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The Shaggy Dog Murder Trial

The dramatization is based on one of America's most unusual court cases, in which a mongrel dog is accused when a boy drowns.

  • Full Length Play
  • Drama
  • 60 minutes

  • Time Period: 1930s
  • Target Audience: Pre-Teen (Age 11 - 13), Teen (Age 14 - 18), Children (Age 6 - 10), Appropriate for all audiences
  • Set Requirements: Interior Set

  • Performance Group:
  • Community Theatre, High School/Secondary
This one-act, participatory play is designed for a student audience of 4th through 7th graders. The script may also be used as a theatre-in-education vehicle.

The dramatization is based on one of America's most unusual court cases, in which a mongrel dog is accused when a boy drowns. It results in a trial that receives nationwide coverage, splitting the town in half. The testimony of the witnesses is contradictory. It is up to the audience to vote whether the shaggy dog should live or die. 

Premiere Production: First produced by the Department of Theatre, State University of New York College at Brockport.
  • Casting: 4M, 5F, 1M or F
  • Casting Attributes: Reduced casting (Doubling Possible)

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The Shaggy Dog Murder Trial Script Order Now

This one-act, participatory play is designed for a student audience of 4th through 7th graders. The script may also be used as a theatre-in-education vehicle. The dramatization is based on one of America's most unusual court cases, in which a mongrel dog is accused when a boy drowns. It results in a trial that receives nationwide coverage, splitting the town in half. The testimony of the witnesses is contradictory. It is up to the audience to vote whether the shaggy dog should live or die. A study guide is available in the script. Simple int. set. Suitable for touring. Costumes of upstate New York in 1936. Approximate running time: 60 minutes.

$19.95