About the Book:

In Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2019, you will find ten-minute plays chosen for you by Larry Silverberg and the team at True Acting Institute. The plays written in a variety of styles, some are realistic plays; some are not. Some are comic, some dramatic. The ten-minute play form has become a favourite of acting teachers. They are a useful source for script work that will lead to better listening habits. The plays are brief, focused, frequently start at a climatic moment in a story, and offer a variety of genre and styles for analysis. Your students won't get bogged down by excessive length, complex character analysis, and detail too hard to remember and keep track of.

There are plays for 2 actors:

Hamlet Investigations, Inc. is a comedy by Ellen Abrams. Although everyone knows Prince Hamlet as the Melancholy Dane, since he discovered who killed his father, he has gone into business to help others solve their vexing issues. Annette, a woman from our own time, hires the prince to utilize his amateur detecting gifts to help her out. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

Dancing In The Elevator by Dorothea Cahan. The sweet and engaging story of a young woman with boyfriend troubles who asks a tea-leaf reader for advice and finds the beginning of happiness at the bottom of a teacup thanks to a flamboyant fortune-teller. (Cast: 2 female)

Kamasutra by Tom Coash. The question of sex raises it's head when Doris and Harold, a nice older couple from New Jersey, visit the Chandela Temples in India, famous (or infamous) for their erotic carvings celebrating the Kamasutra religious rituals. Amidst the highly suggestive surroundings, Doris and Harold reexamine their love and marriage. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

The New Client by Paul Donnelly. A small town attorney pays a personal price for taking on a controversial client. The New Client depicts two principled women grappling seriously with an ethical and personal dilemma. It has the added advantage of passing the Bechdel test. (Cast: 2 female)

The Last Box by Jon Fraser.

Last Drinks by Greg Gould. A woman whose partners keep dying meets a man who can’t seem to die. Did destiny bring these two tragic souls together? (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

Lending A Hand by Craig Gustafson.

Mae The Magnificent is a comedy by Margo Hammond. Mae Young, legendary ex-champion of women's professional wrestling, faces her greatest fear: going to the dentist! Can mild-mannered Fred provide her the extra courage she needs? (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

In Between The Drops by Elayne Heilveil. When an aspiring actress comes to the interrogation room to reveal a potential crime, a tough cop questions her authenticity. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

Stamina is a comedy by Donna Kaz. Two 81 year old women attempt to become the oldest women to summit Mount Everest. (Cast: 2 female)

One Is The Road is a drama by Mark Loewenstern. Our protagonist drives home from vacation with his wife. He relates to us the 7 things he is thinking and doing moment-to-moment over the course of a crucial five minutes in his life. (Cast: 1 male)

A Departure is a comedic drama by Grant MacDermott. Connie is leaving for a week. It's the longest she's ever been away from her husband, Conrad. She is about to head out the door when she finally says something that has been on her mind for a very long time. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

Shimmers is a drama by Lindsay Partain. Amanda and Ryan take a walk through the forest on the darkest night of the year to find the spot where magic exists for those who are willing to see and give it. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male) 

The Offer is a drama by Bella Poynton. Grace was fired from NASA after the shuttle program was dismantled in 2009 along with 30,000 other astrophysicist and engineers. Since then, she has been working odd jobs and more recently, at Virgin. But Grace is special. Her work is starting to change things for the space industry, making the prospect of human space exploration a dream more tangible than she ever imagined. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male) 

How Nice Of You To Ask is a comedy by Rich Rubin. We watch a relatively straight-laced interviewer, Alan, conducting a sex survey of questions to an eccentric elderly woman, Mavis, about her carnal encounters. An already not-so-standard survey takes an unexpected turn when Alan receives some spicy answers from Mavis. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

Testimonial is a drama by Jack Rushen. An insecure, confused college professor, being forced into retirement and in the early stages of Alzheimer's, meets a former student as he exits a Testimonial dinner in his honour. Through her kind words and actions, she restores his elusive self-worth. Winner of several competitions from New York to Georgia. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

Two People is a comedy by Mark Saunders. In the Afterlife, a married couple find they are not "parted" and remain together where, over lunch, they try to understand what went wrong with their marriage. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

I Have A Secret is a drama by Marsha Lee Sheiness. Mother and daughter sit peacefully in rocking chairs outside of an assisted-living facility. Sylvia is an elderly woman and assisted living resident named Sylvia, and Rachael is her loving daughter.

One Final All Hallow's Eve is a comedic drama by James Eychaner. A widower is confronted by a policewoman for being in a cemetery after closing on Halloween. The gentle old man is keeping a promise to his late wife. The policewoman has a rare opportunity to show compassion. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

I Love Lucy by Dara Swain.

Trade Secrets is a comedy by P. David Temple. A very brief, very funny romantic comedy that revolves around a conversation between a Master Baker and a Muffin Maker. Throughout, unintentional sexual innuendoes hint at the intimacy they both miss in their lives. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

Do You Take This Woman? is a dark comedy by Lolly Ward. A writer married to an art critic leaves her mark with one final creation. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

The Book Of Ruth by Joseph Samuel Wright. Late 1920’s – Fentress County, Tennessee. Ruth returns from Knoxville with a plan how she and her friend, Grace, can escape from the prying eyes of everyone in town. (Cast: 2 female)

The Beast In Your Woods by Jonathan Yukich.

In Full Bloom is a drama by Paige Zubel. Roger and Beth struggle to agree on the details of the most consuming event of their lives. (Cast: 1 female, 1 male)

And there are plays for 3 or more actors:

Doing Lunch by Anne Flanagan. Depicts the hilarious, depressing, and bizarre phenomenon known in Hollywood as "taking a meeting." Inspired by the author's own awkward adventures in Hollywood. (Cast: 3 female)

Grown-Ass Louis is a dark comedy by Bruce Walsh. When Louis was eleven-years-old, he wrote a note to his recently deceased father, tied it to a balloon, and released it to the heavens. But now, even though he's a grown-ass man, he can't stop wondering if his dad ever received the message.

Oy Vey Maria is a comedy by Mark Harvey Levine. It was supposed to be a silent night in the manger with Mary and Joseph and the newborn Jesus. But then Mary's Jewish mother shows up... (Cast: 3 female, 3 male)

Playing With Fired by Steven Hayet. In order to get the job of her dreams, a young ambitious candidate has to fire the man who currently holds the position. (Cast: 1 female, 2 male)

Sharpies is a dark comedy by David Narter. Parents, desperate to see their child admitted to an exclusive preschool, view his "audition" play date through an observation room window. Unfortunately, things go wrong - horribly wrong! (Cast: 2 female, 1 male) 

About the Author:

Larry Silverberg is a widely renowned authority on the Sanford Meisner technique of acting. He studied with master teacher Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School in New York City, and wrote the internationally-acclaimed, four-volume series the Sanford Meisner Approach, widely considered the primary source for training actors at studios worldwide. In addition to being one of the most published acting coaches in the world and an award-winning actor and director, he is also the Master Teacher of Acting and Full Professor at renowned Shenandoah University Conservatory of Theatre.