CHARACTERS
GIRL
FRIEND 1
FRIEND 2
THERAPIST
BOY
WOMAN 1
WOMAN 2
WOMAN 3
Part One: GIRL, FRIEND 1, FRIEND 2, THERAPIST, BOY
Part Two: GIRL
Part Three: GIRL, WOMAN 1, WOMAN 2, WOMAN 3
Part Four: GIRL, Ensemble
“//” indicates the start of the next line.
Notes on Casting
Gender: With the exception of BOY, no other character is cis-male identifying. This does not include the ensemble at the end. Aside from that, though other characters have gendered names (ie. GIRL/WOMEN), they may be played as having different gender-identities.
Tracks: You can cast tracks if you would like, but ensure with costuming that the audience can identify them as different characters. Suggested tracks are FRIEND 1/WOMAN 2, FRIEND 2/WOMAN 1, THERAPIST/WOMAN 3.
Notes on Movement
Part One scene transitions and further transitions between parts should be heavily choreographed and dance-like. In Part One, GIRL should not move herself unless noted in the script during scene transitions.
Part Four should walk a line between staged and fully choreographed movement, leaning towards the choreographed.
PART ONE
Scene One: Bedroom
Lights up on GIRL. GIRL sits on a bed, facing upstage, curled up into a ball. She is wearing a bra and athletic shorts. Her arms wrap around herself. She breathes in…
And out…
And in…
And out…
And in, rolling her head to the right…
And out, dropping it back to center…
And in, rolling her head to the left…
And out, dropping it back to center…
And in…
…
…
…
…
…
And out. At this, “the sound” occurs. The lighting is chaotic. There is movement all over the stage, but GIRL is still… until she is lifted off her bed as it is pulled out from under her. Her legs unfurl beneath her as she stands. She turns to the front, looking lethargically at the chaos around her. A shirt is pulled over her head. All of a sudden FRIEND 1 and FRIEND 2 are with her. “The sound” stops and the lighting is returned to normal, bringing us into:
Scene Two: Sidewalk
As soon as “the sound” stops, the FRIENDS immediately begin walking, enthralled in their conversation. GIRL is present, but barely. She moves as if her clothes are too tight.
FRIEND 1: (playful, mocking) Soooo, what happened with you the other night?
FRIENDs laugh. GIRL looks away. Any presence she had is sucked out of her, and she is hollow. It takes FRIENDs a moment to notice this.
FRIEND 2: (to FRIEND 1) Wait, hold on, shhhh.
They look at GIRL. “The sound” begins again. The stage erupts into chaos, ultimately pulling out two couches, or a chair and a couch, or two chairs, etc.. One of them is placed directly behind GIRL. GIRL is placed into the chair. THERAPIST enters and sits opposite GIRL.
Scene Three: Therapy
After “the sound”, THERAPIST begins speaking almost immediately. THERAPIST speaks in a tone that is kind and comforting, but frequently consults books and checks the time throughout sessions. GIRL sits on the couch, small.
THERAPIST: We are coming to the end of our time. Is there anything else we should be checking in on?
GIRL shakes her head no.
THERAPIST: Well, I am glad we got to meet today. It seems like we may want to continue on a more regular basis.
GIRL nods, hesitantly.
THERAPIST: You’ve indicated your anxiety is getting less manageable. Maybe we could consider medication?
At “medication”, GIRL folds into herself, more than she already was.
THERAPIST: (standing up) Well it’s good you came in; I’ll walk you out.
“The sound” begins. Chaos. In the rush of everything, GIRL is lifted out of her seat and her shirt is pulled off of her. A dress is pulled over her head. There are people.
Scene Four: Party
The stage is crowded with thirty or so wasted teens, but eerily empty in the space around GIRL. Some terrible remix of songs that never needed to be remixed plays in the background, but muffled. GIRL and BOY are center stage. FRIENDs are somewhere visible. Everyone is dancing except BOY. GIRL is stumbling slightly throughout the scene. As the scene continues, the music slowly fades out and “the sound” slowly fades in. This should happen slow enough that the audience, and GIRL, cannot tell until it’s too late.
GIRL dances for a bit, stumbling slightly. BOY watches, amused. She is dancing and he is watching her. She smiles.
Eventually, she takes a big stumble, almost falling over. BOY catches her.
