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. In recent years, the 10-minute play has emerged as a popular
subgenre of the one-act play, especially in writing competitions. The origin of the one-act play may be traced to the very beginning of
drama: in
ancient Greece,
Cyclops, a
satyr play by
Euripides, is an early example.