Social Awareness Plays

Pioneer Drama Service offers thought provoking plays about social values, right and wrong life choices and their consequences.  You will find plays and musicals that give positive messages about ethics, remaining true to yourself, friendship, love and loss without being preachy or trite.  Plays have timely messages about how to cope with situations like bullying, gossip, stereotyping, illness and aging, relationships, teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, divorce, depression, suicide and more.

Pioneer Drama Service proudly carries 52 social awareness plays about a variety of social issues affecting teens and youths.
Admissions
Cast: 3F
Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 30 minutes
Eleanor must climb an emotional ladder in order to accept her fate.  The chance to relive one moment allows her to close the door on her own life and face, with serenity, whatever comes next.   More...

Bang!  Bang!  You’re Dead
or...  What I Learned From Watching Television
Cast: Flexible cast of 16 (any combination)
Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 25 minutes
On a bizarre TV game show, contestants get to view the tombstones and a coroner's pass on a teenage handgun victim.  The message that handguns can kill is dealt with in clever fashion.   More...
Big Boys Don’t Cry
Cast: Flexible cast of 17 (roughly 5M, 5F plus 7 who can be either), optional extras
Set/Time: Simple multiple interiors / About 90 minutes
This powerful, haunting drama portrays the devastation of child abuse and the often complex story behind it.   More...
The Boy With No Name
Cast: 2M, 4F
Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 90 minutes
In this gripping drama, a family struggles with the challenges of raising a disabled teenager.  This powerful play is simple to stage, and has outstanding acting opportunities for serious actors.   More...
But I’m Only Seventeen
Cast: Flexible cast of 5-25 (doubling possible)
Set/Time: Simple or no set / About 60 minutes
This socio-drama has a number of scenes dealing with current problems facing today's young people, such as sexually transmitted diseases, date rape, suicide and irresponsible driving.   More...
Choices
Cast: 7M, 6F, extras
Set/Time: Simple area staging / About 45 minutes
When a girl has a difficult time dealing with her parents' divorce, a boy offers solace through his alcohol and drugs.  This piece truly draws attention to the decisions facing teenagers today.   More...
The Cry of Crows
Cast: 3M, 4F
Set/Time: Bare stage, one chair, three spotlights / About 25 minutes
A lovely young girl in a small town is destroyed by vicious gossip which grows from a chance encounter with an old acquaintance who makes a “pass” at her in public.   More...
Cyber-mare
Cast: Flexible cast of 15-32 (Minimum 7M, 8F)
Set/Time: Multiple representational sets / About 50 minutes
Today’s kids wander a vast new frontier with much uncharted territory:  Cyberspace.  This social-awareness play explores various scenarios that can lead to trouble on the Internet.  More...
The Empty Chair
Cast: Flexible cast of 8 (any combination)
Set/Time: Simple area staging / About 30 minutes
The setting is a counseling center for teenagers recovering from substance abuse.  A student has just died.  Accident or suicide?  This work has an emotionally strong anti-drug message.   More...
The Fast Runner
Cast: 2M, 2F
Set/Time: Simple exterior set / About 20 minutes
This compelling morality play projects a strong message about life and death in a most unique way.   More...
Fighting For My Self
Cast: 8-30F, plus any number of male and/or female extras
Set/Time: One interior set / About 90 minutes
Here is a dramatic portrayal of teenage girls who struggle to win back their self-reliance and hold on to their identities in the face of peer pressure.   More...
HIV Positive
Cast: 4M, 5F plus 1 who can be either
Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 40 minutes
This one act play serves as an excellent vehicle to initiate discussion about AIDS and about living with the consequences of our actions.   More...
Ho, Ho, Tyranny
Cast: Flexible cast of 4M, 6F
Set/Time: Simple interior sets / About 30 minutes
This play is ideal for Senior Centers or for any group wanting a light-hearted look at the trials of aging.   More...
I Saw Your Picture in the Paper and I Had to Call
Cast: 2M, 1F
Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 40 minutes
Craig is successful in his career.  Art is depressed and cynical.  When a desperate young woman needs help, Craig's true character is revealed in a dramatic confrontation.   More...
If These Walls Could Talk
Cast: 6M, 15F, optional extras
Set/Time: Simple area set / About 75 minutes
This upbeat and positive play is a rich tapestry of lively monologues and poignant moments that deal with the strong issues of today's high school students.   More...
It Hardly Matters Now
Cast: 1M, 2F
Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 20 minutes
Years after two college chums make a pact that a coin flip would decide who would marry Herb, he finds out that the old story that was always joked about actually did take place.   More...
