Module 12

One-act Play
The Exchange by Althea Thurston
What is One-act play?
A one-act play is any play with only one act (i.e., the
performance is not divided into sections with
intermissions). As such, ten-minute plays are a type of
one-act play, but most one-act plays are longer (from
15 minutes to an hour).
Similar to ten-minute plays, the key to writing a
strong one-act play is telling a complete story within
the constraints of a single act.
The Exchange by Althea Thurston
• Like many shorter works, The Exchange is based upon a simple, yet
entertaining and dramatically/comically fruitful supposition: In some
realm beyond, there is a judge and a judge’s helper, an imp.
• People who are dissatisfied with their lot in life may approach the
judge for an exchange. For example, a vain woman wants her
developing wrinkles to stop. After being given several options, she
decides to exchange an aging body for deafness. A poor man wishes
to be rich, but at what price? Indigestion.