Get the Crowd Going at Your High School Culture Festival! A Collection of Ideas for Plays and Musicals
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!
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Anime, Manga, and Contemporary School-Set & Variety Works (1–10)
The Little Prince
The Little Prince, a fairy tale by Saint-Exupéry loved by people all over the world.
Although it was originally written as a children’s story, it is filled with deep insights into life and words that resonate straight to the heart, making it more than suitable to be performed as a play for a school cultural festival.
Mom
“Mama,” a work by teacher Iyadomi☆Kōsei, who is active in various plays and commercial scripts.
It is one of the pieces performed by the drama club of Saga Higashi High School in Saga Prefecture, which stages productions not only on campus but in various locations.
The play portrays the story of a mother who raised her daughter alone in a single-mother household, centering on the theme of “what it means to live” in the face of the imminent death of a loved one.
The script written by Teacher Iyadomi has no ending, and the Saga Higashi drama club reportedly came up with their own conclusion.
Reading the script and creating the ending you would want for this mother and daughter could make for a wonderful memory at a culture festival or school festival, don’t you think?
ROCK U !
ROCK U! portrays two protagonists who, despite being at odds with each other, move toward a single goal: the school cultural festival.
The work was created by a third-year high school student in Osaka and won the Original Script Award at the National High School Drama Competition.
The story follows two students who transferred from a Korean school to a Japanese school and, based on what they felt in the Japanese school, explore ideas of “freedom” and “being themselves.” Although the theme is challenging, it is a piece that asks performers to delve deeply into the story’s content and act with the mindset that the issues are being posed to them personally.
Doraemon
Let’s put on a performance based on a beloved national anime! Here are some ideas inspired by Doraemon.
When you think of Doraemon, it’s an anime and a set of characters cherished by people of all ages, from children to adults.
Many viewers get excited about the secret gadgets that pop up in its everyday-life stories.
Because it portrays daily life, it’s easy to adapt into original stories, and with its large cast of characters, it seems perfect for creating a play with the entire class.
Be sure to give it a try!
Oshi no Ko
The story featuring idols, “Oshi no Ko,” is a very famous manga.
When performing it at a school or cultural festival, fully get into character while expressing the characters’ complex emotions.
By understanding their feelings, you’ll be able to enjoy the play more deeply.
It’s also important to be creative with the idols’ glamorous costumes and the outfits used on stage.
Using lighting and sound to add sparkle is another key point.
Work together as one to create a wonderful, memorable performance!
Mr. Osomatsu
How about turning the hugely popular anime Osomatsu-san into a stage play? Try taking on the challenge with comedic elements and some dance! Just having the characters’ hoodies for costumes is enough to capture the vibe, so the stage set can be simple.
After that, use the anime as a reference and give it a try!
Skip and Loafer
Skip and Loafer is a work by manga artist Misaki Takamatsu that won third place in the 2020 Manga Taisho Awards, and it was adapted into an anime in 2023.
The story follows Mitsumi, a high school girl who moves to Tokyo from a depopulated rural area, and depicts her everyday life with her classmates.
It’s an uplifting series where the naturally airheaded yet positive Mitsumi leads the way and gives you energy.
The content is also perfect for a high school cultural festival, so if you like, why not adapt it into a stage script and perform it?
