{{Short description|Play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts}} A '''one-act play''' is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. The 20-40 minute play has emerged as a popular subgenre of the one-act play, especially in writing competitions. One act plays make up the overwhelming majority of fringe theatre shows including at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
The origin of the one-act play may be traced to the very beginning of recorded Western drama: in ancient Greece, ''Cyclops'', a satyr play by Euripides, is an early example. The satyr play was a farcical short work that came after a trilogy of multi-act serious drama plays. A few notable examples of one act plays emerged before the 19th century including various versions of the Everyman play and works by Moliere and Calderon.<ref>Francis M. Dunn. ''Tragedy's End: Closure and Innovation in Euripidean Drama''. Oxford University Press (1996).</ref> One act plays became more common in the 19th century and are now a standard part of repertory theatre and fringe festivals.
One act plays were very popular in the 20th century and it is regarded by many to be a modern product.
==One-act plays by major dramatists== * Euripides – ''Cyclops '' * Moliere – ''The Flying Doctor'' (1659) * Edward Albee – ''The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?'' (2002) * Samuel Beckett – ''Krapp's Last Tape'' (1958) * Anton Chekhov – ''A Marriage Proposal'' (1890) * Joseph Heller – ''Clevinger's Trial'' (1973) * Israel Horovitz – ''Line'' (1974) * Eugène Ionesco – ''The Bald Soprano'' (1950) * Arthur Miller – ''A Memory of Two Mondays'' (1955) * August Strindberg – ''Pariah'' (1889) * Thornton Wilder – ''The Long Christmas Dinner'' (1931) * Cormac McCarthy – ''The Sunset Limited'' (2006) * Jean-Paul Sartre – ''No Exit'' (1944) * Athol Fugard – ''"Master Harold"...and the Boys'' (1982) * Yasmina Reza – ''Art'' (1994) * Oscar Wilde – ''Salome'' (1891 [French] 1894 [English])
==See also== * List of one-act plays by Tennessee Williams * Monodrama
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Sources== * Murray, Stephen. ''Taking Our Amusements Seriously''. LAP, 2010. {{ISBN|978-3-8383-7608-0}}.
==External links== * [http://oneactplays.net One Act Play Depot]
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Category:One-act plays
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