KarMel
Scholarship 2008
|
Play “Pushing
Society” By Katrina
Records |
Desciption of Submission: “A one act play following the path of, 17 year old,
Sara as she goes through the journey of coming out to her homophobic family.” - Katrina
|
Characters: SARA, 17
year old lesbian LAUREN, Sara’s
mother MIKE, Sara’s
Father, Lauren’s husband DOCTOR, Sara’s
psychiatrist Setting: Present day household living room, waiting room,
and psychiatrist’s office =============================================================== (Sara, Lauren, and Mike enter. Lauren and Mike sit
in the living room. Sara stands, unnoticed by Lauren and Mike, and speaks to
the audience.) SARA: I’m lost. I’m 17 in a world that
can’t accept beauty. All beauty is difference. Can’t anyone see? Doesn’t
anyone look at things for what they are? Is the human race so biased, so
delusional that a frown can’t be seen as a smile in the dark? There is more
than one way to look at life. There is more than this. There is so much more
than I can understand, more than you can even conceive. We have to be these
little copies of the person next to us. Strive for the perfection in
similarity! Cry when you don’t look just like that girl you saw on TV. I will
not replicate. The viral infection of society cannot touch those immune. I
survive; I’ll live for myself. I will appear sad, the outcast alone, lonely
for love. In truth I will achieve happiness. I will be strong and content.
You will mean nothing to me. LAUREN: I’m
worried about her, Mike. She isn’t like the other kids. MIKE: She’s
fine, Lauren. LAUREN: Emily was never like this. She was the
trendsetter. Everyone loved her. She had that great boyfriend, Jon. Emily was
involved with the school. She wrote for the school newspaper, was the captain
of the girl’s basketball team, and the lead cheerleader! MIKE: I
remember. LAUREN: Her teachers loved her remember how
they praised her? MIKE: I
remember. LAUREN: Sara’s teachers call MIKE: We
raised them both the same. LAUREN: We did so well with Emily. How can two
sisters be so different? MIKE: We
did well with both of them. She isn’t Emily, but that is expected. No
siblings are the same. Kids have different interests. Emily was a great kid,
but she wasn’t perfect. I wish she were LAUREN: Thanksgiving
and Christmas-- MIKE: Other than Thanksgiving and
Christmas. Even then it was just dinner. The day was never for the family.
Sara is around. She eats dinner with us. She spends the holidays with us. I
adore that about her. LAUREN: You’re right. I just worry about her
not socializing at all. I want her to get the most out of high school. I
think we may need to have someone talk to her. MIKE: What
do you mean? LAUREN: I think she needs, or at least would
benefit from… professional help. MIKE: I don’t know what to think about
that. It’s not like there is anything wrong with her. It might scare her. I
have this feeling that she is going to get stubborn. She might not even talk.
LAUREN: (Distressed.)
Why don’t you understand? I want what’s best for her. MIKE: So
do I. LAUREN: She
needs help! I’m going to give it to her. MIKE: Okay…it may help. Who knows? I
can’t say that I would have thought of it, but let’s see what happens. LAUREN: (Beaming.) I knew you would
understand. SARA: (Still
unnoticed by Lauren and Mike. She speaks straight to the audience.) They
think I don’t know. All she wants is me to be Emily. But I’m not Emily. My
parents don’t know about something. I am afraid how they would react. I do
have, well, basically a girlfriend. How could I tell my parents? Her name is Molly and she’s great. We
started off just as friends, but grew closer and closer. It’s beyond my ability
to express how things went from there. Love? Can anyone really get the
meaning across in such a commonly used word? Can’t anyone see what I mean? LAUREN: SARA!
CAN YOU COME DOWN HERE WE NEED TO TALK TO YOU! SARA: COMING MOTHER. (To audience,) Here we go! (Sara
moves to the living space. She remains standing.) LAUREN: Want to take a seat so we can talk? (Sara sits slowly.) Good. Okay, first
I want to tell you I love you. Don’t forget that, okay? Okay. Now your father
and I have been talking. Frankly we are both concerned. How you are doing in
school is enough to make us worry, but there is more than that. You don’t
have friends. SARA: I
have a friend. LAUREN: (ignoring)
Have you ever sat down and had a conversation with anyone just because? SARA: The general masses of peers in my school
are intellectually impaired. LAUREN: You are very quick to judge. You might
find that people aren’t as bad as you think.