BOY: Woahhhhh, okay that’s enough. Let’s get ya home.
GIRL draws her finger down BOY’s chest. He looks and smiles. Beat.
BOY: Alright, I’m gonna go tell ‘em that we’re going.
BOY walks towards FRIENDs. GIRL attempts to call after him, slurring something out, but nothing recognizable as words. She tries to walk after him, but takes another big stumble, and ultimately decides to just try and keep herself standing still.
BOY: (shouting over the music) Hey! I’m gonna take her home now.
FRIENDs smile cheekily and nod as they continue to dance. BOY walks back over to GIRL, putting his arms around her to help stabilize. They exit, laughing.
“The sound,” rising throughout this scene, is now fully present. GIRL again stops as the world around her becomes chaos. Her dress is pulled off of her. A shirt is pulled over her head. The therapy seating is brought back on, placed underneath GIRL so her legs naturally bend into a sitting position. THERAPIST enters, helping GIRL into a small ball-like position on her seat before sitting herself. The world normalizes.
Scene Five: Therapy
The two sit in silence for a bit. GIRL is scratching at the back of her hand.
THERAPIST: Well… I want to thank you for telling me that. I’m sure it was hard for you.
More silence. There is nothing else for GIRL to say.
THERAPIST: But I think… I wonder… Hm, hang on. Let me think about…
Another beat. GIRL looks down, expecting. In this next bit, THERAPIST should not come across as insincere, but rather genuinely thoughtful. Almost as if each new sentence is a new realization in the theory she’s proposing. Lean into beats.
THERAPIST: I wonder if, maybe, since this was a new experience… and change can trigger your anxiety… I just wonder if your reaction is in line with the intensity of the situation. Should we do a worksheet?
More silence. After a long beat, GIRL shakes her head “no”. More silence.
THERAPIST: Well, we are at the end of our time. Maybe you could see some of your friends this weekend? It might help take your mind off things.
THERAPIST gets up to open the door. As GIRL stands:
THERAPIST: Oh! And maybe try those breathing exercises we worked on? Those things are life savers when my kids are acting up.
“The sound.” Chaos again. A table and three chairs come out. One chair is placed behind GIRL’s knees, forcing her to sit. FRIENDs occupy the other two chairs.
Scene Six: Mall
“The sound” stops. GIRL and FRIENDs are in the middle of a conversation. They are laughing. GIRL is squirming in her seat.
FRIEND 1: Oh my god! You’re totally into him!
Girl blushes. FRIENDs continue to laugh.
FRIEND 2: You so totally are! Oh my god look at you.
Girl joins in giggling with her friends.
“The sound,” again. Chaos, again. It is crowded, again. This time, the crowd is oppressive- the more people the better. Suffocating. An auditorium appears, facing downstage. GIRL is pulled up from her chair. She ends up at the back of the center aisle of the auditorium. BOY and FRIENDS sit together. There is an empty chair next to them.
Scene 7: Auditorium
“The sound” is quiet, but it does not stop completely. At points it fades out and fades in, but its presence is noticeable. There is chatter. BOY and FRIENDs laugh and joke together. GIRL breaths in…
And out…
And in…
She takes one step…
She is scratching her hand…
She takes another step…
The chatter is getting louder…
Her head squirms…
She breathes in….
Another step…
And out…
Louder….
Step…
In…
Out…
Louder…
Louder…
In…
Out…
Louder…
And then…
silence…
Everyone has stopped talking. Everyone is looking at GIRL. A beat… Then, “the sound”. It is nearly deafening. GIRL curls into a ball. The auditorium disappears into the wings. Her shirt is removed from her. She is lifted onto her bed. It is just her and her bed left on stage.
Scene 8: Bedroom
She breathes in…
And out…
And in…
And out…
And in, rolling her head to the right…
And out, dropping it back to center…
And in, rolling her head to the left…
And out, dropping it back to center…
And in…
…
…
…
…
…
And out.
She breathes in…
FRIEND 1 enters, starting a row downstage
Out…
In…
FRIEND 2 enters, joining
Out…
In…
THERAPIST enters
Out…
In…
BOY enters…
Out…
GIRL continues breathing as:
FRIEND 1: I know him sooo well.
FRIEND 2: He was never like that with me.
