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Funny Shorts Volume 1: Ten Comic Plays
Funny Shorts is an anthology of ten hilarious comedies by a master of the short play form. The characters are wacky and the plots bizarre, but the end result is pure entertainment. These warm, funny sketches have a light touch but they’ll keep you guessing too – every one has an unexpected twist at the end!
Looking for some production opportunities for your school, organization, or theater? Funny Shorts plays have minimal staging requirements, and they’re easy for actors of all levels to perform. The words on the page make the performance a hit every time!
And if you’re just looking to brighten up your day by reading some comic plays, Funny Shorts is definitely the ticket. On the page or on the stage, Funny Shorts is guaranteed to amuse!
The plays included in this collection of Funny Shorts are:
Punishment Card
10 Minute Grief Counseling
Bad Hair Day
The World Is Ending Again
Just Fire Me!
Wish My Ego Well
Secret Recipe
Pep Talk Man To The Rescue!
Rating The Breakup
Just Say Yes
Here's what they're saying about Funny Shorts:
As a master of the short play form, John McDonnell holds up a mirror to the way we live now. Always revealing, always spot on, and always very funny, his plays are a dream for actors. Easy to produce -- they work as well on a bare stage as they do in a fully realized production. Either way, the audiences are always entertained and leave the theatre happier than when they came in. You will enjoy reading or performing the works of John McDonnell.
John Augustine is a playwright, television writer, actor and director. He has taught playwriting in New York City at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School, The 42nd Street Collective, NYU, and at Sarah Lawrence College.
Every theatre instructor needs that absolutely infallible book of scenes for students. John McDonnell’s plays are full of hilarious reveals and quirky character studies, with plot twists that provide actors with meaningful discussion about motivation, foreshadowing, and bold choices. What’s even better? The length of the comic short plays provides significant opportunities for memorization and stage time for everyone involved. This is the perfect comedy collection for your studio classroom!
Sarah LeClair is the Youth Education Director at ComedySportz Philadelphia and a curriculum writer/consultant for The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre teaching artist program. Sarah has spent more than twenty years in new play development and performing arts opportunities for community theatres, undergraduate college programs, and high school actors.
John McDonnell’s plays have been performed in theaters all over the US, and they’re always audience favorites. He’s also written dozens of novels and short stories, available on Amazon.
Enjoy Funny Shorts!
Looking for some production opportunities for your school, organization, or theater? Funny Shorts plays have minimal staging requirements, and they’re easy for actors of all levels to perform. The words on the page make the performance a hit every time!
And if you’re just looking to brighten up your day by reading some comic plays, Funny Shorts is definitely the ticket. On the page or on the stage, Funny Shorts is guaranteed to amuse!
The plays included in this collection of Funny Shorts are:
Punishment Card
10 Minute Grief Counseling
Bad Hair Day
The World Is Ending Again
Just Fire Me!
Wish My Ego Well
Secret Recipe
Pep Talk Man To The Rescue!
Rating The Breakup
Just Say Yes
Here's what they're saying about Funny Shorts:
As a master of the short play form, John McDonnell holds up a mirror to the way we live now. Always revealing, always spot on, and always very funny, his plays are a dream for actors. Easy to produce -- they work as well on a bare stage as they do in a fully realized production. Either way, the audiences are always entertained and leave the theatre happier than when they came in. You will enjoy reading or performing the works of John McDonnell.
John Augustine is a playwright, television writer, actor and director. He has taught playwriting in New York City at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School, The 42nd Street Collective, NYU, and at Sarah Lawrence College.
Every theatre instructor needs that absolutely infallible book of scenes for students. John McDonnell’s plays are full of hilarious reveals and quirky character studies, with plot twists that provide actors with meaningful discussion about motivation, foreshadowing, and bold choices. What’s even better? The length of the comic short plays provides significant opportunities for memorization and stage time for everyone involved. This is the perfect comedy collection for your studio classroom!
Sarah LeClair is the Youth Education Director at ComedySportz Philadelphia and a curriculum writer/consultant for The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre teaching artist program. Sarah has spent more than twenty years in new play development and performing arts opportunities for community theatres, undergraduate college programs, and high school actors.
John McDonnell’s plays have been performed in theaters all over the US, and they’re always audience favorites. He’s also written dozens of novels and short stories, available on Amazon.
Enjoy Funny Shorts!
158 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 4, 2021
48 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
John McDonnell
28 books33 followersJohn McDonnell writes romance, horror, humor, literary fiction, and just about any genre out there. It's all about the characters, he believes, and all good stories share the same traits, no matter what the genre.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 25, 2024
Maybe it's me. I am not a huge fan of reading plays, watching sure, but not so much with reading them. Although I found a couple of these ten mini plays amusing, the rating is, or course, for the book as a whole.
October 1, 2025
Quick reads
All of the plays were funny and they were quick reads, too. All would work if you have to put on a local play.
All of the plays were funny and they were quick reads, too. All would work if you have to put on a local play.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews