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A Box of Puppies by Billy Houck play script cover

A Box of Puppies

by Billy Houck

We can all relate to feeling small in a big world. The characters in A Box of Puppies share their insecurities, their frailties and their coping mechanisms with that big bad world.

This collection holds four short plays. Each are fresh, honest, and true. You know each of these characters. Perhaps they mirror your own insecurities and frailties.

Each play can be performed independently, or perform all four together for an outstanding competition piece.

Average Producer Rating: 5.0 out of 5

Recommended for High Schools

At a Glance

Cast
14 Characters
2 M 2 F 10 Any Gender
Set
Simple Set
Length
31 pages
Free Excerpt

This Book is a Collection of 4 Plays

License the entire book, or license individual plays separately. To license a single play, click its title below.

1 F · Approx. 10 minutes

A young girl examines the backpack of her life.

2 Any Gender · Approx. 10 minutes

Two friends without a car wait and talk. And wait and talk. And wait and talk…

1 M, 1 F, 8 Any Gender · Approx. 10 minutes

A scrawny teenaged boy envisions the perfect way to fight back.

1 M · Approx. 10 minutes

Skip writes from the heart, but uncovers something no one wants to read.

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Performance Royalty Fees

Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes.

Exemption details for scenes and monologues for competition.

14 Characters

  • 2 Males
  • 2 Females
  • 10 Any Gender

Characters in this play are currently identified as male or female. Directors are welcome to assign any gender (binary or non-binary) to any character and modify pronouns accordingly.

Constantly, Incessantly, All The Time:

  • Rikki Female
    A backpack wearing student, burdened in more ways than one. 1 extended monologue

Huge Hands:

  • Sparky Male 29 lines
    A small adolescent boy, several monologues
  • Sparky’s Mom Female 5 lines
    Considers putting Sparky on Ritalin.
  • Sparky’s Friend, but not really Any gender 9 lines
    They’re on speaking terms.
  • A Random Kid Any gender 2 lines
    Just a kid in the wrong place at the wrong time.
  • A Gang of Kids (6) who bully Sparky Any gender
    One line, laughter, pointing

Diatom:

  • Dale Any gender 89 lines
    Teenager with a curious mind.
  • Robin Any gender 87 lines
    Teenager. Friend to Dale. More grounded in reality.

One Beer Too Many:

  • Skip Male
    An average kid. Once wrote a play that earned them a world of hurt. 1 extended monologue

Praise for A Box of Puppies

5 out of 5 stars
Joy Grabow
Hands on Stage Players
We chose this play to be our annual student directed/student tech directed one-act that deals with issues today's teens face. We really enjoyed working on this play.

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