THERAPIST: I think we should be careful how we describe things…
BOY: You liked me…
FRIEND 2: I just don’t have that experience // with him
BOY: It was // fun
THERAPIST: Make sure it feels // accurate before taking things further
FRIEND 1: I just can’t believe he would do / that
The following lines should all begin and end at the same time, with the last sentence of each said in sync.
FRIEND 1: // I just know that he would never do something like that. We’ve been best friends since we were kids. He’s not that type of guy. I’m sorry, but if he said that’s not how it happened then I have to believe him. That’s just what friends do. I honestly think its kind of fucked up that you would say that about him when like you liked him. Like what even is that. Do you really think it happened that way? Are you sure?
FRIEND 2: // I’ve been with him alone before. Like a lot. He’s always been nice. Never made me feel uncomfortable. Not once. I just can’t imagine him being like that. I just… God I don’t know. Are you sure?
THERAPIST: // I am here to validate and support you, but I am concerned. Certain words have really specific meanings and I want to make sure we understand that and are not taking it lightly.I really think that our time should be spent on trying to get your anxiety in check. Just make sure that you’re sure before moving forward. Are you sure?
BOY: // Listen, we liked each other. We both had a good time. I don’t get what you get out of going around and saying you didn’t. Like we’re friends. If you wanna talk shit about me, then fuck you. Do you understand that you could ruin my fucking life. Are you sure you want to do that to me? Are you sure?
At “are you sure”, all characters flip to look at GIRL, who is now hyperventilating. “the sound” climaxes and then silence. The stage dims. No blackout. FRIENDs, THERAPIST, and BOY exit slowly. End of Part One.
PART TWO
The dim light slowly rises into the look for this scene over the following action. GIRL slows her breathing. She stretches out of bed. She finds a sweatshirt or a robe or something to put on. She lays on the floor.
GIRL: Do you ever feel like you’re not real? Like your body isn’t yours? I feel like that… I do. And you would think it would feel weird. Or bad maybe. Like, that’s what you would think right? But it doesn’t. It might even feel better. (sitting up) Different, at least.
GIRL gets up. She goes somewhere. She gets nail polish. It’s pink. She comes back to sit near the edge of the stage. It is preferable for house lights to be at half for the remainder of section 2. If the actress playing GIRL is able to paint her toes, she should do so, but if not, her hands are fine. This all takes time… And then:
(beat, focusing on painting one toe in particular) I told my big sister about that. About it feeling weird. And she was like “whaddayamean it’s weird” and I was like “I don’t know man it’s just weird”. (beat) I think she loves me a lot. I do. I mean we fight a lot, but like she’s my sister. And ya know, sometimes I see her and I think she feels kind of weird too. She would never say it but… I look at her and she always moves like her clothes are too small. Like there’s something to hide there. (chuckling) Ya know she asked me if I wanted to go to a support group. She didn’t even say what for. It was like she just knew. Like I left and then I came back one day and she saw me and she asked if I wanted to go to a support group. She sees me and she just knows. She’s tried to get me to talk to her but I don’t think I can. I don’t think I really want to? I don’t think it would help me or anything. I don’t even know if I need help. It’s not like the worst thing in the world or anything. That’s why I said no to that support group. Well, besides the fact that they’re lame and dumb, but like, I just felt like I would go and there would be girls who are like fourteen or women with like home invasions and shit and I’m like I was a drunk 18 year old. I’m a drunk 18 year old. That’s like what I’m supposed to be. I don’t even think that my body feeling weird has anything to do with it really. (she checks to make sure this is true) Like not really.
If GIRL is done painting her nails, she goes to put the nail polish away. She meanders, maybe fixing something on her bed. She goes back to sit. This action takes the whole following paragraph.
I think that when you’re 18 and you lose yourself socially you just lose yourself for real because like what else is there at 18? And in my head all these people just stopped talking to me, but I wonder if really I stopped talking to me and then they just took me with them? And this body is meant to be there too and it’s not and whoever I am now just has nothing in common with whoever I was? Maybe it’s like that. And so maybe my body feels so weird because my body isn’t really me anymore, it’s just a thing, a vessel for other people to look at and talk to and….
Sitting, thinking. Maybe fidgeting with a rug or a sock. This next bit is genuinely to the audience; there is no performance here.
