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ABOUT

Welcome to Shop-A-Lot, a sharp, heartfelt one act comedy about finding connection in the most unlikely of places, a big-box grocery store on the brink of automation.

When longtime employees are gradually replaced by smiling self-checkout kiosks, Grace, a thoughtful young cashier, faces an impossible choice: accept the promise of a promotion or hold the line for the human moments that make life meaningful. Alongside Dotty, a veteran clerk whose warmth has been worn down by decades behind a register, Grace discovers that sometimes the most radical act is simply refusing to hurry.

Packed with humor, and an ensemble of unforgettable characters, from overzealous managers to conspiracy minded customers, Shop-A-Lot celebrates the dignity of everyday work and the quiet rebellion of choosing kindness over efficiency.

Join us for a story that proves even in a world obsessed with speed, there’s still room to slow down, look someone in the eye, and smile.  

CHARACTERS

GRACE
A friendly, earnest cashier in her late twenties. Idealistic but conflicted, she believes in kindness and human connection.

DOTTY
A veteran cashier, middle aged. Witty and no nonsense, she has spent decades at Shop-A-Lot and is quietly afraid of being left behind.

MARY
A college student cashier, pragmatic and perceptive. She sees automation as inevitable and questions the system around her. 

Mr. HOGAN

The enthusiastic, slightly hapless store manager. He views the supermarket as his personal stage and tries to keep morale high while struggling with corporate pressures.

LORRAINE
A curt, corporate manager sent from headquarters. She is blunt, efficient, and utterly unsentimental about replacing employees.

KURT
A lazy, sardonic shelf stocker. He likes stirring up trouble and challenging authority for amusement.

TRISH
An energetic shelf stocker who takes pride in her work. Idealistic and passionate about standing up for herself and her coworkers.

CONNIE
A tired, dry witted customer service clerk. She has seen it all and rarely gets flustered.

SPARKS 1 & 2
The cheerful, AI self checkout machine. Polite and efficient, but ultimately a threat to the humans’ jobs.

MRS. JENKINS
An elderly customer who shoplifts celery as part of a running joke with Grace. Warm and endearing, she represents the community the store once fostered.

MRS. JONES
A nervous customer who believes she is being tracked by hidden forces.

CHORUS/ENSEMBLE
Shoppers, other employees, and security guards who populate the store and help create the bustle of Shop-A-Lot.

Production Notes

Production Notes: Shop-A-Lot (Play Version)

Tone & Style

  • Shop-A-Lot blends satire and quiet realism. The humor often arises from the contrast between corporate absurdity and the employees’ ordinary humanity.

  • Even in comedic moments, avoid broad caricature characters are real people clinging to purpose in an impersonal system.

  • The play should feel rooted in the familiar environment of a neighborhood grocery store, with the unsettling sense that it could be any store, anywhere.

Setting

  • The entire play is set in Shop-A-Lot Supermarket, represented by flexible areas: checkout lanes, customer service, aisles, and break room corners.

  • Minimal scene changes—set pieces should shift fluidly to indicate location rather than resetting the stage.

  • A sense of corporate blandness should permeate—everything is functional, standardized, and a little too bright.

Pacing

  • Transitions between scenes should be quick and seamless to maintain momentum and underscore how the characters are caught in a continuous cycle.

  • Allow moments of silence when characters confront their choices—these pauses are as important as the dialogue.

Characters & Casting

  • Every employee has a unique relationship to the store, automation, and each other. Encourage actors to find specificity in how their character rationalizes staying.

  • The self checkout machine is never anthropomorphized physically—its presence is felt through lights, beeps, and disembodied announcements. This reinforces the contrast between mechanical efficiency and human fallibility.

  • The ensemble of customers can be double cast with employees if needed. Their transience contrasts with the employees’ rootedness.

Props & Costumes

  • Costumes should reflect corporate issued uniforms, slightly individualized by wear and tear or subtle personal touches (pins, nametags, etc.).

  • Props (scanners, receipts, shopping carts) should feel authentic but manageable in quantity to avoid visual clutter.

  • Avoid overly “retro” styling—this is a store of the recent past or near present, not a nostalgia piece.

Sound & Lighting

  • Sound design is crucial: beeping scanners, intercom announcements, door chimes all create the store’s relentless atmosphere.

  • Lighting should feel fluorescent and somewhat oppressive, shifting subtly to highlight emotional moments or isolate a character in their thoughts.

  • The final scene should feel markedly different: warmer and dimmer, suggesting that something human has broken through the corporate sheen.

Overall Theme

  • The core of the play is about choosing connection and meaning over convenience and detachment.

  • Even as the self checkout threatens to replace them, the employees’ small acts of kindness and resistance become acts of purpose.

Director’s Note

  • Let the audience feel the tension between the comic absurdity and the quiet heartbreak of staying in a place that doesn’t value you.

  • The play is not about mocking low wage work—it’s about honoring the dignity of people who persist in it.

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