1 year, 6 months ago
I need some scene suggestions from a published play for 2 people.
For an acting class me and a partner have to preform a scene from a published play. The scene needs to last at minimum 7 minutes.
I need some suggestions from you...
1) Please provide at least one dramatic scene and one comedic scene.
2) Preferably between a male and a female, though any combination is acceptable.
Thanks
I need some suggestions from you...
1) Please provide at least one dramatic scene and one comedic scene.
2) Preferably between a male and a female, though any combination is acceptable.
Thanks
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M$5 Answers
My first choice when I saw this question was a scene from Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. Although I've not timed the scene the dialogue between Linda and Willy would make a good example of a dramatic scene ( the opening scene of the play )
For the comic scene you should grab a copy of Laugh Lines by Eric Lane and Nina Shengold. It will be in most libraries. It's a great collection of comic plays for drama students. There is one play in the collection called The Way of All Fish by Elaine May which is satire humor 100% very very creepy and funny.
Not sure if this helps but I hope you find some good plays to consider
For the comic scene you should grab a copy of Laugh Lines by Eric Lane and Nina Shengold. It will be in most libraries. It's a great collection of comic plays for drama students. There is one play in the collection called The Way of All Fish by Elaine May which is satire humor 100% very very creepy and funny.
Not sure if this helps but I hope you find some good plays to consider
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M$Report Abuse
Here are two scenes that I found that I like. Hope you like them too. Best of luck to you on your readings in class.
I like this comedic scene:
The Ketchup Bottle
by Tony Devaney Morinelli
CAST 2
Props: A TABLE AND TWO CHAIRS. TWO PLACE SETTINGS WITH FOOD. A KETCHUP BOTTLE.
Setting: TWO PEOPLE SITTING AT A TABLE: ONE IS TRYING TO EAT, THE OTHER IS SLOWLY TEARING THE
LABEL FROM A KETCHUP BOTTLE.
As 1 eats with knife and fork, 1 sees 2.
There are a series of attempts to continue eating, each interrupted by 2 tearing the label from the bottle.
This interaction may go on as long as it can be effectively sustained
Finally, 1 has had enough.
1. Do you have to do that? (This line may be attacked either "through the teeth" or with a wild outburst. Try different
ways to see which suits the actor.)
2. Do what?
1 .What you're doing.
2. What am I doing?
1. THAT !
2. What “THAT”?
1. THAT! (Points to the bottle and label)
Do you have to scrape the label off the ketchup bottle?
2. Why?
1. Because it's annoying that's why?
2. It's only a label.
1. That's not the point. It's annoying?
2. What's annoying about it?
1. Your fingers, like this (imitates “2's” scratching) — And the way you stare!
2. Whadda you mean?
1. You go like this (demonstrates) and your eyes glaze over like you're on drugs or something.
2. You're nuts you know that.
1. I'm nuts? I'm nuts? You sit there scraping the glue off a ketchup bottle label like you were prying into the secrets of
your navel and I'm the one whose nuts!
2. The secrets of my navel? The secrets of my navel! How would such an idea enter any normal person's head. You are
completely warped.
1. You do it to annoy me don't you? You know I like to keep things nice and you just make a mess of them to annoy me.
2. Why is it that everything I do bugs you?
1. That's not true.
2. Yes, it is. You always have something to say about everything I do.
The way I fold my napkin.
1. The way you don't fold your napkin!
2. My sniffles.
1. Your snorting!
2. There's always something you're complaining about.
1. That's not true.
2. Everything I do bugs you.
1. Don't be ridiculous.
2. Remember last week?
1. What last week?
2. The straw.
1. (Flatly) The straw?
2. Yeh, when I showed you that neat trick with the straw.
(2 demonstrates the trick. See note)
You know. You pull off the wrapper so it stays all scrunched up and then put tiny....
1 tiny drops of coke on it.
2, Yeh, and it squiggles like a snake.
1. And makes a mess all over the table!
2. But it's kind of neat, you gotta admit.
1. It's a mess. Coke all over, wet paper stuck to the table.
2. Why can't you just accept me for me, the way I am.
1. We are what we do. You can control those things. You don't have to be a pig.
1Note: If you are not familiar with this trick. Take a straw and pull the wrapper all the way down to its base without
tearing the paper. The wrapper will form an accordian shaped stub. Remove the stub and place it on the table. Dip the
tip of the straw in the coke and syphon up just a drop or two. Hold your finger on the upper end (to lock the air) then
release a drop on the curled up wrapper. The wrapper will slowly unfold and expand like a crawling worm.