SARA:
That’s not what I go to school for. LAUREN: See! You don’t give people a chance!
How can you make any friends when you take everyone for idiots? You are so
stubborn! Is it that you don’t want friends? What are you gaining from being
a loner? SARA: Well
this conversation is over. (Stands up
to leave) LAUREN: Sit
down! SARA: Dad? MIKE: Sit. You need to hear all of what
your mother is saying. (Sara sits back
down angrily) LAUREN: Right, you need to hear this. I’ve made an appointment for you to see a
therapist. You need to talk to someone. You can’t go on the way things are. SARA: I knew it. You know when you are
screaming at each other in the other room I can hear you, right? This is so
unfair! I’m not insane! Just because I’m not Emily doesn’t mean that I need
‘help!’ LARUEN: Maybe you should be more like Emily.
She never gave us this kind of trouble! SARA: Sorry I’m not out doing drugs and
getting STDs. LAUREN: Do
NOT talk about your sister that way! She would never! SARA: Shows
how much you know! MIKE: ENOUGH!
Knock it off both of you! LAUREN: Your first appointment is next Thursday
at noon. I’ll pick you up at school. This is the end of the conversation. (Lauren gets up and Mike exit.) SARA: (Sara calls after her mother) I knew something like this was
going to happen. You can’t accept anything different. You’re just like the
rest of the world. I’m a failure in your eyes. (Sara continues sitting there angrily. Lauren addresses audience.) LAUREN: I DO want her to be more like Emily,
but only because Emily has a future. Emily is in college and getting a great
start into life. She’s beautiful and is going to land herself a nice husband
someday. Sara doesn’t even date…it’s probably a good thing. I don’t want to
know what kind of boy she would bring (Silence continues, doctor comes out and gets Sara) DOCTOR: Hello Sara. (Sara just stares at them.) Well, this is our first appointment.
Is there anything you would like to say? Maybe you have a question for me?
(Sara looks at the floor. She doesn’t respond) Hmmm? (Doctor gives time for Sara to talk) Well? We have another 15 minutes. Do you
really just want to sit here the whole time? (A little more time for Sara to respond) Okay. Well let’s make an
appointment for next time. Next week. I’ll get the date and time with your
mother then? Okay. I hope you realize I’m not that scary! (Sara moves to waiting room as Lauren enters. The
doctor motions for Lauren to come speak with her. They converse in the office
while Sara sits in the waiting room) LAUREN: What is this about? Not talking? Are
you to cool to talk to someone? SARA: Mom! It’s not that. It’s weird.
They have nothing to do with me. It’s none of there business about my life. LAUREN: Well that’s money wasted. You could
have gotten something out of that, but no. You choose to be stubborn, a
rebel. Is that the new “fad” or something” I can’t understand it. SARA: Shut up! You wouldn’t understand.
You can’t understand anything unless it is perfect. Got news for you mother
dear, nothing in this world is perfect, so sorry to let you down. (Sara gets up and turns back on Lauren. Lauren
looks at her for a bit then shakes head gets up and exits. Mike and Sara are
in the waiting room before Sara’s next appointment.) MIKE: So, how was your day? (Silence) Did you have something good
for lunch? (Silence) Yeah, there’s
never anything good for lunch is there? (Mike
laughs to himself) Well, you know your mother’s cooking, nothing good
there. (Laughs to himself again)
What’s up? Come on, aren’t you going to talk with me? SARA: Are you siding with Mom really? Do
you think I have ‘issues?’ I think this is all a load of crap. Are you just
taking me to get fixed? MIKE: Who says you’re broken? (There is silence. After a few minutes Doctor
enters taking Sara into the office. Mike exits.) DOCTOR: Hello
again Sara. How are you today? SARA: Let’s make this clear; my life is
none of your business. So stop pestering me. DOCTOR: I know I am just a boring and old. You
probably think I am sitting here sizing you up and thinking of what
medication I can put you on to make you “normal.” SARA: Well
aren’t you? DOCTOR: That’s not what I am about. I am here to
listen and help you in anyway I can. SARA: You aren’t going to help me with
anything. This is stupid. I’m not
confused about anything. I know who I am. I know where I want to go in life.