Jessica and Jolene
Cast: 3M, 7F
Set/Time: Simple area staging / About 30 minutes
In a last desperate and futile moment, two sisters try to save each other as they realize how tightly linked their destinies truly are.   More...
Just Like Us
Cast: Flexible cast of 16
Set/Time: No set requirements / About 30 minutes
This play teaches about prejudice.  On one side of a park live the Greens.  On the other side of the park the Blues reside.  Sadly, there is nothing but fear and hatred between the Greens and the Blues.   More...
Last Will and Testament
Cast: 1M, 1F
Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 20 minutes
Though unconventional, a grandfather chooses to communicate his never-spoken endearment to his only child through his last will and testament.   More...
It's a musical! A Little Bit of Magic
Cast: Flexible cast of 4 or more
Set/Time: Simple set / About 45 minutes
Do-Nothing Dale, a little picked-upon wizard, wants to know what her little bit of magic is.  On her journey to find out, she finds that she's just as special as everyone else in the world.   More...
Little Red and the Hoods
Cast: 1M, 4F
Set/Time: No set requirements / About 45 minutes
With plenty of participation, this show is both fun and educational.  It teaches about not judging people by their looks, how to protect themselves from strangers and the importance of reading.   More...
Lover’s Leap
Cast: 4M, 3F, offstage voices
Set/Time: Simple exterior set / About 45 minutes
Janet is at the top of Lovers' Leap contemplating jumping.  No one cares about her until a man arrives to show her that life can be beautiful if two “invisible” people will only notice each other.   More...
The Machine New title!
Cast: Flexible cast of 12 (2M, 3F, plus 7 roles that can be either), optional extras
Set/Time: Simple interior school sets / About 30 minutes
This humorous yet profound exploration of identity and individuality is ideal for contests and one act festivals.  More...
It's a musical! Magic in Me
Cast: Flexible cast of 22, optional chorus
Set/Time: Simple set / About 45 minutes
Do-Nothing Dale, a little picked-upon wizard, wants to know what her little bit of magic is.  On her journey to find out, she finds that she's just as special as everyone else in the world.   More...
May I Have Your Attention, Please? 
Cast: 4M, 3F, optional extras (up-7)
Set/Time: One interior set / About 30 minutes
A disturbed boy speaks to his family via videotape.  When he puts a gun to his head in a highly climatic ending, the play ends, allowing discussion about teen suicide.   More...
McKenna’s Choice
Cast: Flexible cast of 4M, 4F
Set/Time: One interior set / About 90 minutes
This hard-hitting play describes the problems of the aged, growing old in America and dying with dignity.   More...
Memory Garden
Cast: Cast:  1M, 1F
Set/Time: One simple set / About 25 minutes
This powerful, award-winning piece will change forever what you think when you drive by a roadside memorial.   More...
A Memory of Harold
Cast: 6M, 5F
Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 30 minutes
Sometimes a simple prank turns into a cruel incident.  A young man, recalling his high school years, remembers a “joke” that illustrates how insensitivity can affect those around us.   More...
Nobody Heard Me Cry
Cast: 6M, 6F
Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 40 minutes
A teenage boy caught in a downward spiral of depression.  When an offstage gunshot traumatically concludes the play, we realize that if we hesitate before reaching out, we might be too late.   More...
The Perfect Night
Cast: 3M, 4F
Set/Time: Simple area staging / About 35 minutes
This play employs flashbacks in which actors perform poignant monologues to relate past events and to describe the feelings that accompany the complex issue of teen sex.   More...
Pickin’
Cast: 5M, 9F, plus 3 roles that can be either, extras
Set/Time: Basic representational sets / About 30 minutes
When the cheerleading squad at a high school performs a cheer that ridicules a fellow student.  The student snaps under the pressure, resulting in a tragedy no one will ever forget.   More...
Playground
Cast: 7M, 5F
Set/Time: Simple exterior set / About 90 minutes
A boy has created an imaginary buddy to help him cope with reality, until he must face a different situation by relying on real friends for support.   More...
Rememberin’ Stuff
Cast: Flexible cast of 8-50
Set/Time: Bare stage / About 90 minutes
When a group of drama students is given the assignment to share their memories, the result is a collection of hilarious, heart-felt, serious and inspiring scenes.   More...
A Small Wooden Horse
Cast: 4M, 7F
Set/Time: Simple exterior set / About 30 minutes
In a future society where young people exist without feelings, a boy's life is suddenly turned upside down when he meets a girl who is rebelling against the system.   More...
Spirit! 