2. Now I'm a pig!
1. I didn't say you are one, all I said was you don't have to be one.
2. Are you so perfect? All you ever do is complain.
1. It's not complaining. It's constructive criticism.
2. Constructive?
1. I'm looking out for your welfare.
2. I think I'm old enough to take care of myseW thank you very much!
1. Well, you're not old enough to sit still at the table.
2. I was perfectly fine at the table. You're the one who started the fuss. I was minding my own business
1. Tearing off ketchup bottle labels. How infantile!
2. "Unless you become as little children"....
1. Don't quote the bible to me, and anyhow, that's not what it means.
2. How do you know what it means. Are you a priest or something?
1. You don't have to be a priest to know that that's not what it means.
2. Oh, pardon me Mr Biblical Scholar.
1. Listen to yourself How childish.
2. Look. I was just sitting here, minding my own business, not bothering anyone.
(Each trying to outdo the other)
1. Tearing off labels from ketchup bottles...
2 perfectly content minding my own business
1. sitting right there in my face and making a mess all over the table with all those little bits of paper.
2. Get over it!
1. I won't get over it! There's no need to
2. No need to what? - Complain about every little thing.
1. I'm not complaining. I'm trying to lead a decent life.
2. What's life got to do with a ketchup bottle?
1. Nothing. It's not the bottle it's the label.
2. The label!?
1. You know what I mean.
2. No I don't know what you mean. I don't think you do either.
1. It's the principle of the thing. Look what you've done.
2. What have I done?
1. Look at the bottle.
2. So?
1. It has no label. How are you supposed to know what's in there?
2. Whadda ya mean what's in there. It's ketchup!
1. But you took the label off
2. So what. It's still ketchup.
1. How am I supposed to know that?
2. Any moron can see that it's ketchup.
1. So I'm a moron!
2. I didn't say you were a moron. I said you can see that it's ketchup!
1. It could be anything in that bottle - hot Tabasco sauce!
2. It’s ketchup! You can see it’s ketchup! You can tell it’s ketchup! It looks like ketchup and it
smells like ketchup!
(2 grabs 1's hand and pushes 1's index finger into the bottle._
1. Here, stick your finger in it! It tastes like ketchup!
(1 puts finger into the bottle. Brings finger to the mouth and tastes it. Then, enjoying the taste, moves to put the finger
back in the bottle for another lick. There is a long pause of disbelief in the part of 2. Then:)
2. Do you have to do that!
1. Do what:?
2. What you’re doing.
1. What am I doing?
2. That!
1. That?
2. Your finger!
(1 looks at finger.)
1. I just want to be sure.
(Lights begin to dim)
2. Sure of what!?
1. Sure of ketchup.
2. Ketchup!? With your finger? You're gonna put your finger back in the bottle after you put it in your mouth?
1. I just wanted to see
2. You're gonna put your germy fingers back in that bottle after they were in your mouth? It won't kill anyone. I'm not sick.
2. How can you do a thing like that. It's revolting. (Lights out.)
____________
I like this dramatic scene:
NO SUCH THING
by Douglas Hill
CHARACTERS
STEVEN
ALAN
and ALAN sit in typical hotel convention center furniture, huddled over the corner of a small coffee table. Their laptop cases or briefcases lean casually against the furniture. Both men are dressed in slacks, jackets, and ties.
ALAN: Honestly? I thought it was great.
STEVEN: Yeah?
ALAN: I thought it was probably one of the best things you’ve ever written. I’m so proud of you. Thank you for sending it to me.
STEVEN: his grin overtake him That’s—That’s great. I’m glad you liked it.
ALAN: Confidentially: you may have just saved my job for me.
STEVEN: Nnahh. I was glad to do it. Did your boss say—What did your boss think?
Beat.
ALAN: Bob…well. Bob liked it, too. Except. The pseudonym. The pseudonym is a problem for us.
STEVEN: It is?
ALAN: That’s our policy. You didn’t know that, I take it.
STEVEN: No. It’s not—when you asked me to submit, you didn’t mention—
ALAN: Yeah, we don’t do anonymous either.
STEVEN: So…he’s—what? He’s not going to print it?
ALAN: Oh, no. He loved it, yeah. He’s gung ho to publish it in the next issue. But the pseudonym.
