Sisters Isla and Daniela are inseparable. They are growing up in Mexico in an area where they don’t have much but they have each other and that is honestly all they need. One day as they play with their dolls outside there is an attack and as they hid in the bushes they watched in horror as their neighbors and even their parents were killed and they were kidnapped. Years later the girls are working in a kitchen for their captors doing as they are told to stay alive. But when Isla hears of a group of liberated women that live freely in the jungle, she desperately wants to go there but her big sister Daniela isn’t so convinced. What if it’s a lie or a trick? What would happen to them then? Because the most important thing for them is to stay together and to stay alive. When the moment comes to run, they both leave but are somehow separated in the darkness of the jungle, will they make it to the village of the women and once again experience freedom, or will they be forever lost as they search for the clearing? *The performers in this story will speak some Spanish. The performers must be of Latinx descent.
The Clearing
(*NOTE: Actors will need to speak Spanish as listed on specific lines. However, if they choose to speak more Spanish throughout the performance, they have permission to do so as long as it does not affect the ability to follow the flow of the story.)
(Isla (10) and Daniela (12), two sisters playing on the dirt sidewalk in front of their small home in Tepic, Mexico. They have the joy of children and love of sisters. Both with dolls in hand, old dolls covered in dirt but this is what they have and it brings them joy to be able to play and have dolls to play with. Isla holds up her doll.)
Isla: Hey sissy, how come my doll only has one leg?
Daniela: (She searches for the “right” answer and decides on) Well mine is has two legs but (she pulls her dolls leg off and gives it to Isla, this makes her so happy.) There. Now she has two legs.
Isla: Thanks sissy. She is the prettiest girl in all the land no matter how many legs she has one, two-
Daniela: - three or four. (they both make their dolls dance until Daniela’s dolls head falls off. They stop in their tracks, watch the head roll, look back at each other and erupt into laughter.) Oh no!
Isla: It’s okay sissy, if they can have four legs and be pretty, you can have a head that pops off sometimes.
Daniela: And rolls away.
Isla: Yep. (Isla picks up the head and the two work together to finagle a way to keep the head on.)
Isla/ Daniela: Done!
Daniela: I like being your big sister. (working on the dolls hair)
Isla: Me too. I think I’m a good little sister. I don’t do too- too bad, right?
Daniela: (She looks deep into her eyes and takes her hands) As long as you always do as I say. Okay?