It’s not like you are going to help me come to this great life changing
epiphany! DOCTOR: Is
that so? SARA: Yeah DOCTOR: Well you are here because your parents
are making you. What do you think about that? SARA: It sucks. They are really dumb and
don’t understand me. I know I sound like every other teenager, but it’s true.
My parents don’t have the intellectually capacity to understand me not being
Emily! DOCTOR: Who
is this Emily? SARA: My
sister. She’s off in college somewhere now. DOCTOR: So
your parents want you to be Emily? SARA: Something
like that. DOCTOR: Why?
What was Emily that you’re not? SARA: Everything. She is my opposite. She
is beautiful. She was a cheerleader. She played basketball and field hockey.
She was a great student. Straight A’s for her, nothing less. She was popular.
She went out with a boy every weekend, sometimes even more than one boy. She
is a tramp. She was the life of the party, probably still is. I imagine
that’s why she went to college. She
still smokes drinks and probably does drugs, but Mom and Dad won’t hear it.
They just see the good student, the cheerleader. DOCTOR: It
sounds like you look down at her. SARA: I would give a lot to be as pretty
as her, or to have the friends, the grades. That’s just not me though. I’m
sorry, it’s just…she has everything. She has everything and has done nothing
for it. She just gets it with a smile, (mutters)
or doing something else. DOCTOR: Why
do you need to look like her to be pretty? You are beautiful. You don’t need
blonde hair and blue eyes to be pretty. SARA: Maybe. This isn’t the real
problem. It’s, well, you can’t tell my parents what I say in here can you? DOCTOR: The only reason I can is if I have
reason to believe you are going to hurt yourself or others. SARA: Okay.
Well, I…like girls. DOCTOR: And? SARA: Did you not just hear me? My
family would disown me if they knew that. My mother is always talking about
how disgusting gays are. She tells them off when she sees them. She is a
Catholic you know. She just…can’t accept some things. DOCTOR: I see. So you haven’t told your parents.
Hmm, Are you seeing anyone? SARA: Actually yes. Her name is Molly. We meet in secret a
couple of times a weeks. I don’t really care about school. I want to be more
involved with her life. She wants the same thing. She has told her parents
all about me. They can’t wait to meet me. The problem, my mother would kill
me if I told her. DOCTOR: You
don’t think she would actually kill you, do you? SARA: Well no, but she would be really
mad. She would hate Molly, if not the lesbian thing. Molly is well…she
doesn’t care what anyone thinks. I love that about her. I’m such a wimp when
it comes down to people. She gives me a boost in spirit. I feel like I
actually matter when I see her. She
doesn’t even care that we can only see each other when we skip class. DOCTOR: It
sounds like you really care about her. SARA: Basically.
She’s all I have. DOCTOR: Think about that. Do you think it is
healthy to have one person be your everything? (Sara looks ashamed.) What comes along with that? I’m sorry to
tell you our time is up. I’m glad you are talking. I think you got a lot out
today. You did a good job. We’ll talk more about your mother and you being a
lesbian next time. You okay with that? SARA: Yes.
When is my next appointment? DOCTOR: Is
next week, same time, good? SARA: Yeah, I guess this isn’t going to
be so bad. (Doctor exits, Lauren and Sara waiting for Sara’s
next appointment.) LAUREN: So you and the doctor are finally
talking and getting some things done now? I’m glad. I hope you get something
out of this. SARA: Yeah,
right. LAUREN: Excuse
me? SARA: Nothing.
LAUREN: You know that I want the best for you.
Don’t give me that ‘you don’t really care’ attitude. I’ll be back to pick you
up. (Lauren exits. The Doctor enters and Sara follows
them into their office.) SARA: I
saw Molly the other day. (Pauses
thinking) She was upset. DOCTOR: What
did you guys talk about? What got her so upset? SARA: She is a very blunt personality.
