{"id":1326,"date":"2021-07-31T14:35:04","date_gmt":"2021-07-31T19:35:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hardcovertheater.org\/wordpress\/?page_id=1326"},"modified":"2025-03-11T16:52:14","modified_gmt":"2025-03-11T21:52:14","slug":"one-acts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.hardcovertheater.org\/wordpress\/?page_id=1326","title":{"rendered":"one-act horror plays"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

written & directed by Steve Schroer except as stipulated<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1<\/sup> = mostly funny, maybe a little scary\/creepy
2<\/sup> = scary\/creepy, not funny
3<\/sup> = somewhere in between<\/p>\n\n\n\n

———————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

produced in 2010 at the Bryant-Lake Bowl
cast: 5M, 1F<\/p>\n\n\n\n

preview<\/a> in Southwest Journal
“An all-ages warm-up for the holiday, promising chills without gore and some dark laughs.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Beast with Five Fingers\u201d 3<\/sup>
<\/strong>one-act based on the 1919 story* by W.F. Harvey
A man is haunted by a severed human hand.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


\u201cThe Dunwich Horror\u201d 2<\/sup>
<\/strong><\/strong>one-act based on the 1928 story* by H.P. Lovecraft
Something unspeakable is trying to enter our universe.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n


\u201cLukundoo\u201d\u2020 2<\/sup>
<\/strong><\/strong>one-act based on the 1907 story* by Edward Lucas White
An African witch doctor casts a gruesome spell on an American explorer.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

———————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

produced in 2002 & 2003 at the Playwrights’ Center
cast: 4M, 2F

\u201cThe Broken-Hearted Ghost\u201d 1<\/sup><\/strong>
<\/strong>one-act suggested by a brief episode* in the 1891 collection\u00a0Told After Supper<\/em>\u00a0by Jerome K. Jerome
This ghost doesn’t go “Boo,” it goes “Boo-hoo.”<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n


\u201cThe Curse of the Red Chamber\u201d 1<\/sup><\/strong>
<\/strong>one-act based on the 1882 story* \u201cThe Curse of the Catafalques\u201d by F. Anstey
A fortune hunter gets more than he bargained for when he marries a rich heiress.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


\u201cThe Hauntings at Grantley Grange\u201d 1<\/sup><\/strong>
<\/strong>one-act based on the 1878 story* \u201cThe Ghosts at Grantley\u201d by Leonard Kip
A romantic comedy with ghosts. Witty, charming.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


\u201cThe Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall\u201d 1<\/sup><\/strong>
<\/strong>one-act based on the 1894 story* by John Kendrick Bangs
With each manifestation, she brings a flood of freezing seawater.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

———————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

produced in 2012 & 2013 at the Bryant-Lake Bowl
cast: 4M, 1F

\u201cThe Black Poodle\u201d 1<\/sup><\/strong>
<\/strong>one-act based on the 1884 story* by F. Anstey
Can a dog come back from the grave?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


\u201cThe Inexperienced Ghost\u201d 1<\/sup><\/strong>
<\/strong>one-act based on the 1902 story* by H.G. Wells
Scaring people takes practice.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


\u201cMr Tilly\u2019s S\u00e9ance\u201d 1<\/sup><\/strong>
<\/strong>one-act based on the 1922 story* by E.F. Benson
An English gentleman does not allow sudden death to alter his plans.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


\u201cTeig O\u2019Kane and the Corpse\u201d 1<\/sup><\/strong>
<\/strong>one-act based on the Irish folktale*
A wild young fellow finds it difficult to bury a talkative body.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

———————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

produced in 2005, 2006, & 2007 at the Bryant-Lake Bowl
cast: 3M, 2F<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAuthentic Narrative of the Ghost of a Hand\u201d 2<\/sup>
<\/strong><\/strong>one-act (enhanced readers theater) based on the 1863 story* by J.S. LeFanu
Like “The Beast with Five Fingers” but played straight. Chilling.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Bagman\u2019s Uncle\u201d 1<\/sup><\/strong>
<\/strong>one-act (enhanced readers theater) based on the 1836 story* included in The Pickwick Papers<\/em> by Charles Dickens
One of CD\u2019s many Christmas ghost stories. Swashbuckling action.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Cold Embrace\u201d 2<\/sup><\/strong>
<\/strong>one-act (enhanced readers theater) based on the 1860 story* by Mary E. Braddon
Even suicide could not extinguish her love.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Dead Girl\u201d 2<\/sup>
<\/strong>one-act (enhanced readers theater) based on the 1889 story* by Guy de Maupassant”
The dead have risen, and God help us, they’re telling the truth.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow Fear Departed from the Long Gallery\u201d 3<\/sup><\/strong>
<\/strong>one-act (enhanced readers theater) based on the 1911 story* by E.F. Benson
EFB\u2019s favorite story of his own work. Also Steve Schroer\u2019s favorite ghost story, period.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThurnley Abbey\u201d 2<\/sup><\/strong>
<\/strong>one-act (enhanced readers theater) based on the 1908 story* by Perceval Landon
Who says violence never solved anything?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Upper Berth\u201d<\/strong> 2<\/strong><\/sup><\/strong>
one-act (enhanced readers theater) based on the 1886 story* by F. Marion Crawford
His room-mate on the ship was not exactly alive.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

———————————————————————————————–<\/p>\n\n\n\n

see also:
\u201cThe Canterville Ghost\u201d<\/a><\/strong> 1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

* never before, to the best of our knowledge, adapted for the stage
\u2020 written but not directed by Steve Schroer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

written & directed by Steve Schroer except as stipulated 1 = mostly funny, maybe a little scary\/creepy2 = scary\/creepy, not funny3 = somewhere in between ———————————————————————————————– produced in 2010 at the Bryant-Lake Bowlcast: 5M, 1F preview in Southwest Journal“An all-ages … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":20,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hardcovertheater.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1326"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hardcovertheater.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hardcovertheater.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hardcovertheater.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hardcovertheater.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1326"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"http:\/\/www.hardcovertheater.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1648,"href":"http:\/\/www.hardcovertheater.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1326\/revisions\/1648"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.hardcovertheater.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.hardcovertheater.org\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}