Cast: 3M, 5F
Set/Time: One interior set / About 120 minutes
A rest home brings together a variety of delightful characters, all of whom want more from life than their restricted existence allows.   More...
Staying Home
Cast: 1M, 5F
Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 30 minutes
This thought-provoking play concerns the impact of an unplanned baby on the lives of two teens.  Told without bias, this story depicts how a single decision can affect a lifetime.   More...
Step Up to the Plate
Cast: 11F
Set/Time: One interior set / About 45 minutes
This outstanding play empowers girls of all ages to pursue their dreams and see the obstacles in their way as challenges, not impossibilities.  More...
The Stone in the Road
Cast: Flexible cast of 7M, 7F plus extras
Set/Time: Simple representational set / About 30 minutes
A queen puts her subjects to the test:  anyone kind enough to move a large boulder from the road will be handsomely rewarded with a job as royal counselor to the queen!   More...
Street Story
Cast: Flexible cast of 16 (roughly 6M, 8F, plus 2 roles that can be either), optional extras
Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 30 minutes
This show reveals how lethal gang life truly is and what makes gang membership for some so enticing.  Nothing glamorized, no easy solution, but some hope in a show that grabs and doesn't let go.   More...
The Swimmer
Cast: Flexible cast of 11 (About 7M, 3F, and 1 that can be either)
Set/Time: Simple exterior set / About 30 minutes
A young man is convinced he is drowning though there is no water in the vicinity.  When the young man actually dies, his death has no emotional impact upon those around him.   More...
A Thing of Beauty
Cast: 3M, 2F, 1 boy
Set/Time: One exterior set / About 25 minutes
People display their true natures, and in revealing their attitudes toward a piece of driftwood, they draw a fascinating picture of life itself.  More...
Thistle Blossoms
Cast: 2F
Set/Time: Minimal set requirements / About 30 minutes
A student's sincere belief that death would be better than life and a teacher's unusual approach to dealing with and preventing the student's chilling plans will have your audience captivated.   More...
The Three Bully Goats Griff
Cast: Flexible cast of 9 (2M, 2F, plus 5 roles that can be either)
Set/Time: Simple exterior set / About 40 minutes
With a tweak and a twist, the children's tale of the Billy Goats Gruff has become the perfect tool to teach elementary audiences about bullying.  More...
Touchy Subjects
Cast: Flexible cast of 7-17 (minimum 3M, 4F)
Set/Time: Representational set / About 30 minutes
Here is an excellent educational tool to help deal with the serious, but often overlooked problem of sexual harassment that young people might be facing.   More...
The Trouble With Derek
Based on a special Luann series on teenage drug abuse
from the comic strip by Greg Evans
Cast: 4M, 8F
Set/Time: Simple area staging / About 40 minutes
Based on a special Luann series on teenage drug abuse from the comic strip by Greg Evans, this vital and persuasive play gets its tough message across without being preachy or condescending.  More...
Turning Points
Cast: 4M, 5F
Set/Time: Minimal set requirements / About 30 minutes
Screeching tires.  Twisted metal.  Sirens.  Silence.  Poignant, insightful and thought provoking, this one act drama provides a startling glimpse into teenage alcohol abuse.   More...
Walkin’ Home
Cast: 3M, 6F, plus one little girl (or offstage child’s voice), extras
Set/Time: Single set / About 30 minutes
Echoing the lessons of The Prodigal Son, this one-act brings to life the act of forgiveness.  More...
What’s the Difference? 
Cast: 4M, 4F
Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 45 minutes
After a student reveals his story about drugs, gang membership, and blood initiations, a rival gang member crashes the meeting.   More...
Who, Me?  Yes, You!
Sketches about social responsibility
Cast: Flexible cast of 18-64
Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 55 minutes
These sketches offer the perfect discussion starters to introduce moral instruction into your elementary classroom.  More...
Why Darkness Seems So Light
Cast: 9-13M, 13-17F, optional extras
Set/Time: Simple representational sets / About 90 minutes
Here is a chilling look at the violence that pervades our teenagers' lives, regardless of their social status or upbringing.   More...
Yearbook
Cast: Extremely flexible cast of 10-50
Set/Time: Bare stage / About 60 minutes
This is a positive play about the humor, determination and caring that exists in every school.  Both your cast and your audience will thrive on its positive messages about teens.   More...
It's a musical! Yearbook Reflections
Cast: Extremely flexible cast of 10-50
Set/Time: Simple interior set / About 90 minutes
This is a positive play about the humor, determination and caring that exists in every school.  Both your cast and your audience will thrive on its positive messages about teens.   More...