ALAN fixes STEVEN with an expectant stare.
STEVEN: You told him it was a pseudonym?
Pause.
ALAN: He would’ve found out about it sooner or later. And it’s your style. I mean, it couldn’t get any more apparent that it’s your style of writing. But this is cleaner, you know? It’s almost a distillation of your style. Like I said, this is some of the best stuff you’ve ever written. I couldn’t wait to show it to Bob.
STEVEN: Did you…Did you…?
ALAN: Um—yeah. That’s why I wanted to find you before the conference ended tomorrow, and you left to go back—
STEVEN: nervous Oh, God—is he going to—
ALAN: Let me tell you how we can make this work.
STEVEN: I can’t come out on this piece, Alan. I can’t. I live in—it’s Utah. We’ve got a new Dean at the college, and he’s very nice and very supportive and very Mormon.
ALAN: —I know—
STEVEN: And that would be the end of the job for me. They’d fire me in a heartbeat. I can’t come out on this piece.
ALAN: nodding The Catholics are in the same boat. We’re all being drug back into the dark ages. But in all honesty, Bob has a very small subscription base outside of California. And frankly, we need your piece. This is far and above what we normally get from our—
STEVEN: But he can’t run that essay without my pseudonym. It’ll kill me. You’ve got to tell him that. It would take away everything.
ALAN: Let me tell you what—
STEVEN: There’s no negotiating here! I’m dead serious!
ALAN: Steven. I showed Bob those other things you wrote on the internet. Under the pseudonym. And he loved those, too. He’s really impressed with you. He said you could freelance for the rest of your life with absolutely no problem.
STEVEN: I don’t want to freelance; I want to teach.
ALAN: I know. And let me tellya, Bob was surprised to find out you teach PoliSci in Utah, because you write like someone from—
STEVEN: You told him where I work?
ALAN: Not the exact college.
STEVEN: How much did you out me?
ALAN: Bob said he’d pitch you for other jobs with some of his friends around L.A. That’s how much he was impressed. This could lead to something big for you. For all of us. He’s asking me how many other friends I have hidden away who can write like you.
STEVEN: I know this is supposed to be a compliment…But if I lose my job because he prints my real name—I can’t afford to live in L.A. on freelance work. I’ve got great benefits in Utah. I like my teaching job!
ALAN: Look, it’s a good essay. It’s a great essay. You make a million points in it that are smart—God are they smart. Every gay man in the country should be reading this piece. Do you realize how easily you could become a leading national figure for us?
STEVEN: But then all it takes is one Google search or Lexis-Nexis and I’m out of work. (Exhale.) Forget it, Alan. I’ll…I don’t know. I’m sorry—I’ll submit it somewhere else.
ALAN: Well, Steven…I mean, Jesus. Are you really going to jerk me around like this? You send me your stuff, and I get my boss all excited about it, and now you just decide to take it back?
STEVEN: I’m sorry, but—
ALAN: I mean this isn’t about your job alone. We’re talking about my job too, here.
STEVEN: Tell Bob I got cold feet. Tell him—
ALAN: Why did you even bother? I mean, this is obviously not about “publish or perish.” If you wanted to just be a teacher, why did you write this piece in the first place? Or anything else for that matter?
STEVEN: Because you asked me to. And I believe in what I wrote. I think it’s a good essay.
ALAN: So do I. Don’t get me wrong. But you don’t think anyone else should know that you wrote it?
STEVEN: It doesn’t matter that people know it’s me. What matters is the thought.
ALAN: To be perfectly honest, Steven, I think what matters is that you’re willing to let these Mormon jerks terrorize you into a corner.
STEVEN: Alan, Dean Burton is not a jerk. He’s been very supportive of me and even got me a per diem for my meals here at the conference this year. The last thing that—
ALAN: Because he thought you were straight, buddy. You got a heterosexual per diem. Not a gay one.
STEVEN: They don’t make gay per diems.
ALAN: Not in Utah, they don’t.
STEVEN: And they don’t make heterosexual ones—
ALAN: Don’t even kid yourself. Don’t even kid yourself.
STEVEN: Burton is a good man. And he supports—
ALAN: Who thinks you’re straight.
