THE PROM DRESS. A short dramedy by Kitty Dubin

Transcription

1 THE PROM DRESS A short dramedy by Kitty Dubin This script is for evaluation only. It may not be printed, photocopied or distributed digitally under any circumstances. Possession of this file does not grant the right to perform this play or any portion of it, or to use it for classroom study. info@youthplays.com

2 The Prom Dress 2010 Kitty Dubin All rights reserved. ISBN Caution: This play is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, Canada, the British Commonwealth and all other countries of the copyright union and is subject to royalty for all performances including but not limited to professional, amateur, charity and classroom whether admission is charged or presented free of charge. Reservation of Rights: This play is the property of the author and all rights for its use are strictly reserved and must be licensed by his representative, YouthPLAYS. This prohibition of unauthorized professional and amateur stage presentations extends also to motion pictures, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, video and the rights of adaptation or translation into non-english languages. Performance Licensing and Royalty Payments: Amateur and stock performance rights are administered exclusively by YouthPLAYS. No amateur, stock or educational theatre groups or individuals may perform this play without securing authorization and royalty arrangements in advance from YouthPLAYS. Required royalty fees for performing this play are available online at Royalty fees are subject to change without notice. Required royalties must be paid each time this play is performed and may not be transferred to any other performance entity. All licensing requests and inquiries should be addressed to YouthPLAYS. Author Credit: All groups or individuals receiving permission to produce this play must give the author(s) credit in any and all advertisements and publicity relating to the production of this play. The author's billing must appear directly below the title on a separate line with no other accompanying written matter. The name of the author(s) must be at least 50% as large as the title of the play. No person or entity may receive larger or more prominent credit than that which is given to the author(s) and the name of the author(s) may not be abbreviated or otherwise altered from the form in which it appears in this Play. Publisher Attribution: All programs, advertisements, flyers or other printed material must include the following notice: Produced by special arrangement with YouthPLAYS ( Prohibition of Unauthorized Copying: Any unauthorized copying of this book or excerpts from this book, whether by photocopying, scanning, video recording or any other means, is strictly prohibited by law. This book may only be copied by licensed productions with the purchase of a photocopy license, or with explicit permission from YouthPLAYS. Trade Marks, Public Figures & Musical Works: This play may contain references to brand names or public figures. All references are intended only as parody or other legal means of expression. This play may also contain suggestions for the performance of a musical work (either in part or in whole). YouthPLAYS has not obtained performing rights of these works unless explicitly noted. The direction of such works is only a playwright's suggestion, and the play producer should obtain such permissions on their own. The website for the U.S. copyright office is

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4 CAST OF CHARACTERS AMY, an insecure high school senior. BARBARA, 40s, her controlling mother. LOUISE, an honest saleswoman.

5 The Prom Dress 5 (A fitting room in a department store. Outside the fitting room is a mirror. Spring. BARBARA MEYER is standing outside a fitting room, talking to her daughter, AMY, who is inside trying on a dress.) AMY: I don't like it. BARBARA: Come out and let me see it. AMY: I look like a geek. BARBARA: Just let me take a look. AMY: But Mom, I BARBARA: Amy, don't give me a hard time. You promised this would be fun. AMY: (Long suffering sigh:) OK. (Amy comes out of the dressing room.) It makes me look fat. BARBARA: No it doesn't. figure flaw. AMY: It does? Actually, it hides your biggest BARBARA: Yes. Your stomach doesn't "pooch out" as much. (LOUISE enters, very upbeat. She wears a store nametag.) LOUISE: I bet someone's going to the prom. Am I right? AMY: (Sullen:) Uh huh. LOUISE: Ooh. You must be so excited. AMY: Uh huh. LOUISE: Well, you sure don't want this piece of crap. BARBARA: Pardon? LOUISE: (Looking at the price tag:) A hundred and eighty-five

6 6 Kitty Dubin bucks and look at this stitching. You know who makes these things, don'tcha? Illegal aliens workin' in sweatshops right here in the U.S. of A... (Whispers:) and don't tell me Mister Calvin Klein doesn't know about it. My name's Louise. Let me know if I can help. BARBARA: We're fine. LOUISE: OK. I'll just pop in now and then to see if you want me to take anything outta here, or you want my opinion, or you just want me to get lost. I don't take things personal, catch? BARBARA: (Frosty:) Thank you very much. (Louise exits.) Try the next one on. (Amy returns to the dressing room.) You know, we've got all day, so if we don't find anything here, let's not panic...ok...? Amy? AMY: What? BARBARA: I just said something to you. AMY: So? BARBARA: So, why didn't you answer me? AMY: Because you didn't say anything that called for a response, Mother. BARBARA: God, that tone. All across America, mothers and daughters are having fun shopping for prom dresses, but you have to turn everything into AMY: Mom, don't do this. BARBARA: Do what? AMY: You know what.