She doesn’t fear anything. The world is against her and her sexuality, she
knows that. She doesn’t care. DOCTOR: The
whole world isn’t like that. SARA: She keeps talking about meeting my
parents and us getting together. I don’t know what I can do about it. My
mother wouldn’t understand. I would be thrown out of my house. It’s not like
I have anywhere else to go. I just want to make Molly happy! But I don’t want
to ruin my life in the process. There’s just no way to balance this. DOCTOR: I
see. SARA: I told her about having to see
you. She didn’t like that my mother deemed me so unstable that I have to get
help. She then went on a rant about having to keep us a secret. She wants me
to get over my fear of rejection and come out of the closet. DOCTOR: What
do you think about that? SARA: I want to. I want to be able to
come out. I just don’t have the confidence to sit my parents down and tell
them. They are just going to freak out and perhaps my mother would attempt to
kill me! DOCTOR: You’re
catastrophizing. Do you know what that means? SARA: I
am thinking of the worst possible scenario, yeah… DOCTOR: I don’t think your mother would kick you
out. I think that if you give her time she will understand. You’re her
daughter; she loves you and will be there for you. SARA: You’re
missing the point. DOCTOR: She will accept you in time. She loves
you and she will remember that even if you aren’t exactly what she was hoping
for. No parent has a child without some surprises. SARA: How would I tell her though? Sit
her down? Make her tea? ‘Hey Mom I’m coming out today. I have been seeing a
girl for the last 6 months. I love her and you’re gonna deal with it.’? I
can’t do that! Doesn’t anyone get it!? I can’t tell her. DOCTOR: You could have her join you in here and
we could tell her together? SARA: That’s not going to help anything.
I’ll still have to drive DOCTOR: It was just an offer. I think it would
help you to do it in a safe setting. It would give you a little support. SARA: I…It must be done, for Molly. I
would be such a horrible girlfriend if I don’t do this. Not just for Molly. I
need to do this for myself. I can’t live in such fear of my mother’s
rejection. If she is going to cast me from her sight I need to get it over
with. I can’t keep going like this. I need my father here too. It needs to be
all done at once. When can the next appointment be? (Sara and the Doctor exit. Lauren and Mike enter.) LAUREN: Sara has invited us to her next session
with the doctor. I wonder why? MIKE: To give us an update on her
progress. We need to be active in her therapy if it is going to help her. LAUREN: It just makes me wonder why. Hopefully
he has made a break through as to why she is…the way she is! MIKE: Kids are kids, Lauren. Why can’t
you just be happy with her the way she is? LAUREN: She is going nowhere, Mike! You know
that just as well as I do. Stop fooling yourself and stop pretending that you
are happy with her! You are just as disappointed as I am. MIKE: No. I love my daughter. I want
what is best for her, just like you do. As parents it’s out job to be
supportive of her. Can’t you see that you’re hurting your own daughter? (Mike storms off. Lauren sits there in shock.
Finally she gets up and follows him.) LAUREN:
You just wait one minute!— (Sara enters, while looking at the spot her parents
left.) SARA: How can anyone deal with that? My
parents never used to fight. It’s my fault. If I just had been what my mother
wanted, if I could be Emily! They would still love each other. It is my fault
they are not longer in love. It’s all my fault. (Molly exits. Doctor and Lauren enter and sit.
Lauren sits next to Sara. Doctor sits across from them.) DOCTOR: How
have you been, Sara? SARA: I’m nervous. I haven’t been able to
get this off my mind. I want to get it over with. I can’t stand the suspense
any longer. This is going to be weird. LAUREN: What? What is going on? Why are you
scared? Have you not been cooperating? I’m sorry— MIKE: Is that what she said? Did she
say she wasn’t cooperating? No. DOCTOR: She has been doing very well. We have got
a lot accomplished. Today is putting it all to work, that’s all. She wants
you involved with the work we are doing.
Are you ready, Sara? (Sara nods
in response.) Okay. Lauren, Mike, lets keep this simple, when Sara is
talking, no interruptions. Remember no insulting each other. (Doctor looks at Sara while saying that.)