STEVEN: He supports me—do you know how hard it was for me to get to this conference last year? Do you—do you know how hard I had to fight to get administrative leave from my classes? Burton came on in July and practically handed me the—the travel docs, the per diem—
ALAN: Because he thought you were straight. And this, if I’m not mistaken, is the one of the points in your essay. But in real life, you let him push you into the closet rather than—
STEVEN: Okay, maybe you’re right! And if I worked at UCLA or UNLV or U. of A., I could get a—a gay per diem. But I work in the heart of the Mormon Territory—
ALAN: —Good ole Hetero Happy Valley—
STEVEN: —And guess what: I work with people I like. This is a good job for me. And the minute Burton finds out I’m gay, I’ll get the axe. Alan, I’ve got a mortgage.
ALAN: Thank God the man is so supportive.
STEVEN: Okay, this is your cause. It’s—it’s not mine. I don’t wrap myself in the rainbow and do the parade. You know that. You’ve always known—
ALAN: No, you’d rather pretend to be something you’re not so you can get a per diem…A f*****g per diem, Steven! Think about it. It’s like prostituting yourself for dinner. Wouldn’t you rather set an example? I’m sure there must be some little gay Mormon boy in your class needing a role model. Am I right?
STEVEN: Not everyone is you, Alan. Some gay men prefer to be a little more discreet.
ALAN: —give me a break—
STEVEN: My students and co-workers don’t have to know everything about me; and here’s a little news flash: Having a private life works out just fine for me.
ALAN: You’re not acting like a private person when you write essays like the one you just sent me. Don’t you think it’s time you finally had the courage of your convictions?
Pause.
STEVEN: Goodbye. Maybe I’ll see you here next year.
ALAN: Come on, Steven. Stop running away from this. If you asked everybody at this conference what they thought about a smart, articulate, gay political science teacher—
STEVEN: —Would you keep your voice down?—
ALAN: —who in this day and age—under this presidential administration!—chooses of his own free will to stay hidden in the closet; most of them would say there’s no such thing. But this is what you’re doing because someone at a Mormon college is promising you a free lunch.
STEVEN: Well maybe you shouldn’t have asked me to write something in the first place. You know? Maybe you should have begged an essay from some other ex-boyfriend; some other over-the-top drag queen who needs to be the center of attention at your fabulous L.A. gay soirees. I’ll just take my essay and submit it to a magazine that doesn’t have your self-righteous mission to out every gay man in America.
ALAN: Well, you can’t.
Beat.
STEVEN: I’ll submit it wherever I want.
ALAN: We’re running the essay. It’s going to print on Monday.
Pause.
That’s why I wanted to talk with you before the conference ended.
STEVEN: I didn’t—You can’t print it without a contract. I haven’t signed anything. I’ll sue you so fast, your g*****n head will spin off.
ALAN: We’re not running it as a feature. It’s in our op/ed section.
STEVEN: …what?
ALAN: All submissions to our op/ed department immediately become property of the magazine.
STEVEN: You sonofabitch, I sent it to you as a feature.
ALAN: I’m not the features editor, you know that.
STEVEN: But you’re supposed to be my friend.
ALAN: And I got Bob to cut you a check for the essay. We don’t normally pay for the op/ed.
STEVEN: Alan, please—I am begging you: Tell Bob this was all a big mistake. Tell him that it’s not an op/ed—
ALAN: It’s too good an essay for us not to run it. I personally know men who have been waiting for an essay like this. This is going to make a difference.
STEVEN is crushed, lost, adrift.
And you’re not the only one with a mortgage, Steven.
STEVEN: You asked me to send you—you said you were. . . Why are you doing this to me?
ALAN: Jesus, buddy. In the big picture, this has very little to do with you.
throws a right punch and knocks ALAN to the floor. STEVEN towers over him.
BLACKOUT
I like this comedic scene:
The Ketchup Bottle
by Tony Devaney Morinelli
CAST 2
Props: A TABLE AND TWO CHAIRS. TWO PLACE SETTINGS WITH FOOD. A KETCHUP BOTTLE.
Setting: TWO PEOPLE SITTING AT A TABLE: ONE IS TRYING TO EAT, THE OTHER IS SLOWLY TEARING THE
LABEL FROM A KETCHUP BOTTLE.
As 1 eats with knife and fork, 1 sees 2.
There are a series of attempts to continue eating, each interrupted by 2 tearing the label from the bottle.
This interaction may go on as long as it can be effectively sustained
Finally, 1 has had enough.
