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.
Anime, Manga, Modern School Settings & Variety Works (21–30)
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Among Studio Ghibli works popular with elementary school students, I’d like to recommend Kiki’s Delivery Service for a play.
The protagonist Kiki is 13 years old, which might make her feel relatable to younger students.
Plus, distinctive characters like the cat Jiji and Tombo would be adorable and amusing when played by children.
Kiki’s Delivery Service also explores the theme of becoming independent in the transition from childhood to adulthood.
Through performing the play, the children may learn something or gain new insights.
Musicals • For Large Casts • Recommended Tearjerkers (1–10)
orange
Orange depicts high school students taking action to change the future.
It’s a piece we especially hope will be performed by students currently living their own high school years.
Since the story is set at school, it’s also nice that costumes and props are easy to prepare.
Many will be moved by its story of friendship and romance.
Another feature is the rapid scene changes, giving lighting and sound crews plenty of chances to shine.
Try playing high school roles just as you are in everyday life! How about creating this emotional coming-of-age story together with your entire class?
There Are Eleven People!
A story about ten examinees gathered aboard a spaceship—and a mysterious eleventh who slips among them—this script blends suspense with coming-of-age drama and is designed for the stage.
Because it unfolds with a limited setting and cast, it’s easy to produce for a school festival, giving every classmate a chance to shine.
Snappy banter between distinctive characters and a tense, escalating plot will hold the audience’s attention.
Though set in a sci-fi world, it explores universal themes like friendship, trust, and growth, making it a substantial, rewarding piece of serious theater that high school students will find well worth the challenge.
Les Misérables
An epic novel of French literature written by Victor Hugo, who was active as a Romantic poet.
Set in France after the July Revolution, the work—whose title means “the miserable” or “the wretched”—is grounded in the social conditions and the lives of the common people of the time.
Beginning in the 1980s, it was increasingly staged as a musical, and an abridged version focusing solely on the “silver candlesticks” episode has even been included in elementary school ethics textbooks, making it widely beloved for many years.
With its weighty narrative and famous songs, it is a work that is sure to command respect if performed at a school cultural festival.
Is ~ Eyes ~
Is ~Eyes~ by Takako Okamura, a play frequently performed by student theater groups, features Sachi as the protagonist—a girl who can’t quite put herself into words.
The reason she struggles to express what’s in her heart is that, in fact, many different “me’s” reside within her.
The story follows Sachi as she interacts with those around her and searches for her true self.
One hallmark of the play is its uniquely theatrical staging, such as scenes where the many “me’s” inside Sachi hold a meeting.
The original runtime is about an hour, so if you’re short on time, you might consider arranging or trimming the story.
Yoshimoto Shinkigeki: Shoshiro’s Whimsical Romantic
Let’s create a fun space with a parody of Yoshimoto Shinkigeki, which is highly recognized especially in the Kansai region.
Shinkigeki has several classic, staple storylines, so using those as references should make scripting easier.
In Yoshimoto Shinkigeki, the most important element is the rapid-fire exchange of gags performed by its distinctive characters, so we’ll want to put special care into that.
Depending on the scenario, certain standout characters can be particularly memorable, so it might be a good idea to decide on the characters first and then write the script.
West Side Story
This work, which could be called a modern-day Romeo and Juliet, is a powerful musical that portrays the love and conflict of young people from different backgrounds.
If staged at a school festival, it can showcase class unity through dance and song and captivate the audience with dynamic direction.
The structure depicting two rival groups allows many students to enjoy their respective roles, which is another appeal.
Despite its serious themes, it is infused with familiar emotions such as friendship and love, making it a piece where the natural, true-to-life acting of high school students can shine.
Depending on the direction, it can be easily adapted to a contemporary style, and its high degree of flexibility is also a major attraction.