We all agreed? Lauren: Of
Course. (Mike nods.) SARA: Mom, Dad, just listen. I know you
are going to have lots to say but try to wait ‘til I am done, please. I have
known this for a while now. I have been afraid, literally afraid to tell you.
You are so disappointed in me! I hear guys fighting about me all the time. I
don’t see why can’t you be happy with me? I know I’m not Emily, but why does
that mean I am nothing? LAUREN: Sara— SARA: Stop. I said I wanted you to let me
finish. Don’t you ever listen? Hear me out. I have been seeing someone for 6
months now. I love her. I really do. I didn’t tell you and still wish I
didn’t have to! I love her Mom. Her name is Molly. (Lauren’s jaw drops) She goes to my school.
She does well. She’s not afraid like I am. She loves me too. She wants to meet you. Every day she
complains about my insistence that we have to keep us a secret. She wants to
openly love me. She wants to be accepted into my life. You are a great part
of my life. She wants to meet you. She wants to be a part of the good and
bad. I kept telling her you wouldn’t understand, but she wants you to know. I
want you to know. I want you to understand more than anything. Can you do
that? Can you accept that I am a lesbian?
Or am I to forever be shunned because I am not your precious Emily?
I’m not what you wanted. LAUREN: But— SARA: DID I SAY I WAS DONE? I know I am
not what you want. I am not what you want. You aren’t the parents I would
have picked either, but I love you anyways. Will you do the same for me? LAUREN: (Lauren
is in shock. She is coming to realization and starts to cry.) How, how
can this be? You are… I can’t say it!! You sinful little brat, you are
mistaken. You don’t know what you are saying. You are young! You are naive!
You don’t know what you are saying! SARA: (Yelling
and crying herself.) Yes, I know what I am saying, Mother! You are the
naive one! I know what I am feeling. I know what I am saying. I know that I
am in love with another woman. Why can’t you just accept that without trying
to guilt trip me? (Silence, Mike is thinking.) MIKE: Lauren, take a deep breath.
Sexuality is not a sin. It is not wrong in any way. Love is love. She knows
what she is feeling. She knew you wouldn’t understand. That is why you are
hearing this in a professional setting. Think before you speak to your
daughter. What you are saying affects her more then you realize. You are the
adult here. You need to act like one. (Lauren
gets up and leaves.) Sara. (Hands her a box of tissues) I’m
sorry. She is reacting, well, like anyone who just heard something shocking
would. She will calm down. She will accept you. She’ll learn tolerance. You
have to forgive her. She can’t relate to what you are going through. You are
sending her into this new experience too. She’ll get it eventually. I love
you darling, more than you know. That is clear to me now. I haven’t made it
known that I accept you. I don’t care if you aren’t a strait A student, I
don’t care if you don’t have many friends. You are my daughter and I would
never wish you to change a bit. Never! I love you Sara. SARA: Dad. (Sara gets up crosses room to
him. Sara Hugs him and breaks down in sobs.)I love you Dad. All I ever wanted
was to please you and Mom. All I ever wanted was to be accepted and loved. (Dim lights, Mike and Lauren are sitting in the
living room.) MIKE: So.
Are you ready for this? LAUREN: Do I have a choice? This is for my
daughter. This is for my family’s well-being. This needs to be done. I…I’ll
be fine. I’ll never understand it. I don’t see how anyone can… (She closes
her eyes to stop herself from beginning to cry.) I am ready to make a stand
for Sara. She’s not Emily, but she is still my daughter. MIKE: Lauren, I am so proud of you
right now. I’m here with you, never forget that. I am here with you. (Mike kisses Lauren and embraces her for a
minute. The doorbell rings.) I guess it’s time. LAUREN: (Gives
a weak smile.) I guess it is. (Mike and Lauren exit stage. You hear them walk to
the front door and open it. Molly answers from off stage.) MOLLY: It
is so great to finally meet you! LAUREN: It’s nice to meet you too, Molly. (Voices fade) I’m Sara’s mother. Call
me Lauren. (Blackout) |