1. Do you have to do that? (This line may be attacked either "through the teeth" or with a wild outburst. Try different
ways to see which suits the actor.)
2. Do what?
1 .What you're doing.
2. What am I doing?
1. THAT !
2. What “THAT”?
1. THAT! (Points to the bottle and label)
Do you have to scrape the label off the ketchup bottle?
2. Why?
1. Because it's annoying that's why?
2. It's only a label.
1. That's not the point. It's annoying?
2. What's annoying about it?
1. Your fingers, like this (imitates “2's” scratching) — And the way you stare!
2. Whadda you mean?
1. You go like this (demonstrates) and your eyes glaze over like you're on drugs or something.
2. You're nuts you know that.
1. I'm nuts? I'm nuts? You sit there scraping the glue off a ketchup bottle label like you were prying into the secrets of
your navel and I'm the one whose nuts!
2. The secrets of my navel? The secrets of my navel! How would such an idea enter any normal person's head. You are
completely warped.
1. You do it to annoy me don't you? You know I like to keep things nice and you just make a mess of them to annoy me.
2. Why is it that everything I do bugs you?
1. That's not true.
2. Yes, it is. You always have something to say about everything I do.
The way I fold my napkin.
1. The way you don't fold your napkin!
2. My sniffles.
1. Your snorting!
2. There's always something you're complaining about.
1. That's not true.
2. Everything I do bugs you.
1. Don't be ridiculous.
2. Remember last week?
1. What last week?
2. The straw.
1. (Flatly) The straw?
2. Yeh, when I showed you that neat trick with the straw.
(2 demonstrates the trick. See note)
You know. You pull off the wrapper so it stays all scrunched up and then put tiny....
1 tiny drops of coke on it.
2, Yeh, and it squiggles like a snake.
1. And makes a mess all over the table!
2. But it's kind of neat, you gotta admit.
1. It's a mess. Coke all over, wet paper stuck to the table.
2. Why can't you just accept me for me, the way I am.
1. We are what we do. You can control those things. You don't have to be a pig.
1Note: If you are not familiar with this trick. Take a straw and pull the wrapper all the way down to its base without
tearing the paper. The wrapper will form an accordian shaped stub. Remove the stub and place it on the table. Dip the
tip of the straw in the coke and syphon up just a drop or two. Hold your finger on the upper end (to lock the air) then
release a drop on the curled up wrapper. The wrapper will slowly unfold and expand like a crawling worm.
2. Now I'm a pig!
1. I didn't say you are one, all I said was you don't have to be one.
2. Are you so perfect? All you ever do is complain.
1. It's not complaining. It's constructive criticism.
2. Constructive?
1. I'm looking out for your welfare.
2. I think I'm old enough to take care of myseW thank you very much!
1. Well, you're not old enough to sit still at the table.
2. I was perfectly fine at the table. You're the one who started the fuss. I was minding my own business
1. Tearing off ketchup bottle labels. How infantile!
2. "Unless you become as little children"....
1. Don't quote the bible to me, and anyhow, that's not what it means.
2. How do you know what it means. Are you a priest or something?
1. You don't have to be a priest to know that that's not what it means.
2. Oh, pardon me Mr Biblical Scholar.
1. Listen to yourself How childish.
2. Look. I was just sitting here, minding my own business, not bothering anyone.
(Each trying to outdo the other)
1. Tearing off labels from ketchup bottles...
2 perfectly content minding my own business
1. sitting right there in my face and making a mess all over the table with all those little bits of paper.
2. Get over it!
1. I won't get over it! There's no need to
2. No need to what? - Complain about every little thing.
1. I'm not complaining. I'm trying to lead a decent life.
2. What's life got to do with a ketchup bottle?
1. Nothing. It's not the bottle it's the label.
2. The label!?
1. You know what I mean.
2. No I don't know what you mean. I don't think you do either.
1. It's the principle of the thing. Look what you've done.
2. What have I done?
1. Look at the bottle.
2. So?
1. It has no label. How are you supposed to know what's in there?
2. Whadda ya mean what's in there. It's ketchup!
1. But you took the label off
2. So what. It's still ketchup.
1. How am I supposed to know that?
2. Any moron can see that it's ketchup.
1. So I'm a moron!
2. I didn't say you were a moron. I said you can see that it's ketchup!
1. It could be anything in that bottle - hot Tabasco sauce!
2. It’s ketchup! You can see it’s ketchup! You can tell it’s ketchup! It looks like ketchup and it
smells like ketchup!
