Just Telling Stories II- 5 pieces

Lockdown

Prose-Male or Female

A teacher holds her classroom hostage because of a situation that happened the day before. The teacher is arrested and charged for taking and sending naked pictures of his/her students to people in her phone. In less than a day the truth comes out, the teacher is able to explain that the students stole their phone, took the pictures of themselves and sent them but none of the students come forward. By the time the police investigated and verified the teacher and the school were on the news, and the teacher had no job to come back to. Negative publicity, though the teacher did nothing wrong, is enough to take their job. Before the teacher walks away from the only life they know they take the class hostage to make sure they know that their actions have repercussions and none of them did the right thing. While the teacher recognizes that holding the kids hostage is not the right thing they feel as if this is the only way to raise awareness to the concept that in America we are no longer innocent until proven guilty. We are guilty until proven innocent and even after that the accusation still kills the lives of the accused. *This piece may be edited to fit a male performer; the writer gives permission.

 

Broken Art

Dramatic Interpretation- male

An introverted Seth spends most of his time in his room painting. He paints the things that are an emotional connection to him at that point in his life and when that moment is over, he replaces it with the next story. He had a difficult life growing up without his mother full time and when she returns, he finds himself wishing she were gone again. He lost his childhood in the job of raising his little brother. But for every dramatic moment a new picture is sketched into his life. It is when he is seventeen that he is changed forever. After a night out he is attacked and the bones in his hands are broken and are not able to heal properly. He must figure out how maneuver his paintbrush which is his lifeline, or he will not be able to walk his way through life. This story is one of self-reflection that asks us to look at our own needs and contemplate what we would do in order to hold on to the one thing that gives us that push we need to take another breath.

 

High Water

Dramatic Interpretation- Female

Candis is a young woman stuck. She is stuck in the present in a prison cell and stuck in her mind with the horrific memory of her son dying. In the midst of the Hurricane that hit North Carolina in 2018 millions of people lost everything that had but few lost their lives. Candis is a single mother who is forced to work her shift before she evacuates. Once she returns home, she packs a bag and is out the door. She makes her way to her car and puts her son in. Blocks from their home the water begins to rise into their car. Once it stalls, she has no choice but to climb on top of her car with her son and yell or help, but her voice was no comparison for the water rushing by and the rain falling down. After a while they are swept away. She holds Jayce, her son, high above her head for as long as she can swallowing water, dirt and tree debris. But eventually her body gets weak and after a strong gust of water, she loses her hold on Jayce and he is swept away. She now is being charged with involuntary man slaughter for going around a “high water do not pass” sign that she never saw through all of the elements. Instead of mourning the loss of her child she is in a jail cell mourning the possible loss of her freedom.

 

Stolen Time

Duo Interpretation- A couple

Following the aftermath of a mass shooting at a local club a set of parents embark on the most difficult night of their lives. The search, the waiting, the not knowing, the misinformation, the passing of hours in minutes- or minutes feeling like hours, the unanswered phone calls and all of the emotion that comes with knowing where your child is but not knowing if they are alive or if their life has been stolen from them too early. They both try to hold on to the hope that she is still alive. All of the things that go through their minds are the words of parents simply stuck in the search for their daughter. There is genuine love within this family, with joy and the private moments that make them normal and this situation is something that is not immune to any of us. The events within this scene tear at the hearts of all people who have seen these events on the news and wondered why this keeps happening. *This scene is written for a couple. The gender makeup of the parents is up to the performers. Names may openly be edited for a same sex couple; the writer gives permission.

 

Straight A’s

Humorous Interpretation

Buck is a typical middle school kid. He is into girls, sports and getting straight A’s…not so much on the grades. Buck is barely passing all of his classes, but he is so social he doesn’t have time to do homework. No matter how much his parents yell and his seven-year-old genius little brother mocks, he refuses to do his work. However, he fears that his parents aren’t going to agree with this as a solid excuse to fail middle school. Luckily, he comes up with the best idea ever…fake report cards! Buck begins to create fake report cards and passing them off as real to his parents that then turns into an empire with his friends helping him to run the business. But like all laws that are broken eventually he makes a mistake. In true middle school fashion, we have: the bully, the smart girl, the best friend, the weird girl, the parents, and the little brother trying to pull Buck in every direction but can any of them get him on the straight and narrow? Can he talk his way out of this or will he be repeating the seventh grade again…and again…and again. We shall see but one thing we know for sure is that Buck will never have Straight A’s.