Playwriting
Happy International Women’s Day!
March 8th is International Women’s Day – and what better time to highlight some amazing women within the Theatrefolk community. Join us in celebrating these phenomenal playwrights and authors and...
Drop Dead, Juliet!
Juliet has had enough! Enough with the poison, enough with the stabbing, and especially enough with the dying. She wants a new story and she wants it now. More parts for girls! More romance! Less death!
Romeo and Juliet will never be the same - or will it? Not everyone's so keen on the changes. And why is Romeo sneaking off with Rosaline?
Average Producer Rating: 5.0 out of 5
Recommended for High Schools and Middle Schools
At a Glance
Running Time
About 30 minutes
Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes
Cast
18 Characters
4 M13 F1 Any Gender
Set
Simple Set
Length
30 pages
Production Tips
Free Excerpt
Classroom Study Guide
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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.
18 Characters
4 M, 13 F, 1 Any GenderCharacters 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.
Capulets
Juliet
[F]
134 lines
Is scripted to die. Doesn’t.
Nurse
[F]
12 lines
Knows there are no small parts.
Lord Capulet
[M]
6 lines
Juliet’s dad. A believer in tough love.
Lady Capulet
[F]
14 lines
Juliet’s mom. Is just happy she’s not in “The Tempest.”
Gregory
[F]
3 lines
Lover of wordplay.
Sampson
[F]
6 lines
He does bite his thumb, ma’am.
Tybalt
[F]
10 lines
Prince of Cats. Only one life, though.
Montagues
Romeo
[M]
58 lines
Wherefore art him.
Abram
[F]
4 lines
Initiates the Dance Off.
Mercutio
[F]
12 lines
Generally good-natured, when he isn’t wishing a plague on your house.
Lady Montague
[F]
5 lines
Romeo’s mom. Thinks :Love at first sight” is a little contrived.
A Montague
[A]
1 line
Worried that they just got served by the Capulets.
Others
Shakespeare
[M]
72 lines
The Bard himself. Knows that the pen is mightier than the sword.
Prince/Princess
[F]
5 lines
Immediately exiles Romeo hence. It’s nothing personal, though.
Friar/Sister Lawrence
[F]
13 lines
Your go-to gal for poison.
Friar John
[M]
1 line
The stupid one.
Ophelia
[F]
0 lines
The strong, silent, “runs off crying” type.
Desdemona
[F]
1 line
Should start hand-washing her handkerchiefs.
Praise for Drop Dead, Juliet!
Holly Thomas
International Charter School of Atlanta
We adored doing this play. The writing is magnificent. We loved switching from old to modern English and all of the funny one-liner jokes.
Joanna Shumaker
Coleman Community Jr/Sr High School
The play was great! And a perfect size to use to restart our drama program at our school! The script was well done and mixed original Shakespeare with the storyline which was great!
Emily McRae
Mount Aspiring College
Students loved the over-the-top presentational style as it helped to build real performance confidence while having fun!
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Drop Dead, Juliet! Sample Excerpt
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