7 The Prom Dress 7 BARBARA: (Reflecting on happier times:) Remember how we used to love to go shopping together? Every year, we'd go to Macy's, buy your new school clothes, then go have ice cream at Baskin Robbins. We had so much fun. AMY: Right. BARBARA: Look can we just start over? I really want us to enjoy today. You know, with you going away, we won't be doing this too much longer. AMY: Mom, I'm going away to college, not to war. BARBARA: I know... AMY: Hey, I think...this one has possibilities. BARBARA: Great. Let me see it. (Amy comes out, looks at Barbara expectantly. Barbara looks at her but says nothing.) AMY: This...could be the one. BARBARA: Really? AMY: I don't know. It just...looks like me. (No response.) Well, say something. BARBARA: What do you want me to say? AMY: Say what you think. BARBARA: I don't think my opinion really matters to you any more. AMY: What do you mean? Of course it does. BARBARA: But you've already made up your mind. AMY: No, I haven't. BARBARA: Well, you just said, "This is the one."

8 8 Kitty Dubin AMY: No, I said, it might be the one. C'mon. I need your opinion. I couldn't buy a dress if you didn't like it. BARBARA: (A couple of beats.) OK. It's all wrong. AMY: Oh...I really thought that BARBARA: It's way too old for you, the black washes you out, and I hate to say this, but it makes you look like a slut. AMY: But I BARBARA: Look, I'm not gonna let you embarrass yourself. We don't have to learn that lesson all over again. AMY: What're you talking about? BARBARA: The tenth grade soccer banquet. AMY: Oh, that... BARBARA: What you put me through that night. All I asked was that you wear a dress, but you threw such a tantrum about how I wasn't "letting you be you" that you even got Daddy to be on your side. So, I backed off and you wore shorts and a t-shirt to a banquet where every other girl had on a skirt or a dress. You stuck out like a sore thumb. I was so embarrassed...for you. AMY: Mother, I BARBARA: And who ended up crying all the way home that night? AMY: OK. You win. BARBARA: Hey. Don't look so down. You know, I wouldn't be all over you if this was just any old party, but it's your prom. You'll remember this night the rest of your life. I just want it to be perfect. (Gives her a hug. Amy's arms at her sides.)

9 The Prom Dress 9 There's one more in there. I'm going to the ladies room. Try it on and I'll be right back. (Barbara exits. Amy takes a long look at herself in the mirror. Louise enters.) LOUISE: Drew Barrymore, eat your heart out. AMY: Excuse me? LOUISE: You are a knockout. AMY: Are you talking to me? LOUISE: I've seen this dress on a lot of girls, but it's got your name on it. AMY: Really? You don't think it makes me look...slutty? LOUISE: Slutty? No. Sexy? Yes. AMY: (A beat. Looking in the mirror:) Hmm. I do look kinda sexy. LOUISE: I'm not saying you couldn't act like a slut in this dress, but the dress wouldn't be the cause. Catch? AMY: Uh...Can I ask you a really stupid question? LOUISE: Sure. Go ahead. AMY: I mean, you don't know me from Adam but do you think this dress is me? LOUISE: That's not a stupid question. AMY: It isn't? LOUISE: No. See, when women go clothes shoppin', they get all confused. They're so busy tryin' to decide will my husband like it, will my mother like it will my girlfriends like it that they can't figure out whether or not they like it. They need a good salesperson like me to help 'em sort it all out. Catch?

10 10 Kitty Dubin AMY: I think so. I have one more to try on. Would you mind telling me what you think? LOUISE: That's what I'm here for. (Amy goes into the fitting room. While she's in there, Louise continues to talk to her.) You know, I waited on this mother and daughter last week. The daughter's pushin' sixty and the mother's gotta be close to eighty. Every dress she tries on, the daughter says, "Ma, what do you think?" Just like a little girl. Can you imagine, this woman's probably a grandmother herself, but she still needed her mother to tell her what to do. (Amy comes out of the fitting room.) AMY: So, what do you think? LOUISE: Just look in the mirror. AMY: God. I look like one of the Brady Bunch. LOUISE: You said it. I didn't. (Barbara re-enters.) I was just checking on our prom girl. She's doing fine. (Louise exits.) BARBARA: Omygod. AMY: What? BARBARA: It's absolutely perfect. AMY: Please say you're kidding. BARBARA: Oh Amy. You look precious. AMY: Mom, I don't want to look "precious."

11 The Prom Dress 11 BARBARA: You know, we could spend weeks looking and not find anything nicer. We're getting this and that's all there is to it. AMY: (A beat.) Mom, I don't think you heard me. I don't like it. BARBARA: Sweetie, I understand. When I was your age, I wanted to call the shots too, but I listened to my mother and I'm glad I did. There are times when you still need someone with experience to guide you. AMY: Well, Louise has experience and she didn't like it either. BARBARA: Louise? Want to read the entire script? Order a perusal copy today!