(2 grabs 1's hand and pushes 1's index finger into the bottle._
1. Here, stick your finger in it! It tastes like ketchup!
(1 puts finger into the bottle. Brings finger to the mouth and tastes it. Then, enjoying the taste, moves to put the finger
back in the bottle for another lick. There is a long pause of disbelief in the part of 2. Then:)
2. Do you have to do that!
1. Do what:?
2. What you’re doing.
1. What am I doing?
2. That!
1. That?
2. Your finger!
(1 looks at finger.)
1. I just want to be sure.
(Lights begin to dim)
2. Sure of what!?
1. Sure of ketchup.
2. Ketchup!? With your finger? You're gonna put your finger back in the bottle after you put it in your mouth?
1. I just wanted to see
2. You're gonna put your germy fingers back in that bottle after they were in your mouth? It won't kill anyone. I'm not sick.
2. How can you do a thing like that. It's revolting. (Lights out.)
____________
I like this dramatic scene:
NO SUCH THING
by Douglas Hill
CHARACTERS
STEVEN
ALAN
and ALAN sit in typical hotel convention center furniture, huddled over the corner of a small coffee table. Their laptop cases or briefcases lean casually against the furniture. Both men are dressed in slacks, jackets, and ties.
ALAN: Honestly? I thought it was great.
STEVEN: Yeah?
ALAN: I thought it was probably one of the best things you’ve ever written. I’m so proud of you. Thank you for sending it to me.
STEVEN: his grin overtake him That’s—That’s great. I’m glad you liked it.
ALAN: Confidentially: you may have just saved my job for me.
STEVEN: Nnahh. I was glad to do it. Did your boss say—What did your boss think?
Beat.
ALAN: Bob…well. Bob liked it, too. Except. The pseudonym. The pseudonym is a problem for us.
STEVEN: It is?
ALAN: That’s our policy. You didn’t know that, I take it.
STEVEN: No. It’s not—when you asked me to submit, you didn’t mention—
ALAN: Yeah, we don’t do anonymous either.
STEVEN: So…he’s—what? He’s not going to print it?
ALAN: Oh, no. He loved it, yeah. He’s gung ho to publish it in the next issue. But the pseudonym.
ALAN fixes STEVEN with an expectant stare.
STEVEN: You told him it was a pseudonym?
Pause.
ALAN: He would’ve found out about it sooner or later. And it’s your style. I mean, it couldn’t get any more apparent that it’s your style of writing. But this is cleaner, you know? It’s almost a distillation of your style. Like I said, this is some of the best stuff you’ve ever written. I couldn’t wait to show it to Bob.
STEVEN: Did you…Did you…?
ALAN: Um—yeah. That’s why I wanted to find you before the conference ended tomorrow, and you left to go back—
STEVEN: nervous Oh, God—is he going to—
ALAN: Let me tell you how we can make this work.
STEVEN: I can’t come out on this piece, Alan. I can’t. I live in—it’s Utah. We’ve got a new Dean at the college, and he’s very nice and very supportive and very Mormon.
ALAN: —I know—
STEVEN: And that would be the end of the job for me. They’d fire me in a heartbeat. I can’t come out on this piece.
ALAN: nodding The Catholics are in the same boat. We’re all being drug back into the dark ages. But in all honesty, Bob has a very small subscription base outside of California. And frankly, we need your piece. This is far and above what we normally get from our—
STEVEN: But he can’t run that essay without my pseudonym. It’ll kill me. You’ve got to tell him that. It would take away everything.
ALAN: Let me tell you what—
STEVEN: There’s no negotiating here! I’m dead serious!
ALAN: Steven. I showed Bob those other things you wrote on the internet. Under the pseudonym. And he loved those, too. He’s really impressed with you. He said you could freelance for the rest of your life with absolutely no problem.
STEVEN: I don’t want to freelance; I want to teach.
ALAN: I know. And let me tellya, Bob was surprised to find out you teach PoliSci in Utah, because you write like someone from—
STEVEN: You told him where I work?
ALAN: Not the exact college.
STEVEN: How much did you out me?
ALAN: Bob said he’d pitch you for other jobs with some of his friends around L.A. That’s how much he was impressed. This could lead to something big for you. For all of us. He’s asking me how many other friends I have hidden away who can write like you.
