Ten (10) Great Plays with Animals as Characters

in

Have you ever wanted to play a rabbit? Or a raven? Or a bear? Here’s your chance because in these ten (10) plays, all animal characters not only talk, but they have strong, interesting, fun acting roles to boot! The plays may feature animals but don’t assume they’re written for children (although younger audiences may enjoy too); they are complex, often with dark humor, high stakes, and poignant connections to each other. The plays range from absurd to dark comedy to drama-comedy (and yes, there are a couple for young performers/audiences!). There is so much room for creativity in directing, designing and acting and they’re enjoyable for audiences to watch and discuss. From a grieving raccoon to ostracized seagulls to frogs stuck in a tank, check out these ten (10) humanly relatable plays all featuring animals as the leading characters!

Ten (10) Animal Plays
by Tara Meddaugh

THE MOON RIVER RAFT
A dark comedy
Two rabbits flee for their lives, holding onto hope that a mysterious secret Moon River Raft will carry all Woundeds to a perfect land. But things are never what they seem in the middle of the night…at a creepy river bank…in a forest…under the moon… Are they?
Details: Dark comedy, 2 person play, around 15 minutes
Click here for an excerpt and the complete play, The Moon River Raft.

ALFRED AND LILY AND THEIR MARVELOUS TANK IN THE FOREST
An absurdist, dark comedy
When Alfred and Lily are transplanted to a mysterious tank in the forest, they must decide if they will trust their new benefactors or find a way to escape.
Details: 10-15 minutes, 2 actors (1 male, 1 female), set in a tank in the forest
Click for an excerpt and the complete play, Alfred and Lily and Their Marvelous Tank in the Forest

20 MAGICAL MINUTES OF DARKNESS & SILENCE & PEACE:
A dark comedy/drama
Grace, a raccoon, is begrudgingly charged to find, and bring back, her fellow raccoon who has gone missing after a shocking personal tragedy. When she finally finds the depressed Joffrey in a train station parking lot, he refuses to come back with her—yet. Because he has something important he has to do first. In this parking lot. And he needs her help.
Details: 10-15 minutes, 2 actors (1 male, 1 female, or 2 any gender), set in a parking lot
Click for an excerpt and the complete play, 20 Magical Minutes of Darkness & Silence & Peace.

PITFALLS AND TREASURES
A dark comedy/drama/comedy
Mary and Andrew are lonely and troubled seagulls, each ostracized by their former flocks. When Mary embarks on the desperate challenge of removing twine wrapped around Andrew’s leg, they both must decide how much to trust each other in the hope of finding a better life.
Details: 10-15 minutes, 2 actors (1 male, 1 female or 2 any gender), set in a parking lot
Click for an excerpt and the complete play, Pitfalls and Treasures.

A LIFE SPURRED INTO MEANINGFUL ADVENTURE
A drama/comedy fairy-tale play
When secret friends, Goldilocks and Little Bear, find themselves alone in the forest, they must decide what they will give up to embark on a new future together…and, um…how to survive in the actual woods.
Details: 10-15 minutes, 2 actors (1 female/1 any gender), set in a forest
Click for an excerpt and the complete play, A Life Spurred into Meaningful Adventure

MABEL AND THE TALKING CAT
A dark comedy/drama/fairy tale tangential
A lonely baker has the opportunity to finally adopt a child of her own. But her best friend, Patches, a talking cat, has grave hesitations about the questionable method she’s using to secure her precious child. Hint: a witch is involved.
Details: 15-20 minutes, 2 actors (1 female/1 any gender), set outside a cottage, in a garden
Click for an excerpt and the complete play, Mabel and the Talking Cat.

THE PRETTIEST DUCKLING
A dark comedy (great for teens or young adults)/fairy tale tangential
Two adorable ducklings plot the ousting of their gray-feathered sister…
Details: Around 25 minutes, 2-person play (2 any gender), set outside near a pond
Click for an excerpt and the complete The Prettiest Duckling, published by YouthPLAYS.

JACK AND DEAR RAVEN
A fairy tale comedy/drama
Jack didn’t give it much thought when he climbed up the 15,000 foot beanstalk. But now that he has reached the clouds, he is starting to miss his mother, his turkey, and even his fence post. Unfortunately, he appears to be stuck and unable to climb back down the slippery stalk which was so easy to climb up. When a roving black bird passes by, Jack solicits his company and aid in figuring out how on earth he should now get down the beanstalk he has carelessly climbed up. Unless, of course, he is not meant to climb down…
Details: 10-15 minutes, 2 actors (1 male, 1 any gender), set outside on a giant beanstalk in the clouds
Click for an excerpt and the complete play, Jack and Dear Raven.

PEBBLES AND TAILS
A comedy/drama children’s play for Young Audiences or Young Actors
Scoot, Wiggles and Crunch have been friends since they hatched from eggs in the pond, hiding from predators together, protecting each other, and playing “Kick Pebble” together. But when Scoot realizes that Wiggles and Crunch have developed into froglets, while Scoot remains a tadpole, Scoot feels left behind. Is their friendship strong enough to endure these changing phases? Pebbles and Tails is a story about frogs growing up, but it’s also a story of bravery, kindness, loyalty and friendship.
Details: 5-10 minutes, 3 actors (any gender), set in a pond
Click for an excerpt and the complete play, Pebbles and Tails.

THE SHIPWRECK SOLUTION
A comedy/drama children’s play for Young Audiences or Young Actors
What do a box jellyfish, a mako shark, an anglerfish and a tiger shark have in common? They all want to live in the same abandoned shipwreck on the ocean floor! No one wants to share, no one wants to live somewhere else and…uh oh…what if someone can’t help but want to eat someone else? Can these four, very different creatures, can find a way to work it out?
Details: 5-10 minutes, 4 actors (any gender), set in a shipwreck in the sea
Click for an excerpt and the complete play, The Shipwreck Solution.

BONUS
Not quite animals, but… here is another one-act with non-human characters:

THERE ONCE WERE TWO CLOUDS IN THE SKY
A comedy/drama
When two clouds realize their time existing is quickly running out, they attempt to find some sort of purpose for their lives so their legacy will live on (Creating lightning? Writing poetry?). Yet their own listlessness is dragging them down, and the pressure of dissipating in a matter of minutes is a bit distracting, to say the least. When one cloud proposes a risky way to extend their existence, they must decide together, if what they must give up is worth what they might gain.
Two clouds try to find meaning (or not) with their very limited time on this earth…before their dissipate and disappear forever.
Details: Around 10 minutes, 2 actors (any gender)