Skip to product information
1 of 1

Click to look inside

The Future is Short by Mitchell Thomas

Regular price
Checking stock...
Regular price
Checking stock...
Summary

An anthology of 20 diverse short plays written by some of the most talented playwrights currently working in the American theatre.

The feel-good place to buy books
  • Free US shipping over $15
  • Buying preloved emits 41% less CO2 than new
  • Millions of affordable books
  • Give your books a new home - sell them back to us!

The Future is Short by Mitchell Thomas

Have you struggled to find short plays that challenge actors and directors for class and production?

Do you require plays that are 10 minutes in length for competitions or class work?


Are you interested in reading plays from some of the most exciting contemporary American writers?


This anthology solves the above problems for theatre teachers and their students, offering excellent, contemporary material written for high school and college age actors within the last ten years. Each play selected features a distinct and unique voice in this eclectic and diverse volume targeted toward college and high school age actors, directors, and audiences. In these pages, you’ll find a delightful mix of plays - comedic, dramatic, thrilling, coming-of-age, political, silly, and just plain strange - created in the last few years.

The 20 plays all feature no more than 5 characters, with a mix of gender roles for actors of different ages. Written by some of the most exciting contemporary voices in American theatre, they draw on themes that resonate with young people today and offer challenging roles that push and develop actors and directors.

Each play is formally inventive and expands the boundaries of traditional drama to offer scope for different styles of performance, meaning there is a range of material to suit different student needs. Expertly crafted to run under 15 minutes, these plays offer concrete teaching tools that can be enjoyed by performers of different abilities as well as audiences.

In addition, at the back of the anthology are materials that give readers insight into how the new work featured in the anthology was developed, and provides structures and ideas for developing your own original short plays.

This rich collection of short plays offers an array of wildly imaginative and distinct new voicesIt is a wonderful resource for students looking for plays that range from funny and whimsical to heartbreaking and inspirational, and delivers a multitude of unexpected and welcome perspectives.
Mitchell Thomas is an award-winning actor, director, and professor at Westmont College, specializing in devised theatre and new plays. Since 2005, he has created or commissioned over 120 original full-length and short works. Mitchell has performed, directed, and taught workshops in Poland, Macedonia, Armenia, Romania, Georgia, Italy, China, England and the United States.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9781350620933
ISBN 10 1350620939
Title The Future is Short
Author Mitchell Thomas
Series Methuen Drama Play Collections
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Year published 2026-09-03
Number of pages 224
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.