Tara Meddaugh

READER’S THEATER PLAYS

Making reading for children fun! Browse Tara Meddaugh’s Reader’s Theater scripts below. Great for classrooms, these plays run from 5 minutes to 10 minutes and most are suitable for children of any gender. Learn more about Reader's Theater here.

CHAOS IN A CHRISTMAS SNOW GLOBE
A 20-minute play for young actors and young audiences

When the Christmas Snow Globe gang gets bored with their same routine, Santa uses Christmas Magic to bring them a bit of excitement. But no one expects this excitement to arrive in the form of a Halloween jack-o-lantern inside their snow globe! Can Jack-o-Lantern convince the Christmas friends that it truly belongs with them, or will it be booted back to the dusty shelf? Enjoy this family-friendly one-act play about acceptance and appreciation.

DETAILS
Genre: Children’s/Tween/Teen/Comedy/Christmas
Cast: 11+ (1 male, 1 female, 9+ gender neutral/inclusive). There are 11 speaking roles, but there are unlimited non-speaking roles as reindeer.)
Running time: Approximately 15-20 minutes
Setting: A Christmas snow globe inside Stella’s bedroom. This may be as detailed or representative as desired.
Great for: Large casts, children, teens, tweens, adults performing for children, young audiences, reader’s theater, classrooms, reading, family-friendly material

Click for a free excerpt to the Christmas one-act play, Chaos in a Christmas Snow Globe.

Click below for the complete one-act play, Chaos in a Christmas Snow Globe.

FUNERAL FOR A CRAYFISH
a 5-minute children’s play
For Young Audiences or Young Actors

When a classroom crayfish meets an untimely demise, Ari and Queen must figure out whose crayfish suffered this unexpected fate! It’s going to take some clever detective skills though, because unfortunately, Juliet used the same color permanent marker to dot her crayfish’s back as Ari did! Will the clues they uncover be enough to solve the mystery? This is a 5-minute comedy for children which explores friendship, problem solving and working together! It also includes a fun Question and Answer page all about crayfish!

DETAILS
Genre: comedic, children, young audience, drama
Cast: 2 characters, flexible/inclusive casting
Set: Minimal, a classroom
Running time: around 5 minutes
Great food: reader’s theater, problem solving, working together, teamwork, science, flexible casting for any gender, animals, classroom theater, 2-hander, play for 2 actors, friendship

Click for a free excerpt from Funeral for a Crayfish.
CLICK below for a complete digital copy of Funeral for a Crayfish by Tara Meddaugh

PEBBLES AND TAILS
a short children’s play

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
Genre: Comedy/children/drama (teens and adults can have fun with the roles too!)
Set: Minimal, frogs in pond
Running time: 5-10 minutes (average around 7 minutes)
Cast: 3 actors - any gender
Age range: child to teen; adult actors for young audiences
Good for: outdoor theater, reader’s theater, play about friendship, growing up, finding your place, gender flexible casting, classrooms, fun science
*Pebbles and Tails includes a Frog Q & A related to the script and Five (5) Cool Facts about Frogs!

Pebbles and Tails is part of Tara Meddaugh’s Reader’s Theater series. These are great plays for any age in a theater setting, competition or classroom. But as Reader’s Theater, they are designed to make reading aloud enjoyable for children. Children don’t need to memorize or “perform,” but simply benefit from the act of reading out loud together, in dramatic form. Reader’s Theater can promote fluency, confidence, creativity, empathy, oral expression and connections among peers. Children at home or in the classroom enjoy reading these fun scripts aloud.

Click to read a free excerpt to the play, Pebbles and Tails.

Click below for a digital copy of the 5-minute play, Pebbles and Tails.

STARING AT THE SLOTH
a 5-minute children’s play
For Young Audiences or Actors

The sloth at the zoo keeps staring at Riley. Is it Riley’s spiky hair? Long nose? Or chocolate milk stain? Can Jaime convince Riley that the sloth is not making fun, but rather, maybe, just maybe, thinks Riley is cool? Staring at The Sloth is a funny, sweet play about friendship, self-acceptance, and of course…sloths!

DETAILS
Genre: comedic, children, young audience, drama
Cast: 2 characters, flexible/inclusive casting
Set: Minimal, outside at a zoo
Running time: around 5 minutes
Great food: reader’s theater, accepting oneself, flexible casting for any gender, animals, classroom theater, outdoor theater, 2-hander, play for 2 actors, discussion about bullying, kindness, friendship

CLICK for a free excerpt of Staring at the Sloth by Tara Meddaugh.
CLICK below for a complete digital copy of Staring at The Sloth by Tara Meddaugh

THE SHIPWRECK SOLUTION
by
Tara Meddaugh

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 abandonned 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? Check out The Shipwreck Solution to discover if these four, very different creatures, can find a way to work it out!

DETAILS
Cast: 4 male or female (gender neutral cast)
Genre: Comedy/children (teens and adults can have fun with the roles too!)
Set: Minimal, a shipwreck in the ocean
Running time: 5-7 minutes
Age range: 1st grade-4th grade

*The Shipwreck Solution includes a “Yes, It’s True” page featuring fun facts referencing the animals you read about, as well as a glossary with a few key terms.

Click to read a free excerpt to the play, The Shipwreck Solution.

Click below for a digital copy of the 5-minute play, The Shipwreck Solution.

SHARING SOIL
A comedy/drama for children

In soil cultures, prejudices run deep for carrots and potatoes.. But when bully vegetables draw Carrot and Potato together, they must decide if their new friendship is worth risking their safety and rejection from their own garden cultures.

DETAILS
Cast: 2 actors, inclusive casting
Age range: Characters are children, so they may be played by child actors, teens or adults
Genre: Comedy/Drama 10-minute play, teen play, children's play
Set: A garden
Running time: 10-minute play
A sweet, playful, funny but poignant piece about loving yourself, finding your place in the world, and friendship above stereotypes and assumptions

Click for an excerpt to the ten-minute play, Sharing Soil.

CLICK below for a complete digital copy of Sharing Soil (once purchased, you will be given a link to download the script):