STEVEN: I know this is supposed to be a compliment…But if I lose my job because he prints my real name—I can’t afford to live in L.A. on freelance work. I’ve got great benefits in Utah. I like my teaching job!
ALAN: Look, it’s a good essay. It’s a great essay. You make a million points in it that are smart—God are they smart. Every gay man in the country should be reading this piece. Do you realize how easily you could become a leading national figure for us?
STEVEN: But then all it takes is one Google search or Lexis-Nexis and I’m out of work. (Exhale.) Forget it, Alan. I’ll…I don’t know. I’m sorry—I’ll submit it somewhere else.
ALAN: Well, Steven…I mean, Jesus. Are you really going to jerk me around like this? You send me your stuff, and I get my boss all excited about it, and now you just decide to take it back?
STEVEN: I’m sorry, but—
ALAN: I mean this isn’t about your job alone. We’re talking about my job too, here.
STEVEN: Tell Bob I got cold feet. Tell him—
ALAN: Why did you even bother? I mean, this is obviously not about “publish or perish.” If you wanted to just be a teacher, why did you write this piece in the first place? Or anything else for that matter?
STEVEN: Because you asked me to. And I believe in what I wrote. I think it’s a good essay.
ALAN: So do I. Don’t get me wrong. But you don’t think anyone else should know that you wrote it?
STEVEN: It doesn’t matter that people know it’s me. What matters is the thought.
ALAN: To be perfectly honest, Steven, I think what matters is that you’re willing to let these Mormon jerks terrorize you into a corner.
STEVEN: Alan, Dean Burton is not a jerk. He’s been very supportive of me and even got me a per diem for my meals here at the conference this year. The last thing that—
ALAN: Because he thought you were straight, buddy. You got a heterosexual per diem. Not a gay one.
STEVEN: They don’t make gay per diems.
ALAN: Not in Utah, they don’t.
STEVEN: And they don’t make heterosexual ones—
ALAN: Don’t even kid yourself. Don’t even kid yourself.
STEVEN: Burton is a good man. And he supports—
ALAN: Who thinks you’re straight.
STEVEN: He supports me—do you know how hard it was for me to get to this conference last year? Do you—do you know how hard I had to fight to get administrative leave from my classes? Burton came on in July and practically handed me the—the travel docs, the per diem—
ALAN: Because he thought you were straight. And this, if I’m not mistaken, is the one of the points in your essay. But in real life, you let him push you into the closet rather than—
STEVEN: Okay, maybe you’re right! And if I worked at UCLA or UNLV or U. of A., I could get a—a gay per diem. But I work in the heart of the Mormon Territory—
ALAN: —Good ole Hetero Happy Valley—
STEVEN: —And guess what: I work with people I like. This is a good job for me. And the minute Burton finds out I’m gay, I’ll get the axe. Alan, I’ve got a mortgage.
ALAN: Thank God the man is so supportive.
STEVEN: Okay, this is your cause. It’s—it’s not mine. I don’t wrap myself in the rainbow and do the parade. You know that. You’ve always known—
ALAN: No, you’d rather pretend to be something you’re not so you can get a per diem…A f*****g per diem, Steven! Think about it. It’s like prostituting yourself for dinner. Wouldn’t you rather set an example? I’m sure there must be some little gay Mormon boy in your class needing a role model. Am I right?
STEVEN: Not everyone is you, Alan. Some gay men prefer to be a little more discreet.
ALAN: —give me a break—
STEVEN: My students and co-workers don’t have to know everything about me; and here’s a little news flash: Having a private life works out just fine for me.
ALAN: You’re not acting like a private person when you write essays like the one you just sent me. Don’t you think it’s time you finally had the courage of your convictions?
Pause.
STEVEN: Goodbye. Maybe I’ll see you here next year.
ALAN: Come on, Steven. Stop running away from this. If you asked everybody at this conference what they thought about a smart, articulate, gay political science teacher—
STEVEN: —Would you keep your voice down?—
ALAN: —who in this day and age—under this presidential administration!—chooses of his own free will to stay hidden in the closet; most of them would say there’s no such thing. But this is what you’re doing because someone at a Mormon college is promising you a free lunch.
STEVEN: Well maybe you shouldn’t have asked me to write something in the first place. You know? Maybe you should have begged an essay from some other ex-boyfriend; some other over-the-top drag queen who needs to be the center of attention at your fabulous L.A. gay soirees. I’ll just take my essay and submit it to a magazine that doesn’t have your self-righteous mission to out every gay man in America.
