Recommended plays for a high school cultural festival: popular, crowd-pleasing ideas
When it comes time to put on a play for your high school cultural festival, the choice of work can dramatically change the feel of the stage.
From moving fantasies to relatable comedies and heartfelt musicals, each has its own unique appeal and key directing points.
Because it’s a production everyone in the class creates together, you’ll want to pick something that’s fun for the cast to make and a joy for the audience to watch.
Here, we introduce a wide range of plays that are perfect for high school cultural festivals.
Find the one that fits your class!
- Recommended Plays and Musicals for Cultural Festivals, School Festivals, and School Performances
- Cultural Festival: Ranking of Popular Booth Ideas
- Classic plays performed by elementary school students: recommended works roundup
- [For High School Students] A roundup of recommended attractions for the school festival
- Ideas for stage events and attractions that will liven up a school festival
- Ideas for Performances That Inspire Laughter and Tears: Perfect for Upper Grades at School Arts and Learning Showcases
- Stage performance ideas to excite a cultural or school festival
- [Middle School] Cultural Festival Attractions: A roundup of popular exhibits, games, and stage performances
- [Short Movie] A collection of video project ideas you can use for cultural and school festivals
- [Cultural Festival / School Festival Theme] Carefully Selected High-Impact Recommended Phrases!
- I want to adapt these for the school festival! A roundup of comedians’ manzai, sketch comedy, and one-liner gags
- [Hilarious] One-Liner Gags That Kill at Parties and Events
- Ideas for exhibits recommended for school culture festivals. Film screenings, too.
Disney, Fairy Tales, and Fantasy Works Special (1–10)
Descendant
The live-action film Descendants by Disney was released in the United States in 2015 and became a popular work that spawned sequels.
Its premise, which focuses on the so-called Disney Villains, and the appearances of characters from other Disney titles are particularly striking.
It also incorporates the musical elements that are essential to Disney productions, bringing a sense of dynamism to the performances.
When it comes to villains, their costumes and lines that convey a sense of menace are memorable, so keep that in mind when crafting your performance.
To clearly communicate each character, I think it’s best to use exaggerated acting to create a sense of approachability.
Remember me
This is a play based on Disney’s “Coco,” which tells the story of a protagonist with a genius talent for guitar who is forbidden to play music.
The production is impressively elaborate, with costumes tailored to each role, skull makeup, and live guitar-accompanied performances of the songs.
Two stages are also prepared and used according to the scene.
As the film is widely known as a moving masterpiece, if you have classmates who can play the guitar, why not give it a try?
Cinderella
Cinderella, which was adapted into an animated film by Disney based on a fairy tale and later made into a live-action film as well.
It’s a dream-filled story in which Cinderella, bullied by her stepmother and stepsisters, attends the royal ball with the help of magic and catches the eye of the prince.
The music in the Disney animated version is memorable, but it’s also recommended to collaborate with a school music club such as a wind ensemble and perform with live music! It can also be fun to use effects like smoke in scenes where she magically transforms into a dress.
If you create all the props and music from scratch, it will undoubtedly become a theatrical production that leaves lasting memories.
Disney, Fairy Tales, and Fantasy Works Special (11–20)
Beauty and the Beast
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which became hugely popular as both an animated film and a live-action movie, tells the story of a selfish, arrogant Beast who, after meeting Belle, learns to care for others, and the two gradually open their hearts to each other and fall in love.
When staging it as a play, an important point is how to portray the enchanted inhabitants of the castle.
To make it easy to understand even for those unfamiliar with the story, it’s best to create props like a teapot or a clock out of cardboard and wear them as costumes.
You can also make other small furniture and tableware, and during the musical numbers, move them as if they’re dancing to convey the cheerful atmosphere of the songs.
The Little Mermaid
If you want to put a lot of focus on singing and dancing in a culture-festival production, The Little Mermaid is a great choice.
Based on the Disney film inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, this beloved musical has been performed worldwide since 2008.
Iconic songs like “Under the Sea” are wonderful, too.
It’s a love story between Ariel the mermaid and Eric, a human prince, and the well-crafted plot gives each cast member plenty to dig into.
The dazzling worldbuilding and creative ways to portray the ocean also give the backstage crew a chance to shine.
Why not take on the challenge and make it a memory of your youth?
The Lion King
An animated feature film released during the so-called Disney Renaissance of the 1990s, it grossed an impressive $980 million at the box office.
A fully CG remake was released in 2019, and in Japan, the Shiki Theatre Company’s stage adaptation is also well known.
Because all the characters are animals, preparations such as costumes can be challenging from the outset, but the story’s depth in portraying the law of the jungle in the natural world is likely to captivate many audiences.
With familiar insert songs that can get the entire venue excited, it’s a highly recommended piece for a school festival stage.
My Neighbor Totoro
My Neighbor Totoro is an animated film that depicts the interactions between children who have moved to the countryside and the mysterious creature Totoro.
Because the characters and setting are so clearly defined, it’s perfect for a play where the whole class can work together.
Prepare costumes that match the vibe of the characters, starting with the sisters Satsuki and Mei! If someone is good at drawing, it’s also recommended to put care into the backgrounds, such as mountains and rivers.
It could be fun to develop an original story in the scenes where Totoro and the children interact.
You can make it a moving tale, or fill it with gags and end it with a punchline—either approach works well.
