to give a Salutatorian speech that no one will ever forget! After discussing the importance of gratitude to his fellow graduates, he quickly begins to10-min drop the facade and let his true feelings come out, including jabs at the Valedictorian (who happens to be the Headmaster's son), his own father (who would have bought him a car had he been number one in his class), and about the "dinosaur" teachers who he feels should have retired long ago. Shakespeare once wrote "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child." Well, James is going to show the world that a serpent's tooth ain't got nothin' on him!

So, first things first:  why bother write ten minute monologues anyway?  Obviously the royalties are much lower, so what's the point?

Good question!  Here's the answer: 
There is a pretty wide market out there for speech and forensics clubs, not to mention acting classes that may purchase monologues for in-class scene work.  Writing the monologues or 10-minute duets is not only a great deal of fun, in truth, they take less time to write, and can really help get your name as a writer out in different markets.  Heck, even in different countries.  I got an e-mail from a girl in Australia who was working on one of my monologues for her acting class.  Australia!  That's pretty cool, while I'm sitting here in Maine writing my plays.

From a financial standpoint, for those truly interested in the business-side of things, my 10-minute duets and monologues account for MORE THAN 20% of the royalties I have earned this year from Brooklyn.  That is more than my full-length plays account for. 

So yeah, they're fun to write, and they help earn money.

So, why A Salutatorian's Gratitude?  How did you get the idea for such a bitter graduate?

Okay, here's the truth.  I was Salutatorian of my graduating class.  And yes, being Salutatorian is a great honor that demonstrates a student's commitment to hard work and academic achievement.

But I was still number 2.

You see, I didn't have a whole lot to be competitive about when I was in high school, so academics were very important to me at the time.  And, I was only 1/100 of a grade point less than the Valedictorian of my class.  Such a small margin made it all the more difficult for me.

Of course, now, as a rational adult, I can see how things like class rank really have no bearing on a person's potential for success.  After all, I'm a bit of a struggling writer without much to call my own, while many people behind me in the class have far more real-world financial success. 

Also... as human beings, especially still as teenagers, do we really need to pay attention to a "ranking"?

On the other hand, I think competition can be could, and striving for success in academics is important, and, still in my heart of hearts, I wanted to be number 1 in my class and feel like I actually deserved it (All AP classes and such).  While this feeling exists, I do realize how silly and funny it is to have it. 

Hence, this monologue was born.

And I happen to think it is quite funny, and hope that people will agree.  I also happen to think it is a great piece for a forensics (speech) competition, or a night of monologues and scenes. 

Thanks to you all for reading this.  If you want to read a free sample of A Salutatorian's Gratitude, just click right here!

Until next time, please remember that theater is not only an art form, craft, and business--- it is also a sport.