by Lizzie (’14)
Last year, one of our internships was teaching the students of Room 208, high school graduates with special learning needs. Part of our job was to work with the students to create a skit which we then performed in a brown bag for the school. Unfortunately for us, the students of Room 208 now gather at a different site but I thought it would be nice to reminisce. Here is a play that I helped edit. It was written by the student, Tom. You could call it a silly exploration of what it means to feel excluded or you could just call it a masterpiece.
Working with Tom was a pleasure, although it had its challenges, but then again, what doesn’t? I discovered that Tom could be pretty indecisive at time. The way we created the skit was by me presenting Tom with several different choices for the characters, plot, setting, etc. At times, Tom couldn’t decide between the choices, for example, if he wanted to write a skit about hot air balloons or playing ball, and there were even times when it felt like Tom was unmotivated to even make the decision. That was the hardest part because I occasionally felt like I was making the decisions and making the skit more about my ideas than his (and perhaps that was the reason why he was unmotivated originally—he may have felt it wasn’t his play). And of course, I was there as an editor, not a writer. However, despite those lapses in our creative process, which I often experience myself when creating a piece, Tom’s Play turned out to be truly Tom’s.
Tom’s Play
(Curtain Rises. Duck, Bike, and Clown are playing catch.)
CLOWN
I’m so glad we came today. You guys are my best friends.
DUCK
You guys are my best friends too.
BIKE
(Obviously ignoring DUCK)
Yeah, Clown you’re my best friend.
(They go quiet and awkwardly continue playing catch.)
BIKE
Hey Clown, I know a game we can play.
(Turning to DUCK)
But only two people can participate.
CLOWN
Umm…I guess we could play. Duck, is that OK with you?
DUCK
(Obviously hurt)
Yeah, you guys can play.
(CLOWN and BIKE begin to play their two-person game, which is just catch. DUCK gets upset and runs off stage sniffling. CLOWN and BIKE continue playing until CLOWN realizes DUCK has left.)
CLOWN
Hey, where did Duck go?
BIKE
It doesn’t matter.
CLOWN
It does to me. What if she’s lost?
BIKE
She’ll find her way back on her own. Let’s not waste time trying to find her.
CLOWN
You know, I’ve been getting the feeling that you don’t like her.
BIKE
I don’t like her.
CLOWN
Why don’t you like her?
BIKE
Because she never talks to me
CLOWN
What? She’s always talking to you.
BIKE
Yeah, but one time I saw her on the bus and she didn’t say hi to me.
CLOWN
She probably didn’t notice you…Come on! We got to go find her.
(CLOWN and BIKE run off stage. DUCK walks on stage from opposite direction. She sits down in the center of the room and quietly cries. CLOWN and BIKE run on from the side DUCK entered.)
CLOWN
What’s wrong, Duck?
DUCK
You and Bike made me feel left out!
BIKE
That’s only because you’re mean to me!
DUCK
How am I mean to you?
BIKE
You ignored me on the bus!
DUCK
That’s only because I thought you didn’t like me!
BIKE
WHAT?
CLOWN
Whoa, whoa, whoa! I think we have a little miscommunication going on here.
(Turns to audience)
Bike thinks that Duck doesn’t like her because she ignored her but Duck ignored her because she thinks Bike doesn’t like her. What do you think? Whose fault is it?
(CLOWN waits for audience to enter. No matter what the audience says CLOWN will continue like this)
You’re right, no one! Now that we’ve realized it’s no one’s fault, no one has to apologize, no one has to be mad, and everyone can play catch!
(CLOWN throws ball into air and curtain closes)
Creative Writing 