The Super Non-Heroes

Have you ever felt like you don’t belong? Powerless Charlie sticks out like a sore thumb in a school full of superheroes. Smellinator can’t control her powers and forgot to do her Villain 101 homework. Golden Boy won’t follow protocol. And Toxic Sludge is, well, toxic sludge.

When a supervillain attacks the school Charlie must dig deep within herself. She may not be a superhero but she discovers her unique talents to save the day.

A fabulous middle school play that looks at friendship, acceptance and discovering yourself. Who doesn’t want to be a superhero?

Comedy Character Study Movement-based

Average Producer Rating:

Also available in a competition-length version here.

Recommended for Middle Schools

Running Time

About 60 minutes

Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes

Cast

23 Characters

3 M7 F13 Any Gender

Set

Simple set

Length

50 pages

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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.

23 Characters
3 M, 7 F, 13 Any Gender

PRINCIPAL BOOM / FIREHANDS [A] 11, 12 lines

Has the unenviable job of keeping a school full of superheroes under control, takes on the role of a supervillain to help students practice.

REFLECTOR [F] 70 lines

She can reflect any weapon used against her back onto her enemy.

SMELLINATOR [A] 49 lines

Imagines things into existence using her sense of smell. Unfortunately she doesn’t have much control over her power yet.

TOXIC SLUDGE [A] 39 lines

Big-hearted, simple and slow-moving. No one can touch him because of his nuclear skin.

GOLDEN BOY [M] 102 lines

He has both beauty and strength, plus the ego to match. Strength and charm are his superpowers and he uses them to get ahead with whomever he can.

SIDEKICK [M] 48 lines

He has attached himself to Golden Boy because he believes he can never be anything more than a sidekick.

BIG WHOOP [M] 31 lines

Golden Boy’s buddy, he’s a super bro.

SILVER TONGUE [F] 5 lines

Her powerful compliments are mostly for Golden Boy.

MRS. TEACHER [F] 35 lines

An elderly educator who sometimes unwittingly falls victim to her students’ powers.

CACOPHONY [A] 6 lines

The voice of the school, reads the daily announcements with flair.

THE SHIELD [A] 25 lines

Has the power to protect those around him.

WET BLANKET [A] 26 lines

The pessimist of the group. Always sees the negative side but ultimately has a very useful power.

SNEEZY MAGEE [A] 15 lines

His sneezes could move mountains but they are out of his control.

GUILTY PLEASURE [F] 10 lines

Uses bribery to get what she wants by convincing people to indulge in their guilty pleasures.

CHIEF CHIPMUNK [A] 0 lines

A person with super chipmunk powers; Lines are mimed

EMBER [F] 11 lines

She’s the only superhero hot enough for Golden Boy.

HOT MESS [F] 4 lines

She’s a super hot mess.

THE POET [F] 7 lines

Speaks in rhyme and commands lightning bolts to sizzle her enemies.

SNAGGLETOOTH [A] 17 lines

Blindth hith enemieth by thpitting all over them when he talkth.

HYSTERIA [A] 11 lines

Can cause mass chaos to disorient her enemies but since she hasn’t learned self-control she mostly just causes a ruckus among her fellow students.

CHARLIE [A] 81 lines

The only non-super attender of the superhero school.

THE VILLAIN [A] 31 lines

A non-super villain bent on revenge.

EVIL SIDEKICK [A] 0 lines

Adores The Villain. Her sole goal is to help The Villain take over the world. Lines are mimed.

Praise for The Super Non-Heroes

Jamie Hutteman

Providence Day School

My group had a great time with this show! I love the tremendous flexibility the playwright allows in terms of gender-flex casting, eliminating characters or adding ensemble characters, taking lines of dialogue and re-assigning them to other characters, etc. I am always looking for large cast shows that feature plenty of speaking roles for my kids and The Super Non-Heroes definitely fills the bill. With a run time of about an hour or less, it is a great length for a middle school play. We brought in a fight choreographer for the battle scene with the Villain, which the students absolutely loved, and we performed the optional cheesy song/dance number at the end of the play that added a new element the audience hadn't seen yet. We all had a great time with this production!

Charlene Knapp

Codrington PS

The audience was full of compliments and the positive message was very clear.

Andrea Candea-Carroll

HH Poole Middle School

Great characters for an ensemble cast! Every kid thinks their character is the best character in the play (but obviously Toxic Sludge is actually the best character 😂)!

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