ALAN: Well, you can’t.
Beat.
STEVEN: I’ll submit it wherever I want.
ALAN: We’re running the essay. It’s going to print on Monday.
Pause.
That’s why I wanted to talk with you before the conference ended.
STEVEN: I didn’t—You can’t print it without a contract. I haven’t signed anything. I’ll sue you so fast, your g*****n head will spin off.
ALAN: We’re not running it as a feature. It’s in our op/ed section.
STEVEN: …what?
ALAN: All submissions to our op/ed department immediately become property of the magazine.
STEVEN: You sonofabitch, I sent it to you as a feature.
ALAN: I’m not the features editor, you know that.
STEVEN: But you’re supposed to be my friend.
ALAN: And I got Bob to cut you a check for the essay. We don’t normally pay for the op/ed.
STEVEN: Alan, please—I am begging you: Tell Bob this was all a big mistake. Tell him that it’s not an op/ed—
ALAN: It’s too good an essay for us not to run it. I personally know men who have been waiting for an essay like this. This is going to make a difference.
STEVEN is crushed, lost, adrift.
And you’re not the only one with a mortgage, Steven.
STEVEN: You asked me to send you—you said you were. . . Why are you doing this to me?
ALAN: Jesus, buddy. In the big picture, this has very little to do with you.
throws a right punch and knocks ALAN to the floor. STEVEN towers over him.
BLACKOUT
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The best thing I can suggest for the play is Cinderella and Snow White these is the perfect combination for both one dramatic scene and one comedic scene.
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My opnion:
If your doing a dramatic comedy...
You have one male & one female.
The male is a "typical man" who is trying to get with the girl.
The girl resists and turns the man down, but still playing the game(being a tramp)
The girl leads the boy on, but keeps putting him down
The boy keeps trying but in the end the girl falls for him, then the boy walks away & says "oh well, looks like I won".
*The Moulin Rogue":Move would be good
if you need help just message me or something=P
im a pretty good scripter ;D
If your doing a dramatic comedy...
You have one male & one female.
The male is a "typical man" who is trying to get with the girl.
The girl resists and turns the man down, but still playing the game(being a tramp)
The girl leads the boy on, but keeps putting him down
The boy keeps trying but in the end the girl falls for him, then the boy walks away & says "oh well, looks like I won".
*The Moulin Rogue":Move would be good
if you need help just message me or something=P
im a pretty good scripter ;D
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
DRAMA - Schiller - Willhelm Tell
ACT I, SCENE II. A scene between Stauffacher and his wife Gertrude. The scene begins by Stauffacher consoling his wife and ends with a discussion of overcoming tyranny and oppression. This scene is very moving and requires great passion. The scene begins calmly and by the end both characters are moved by ideas of liberty and revolution! The exchange does not start at the beginning of the scene, but you could easily begin at the following line:
GERTRUDE.
So sad, my love! I scarcely know thee now.
=========================
COMEDY - Shakespeare - Taming of the Shrew
There is a great scene between Pertruchio and Katharina (The Shrew) where he is trying to win her over and she is being quite "shrewd." Shakespeare displays his domination of the English language through wit, puns and raucous comedy. This scene requires extra detail on inflections and some crucial body language. The specific scene is in ACT II, SCENE I. It does not begin with their exchange but you could easily start it at this line:
PETRUCHIO
I pray you do.
Exeunt all but PETRUCHIO
ACT I, SCENE II. A scene between Stauffacher and his wife Gertrude. The scene begins by Stauffacher consoling his wife and ends with a discussion of overcoming tyranny and oppression. This scene is very moving and requires great passion. The scene begins calmly and by the end both characters are moved by ideas of liberty and revolution! The exchange does not start at the beginning of the scene, but you could easily begin at the following line:
GERTRUDE.
So sad, my love! I scarcely know thee now.
=========================
COMEDY - Shakespeare - Taming of the Shrew
There is a great scene between Pertruchio and Katharina (The Shrew) where he is trying to win her over and she is being quite "shrewd." Shakespeare displays his domination of the English language through wit, puns and raucous comedy. This scene requires extra detail on inflections and some crucial body language. The specific scene is in ACT II, SCENE I. It does not begin with their exchange but you could easily start it at this line:
PETRUCHIO
I pray you do.
Exeunt all but PETRUCHIO
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M$