Have you ever had a best friend? Like a real best friend. Like you became friends with a person and you just felt so cosmically connected to them and like even when you said the wildest things they just totally understood you and it felt like they loved you so deeply and you felt so safe. It’s great to have a friendship like that. And I think it’s really rare too. Like with all the variables of time and space, how many people can there be that are meant to be your people? And I’m not talking about soulmates and romance. It’s deeper than that. It’s like this type of love that you know you could have forever if you wanted it that way.
I texted him a few days ago. I apologized to him. I said that I felt weird but I trust him and I didn’t want to throw away my best friend because he was my best friend. I just missed him so much. I miss him so much. He said that he would think about it. He said that I had broken his trust. I went to bed and I had this nightmare and I felt so feminine and delicate. He texted me back the next day… and I didn’t respond.
Taking a beat, then elaborating
It was sorta grey. I don’t know how to describe it.. And I know I could talk to some like blue-haired uber feminist and she would be like “reclaim your words and body in love and light queen slay” but like I don’t know. Nothing feels right. And it wasn’t just that I didn’t have a good time. I mean, I didn’t but… I try to think back and all I can remember is closing my eyes (she closes her eyes, tilting her head up, “the sound” fades in) And then nothing was real.
“The sound” fades out. GIRL’s bedroom is taken offstage. End of Part Two.
PART THREE
Around the stage appears WOMAN 1, WOMAN 2, and WOMAN 3. Each has a unique relationship to GIRL, indicated by the setting that each sit within. In all of these settings, the chair that would be opposite the character is figuratively placed in the audience. When speaking to GIRL, each character looks in that respective direction. GIRL stands in front of them, facing downstage.
When the WOMEN talk, they each may talk at the pace of their character, but the spaces between each speaking should be as short as possible, with the exception of when GIRL speaks or is first responded to.
WOMAN 1: Hi.
WOMAN 2: Good Morning.
WOMAN 3: Hey.
GIRL: (hesitantly) Hey.
(in sync)
WOMAN 1: //How are you?
WOMAN 2: //How are you?
WOMAN 3: //How are you?
GIRL: Um… I’m good. Fine I guess.
WOMAN 2: I haven’t seen your friends lately.
WOMAN 3: So… I heard about the fight.
WOMAN 1: Do you want to tell me what’s been going on?
GIRL: Yeah uh.. Well, a lot has happened lately. I haven’t really talked to anyone about it.
WOMAN 3: Yeah I get that. That’s kinda what I heard.
WOMAN 2: Oh.
WOMAN 1: Would you like to?
GIRL: I guess I could… talk… to someone. I just don’t think it would help. And like… I don’t know. It’s hard to figure out the words.
WOMAN 3: //You can talk to me.
WOMAN 2: //You can talk to me.
WOMAN 1: //You can talk to me.
As GIRL speaks, WOMEN react. The audience does not hear GIRL at all, however, as “the sound” returns and plays over her dialogue. It fades eventually, and then:
WOMAN 2: Thank you // for telling me.
WOMAN 1: Thank you for tell//ing me.
WOMAN 3: Thank you for telling me.
WOMAN 2: I understand and I am here for you, however you need. I can help you tell someone if you want. We are all here for you.
WOMAN 1: Everything you are feeling right now is so valid. And we can talk more if you want. Or we can listen to music. Or draw. Or color. Whatever would help.
WOMAN 3: I… I’m so sorry… I… I just want you to know that I believe you. Completely.
GIRL tears up. A long beat.
GIRL: Thanks.
End of Part Three.
PART FOUR
Music. Movement. Nearly a dance. GIRL embraces her body. It is heavily intimate. “the sound” comes in occasionally, faintly, but is quickly washed away by the care of her touch. Women fill the stage. Slowly at first, then more. They are all completely different. Eventually, some men join in too.
They breathe together…
In…
Out…
In…
Out…
This takes time. When it ends, GIRL and the others stand together on stage.
Blackout. End of play.
Mads Wren is a rising senior at DePaul University, double majoring in Theatre Arts and Applied Diplomacy. As a theatre artist, Mads directs, writes, performs, and teaches. Recent credits include Ride the Cyclone (The Theatre School: Assistant Director), endlings (The Theatre School Climate Festival: Director and Bright Star (Blue Demon Theatre: Choreographer). This summer, they will be working as a teaching artist at the Creative Root summer camp.