Situation: Karen and Jill are two friends (both seventeen/eighteen) who have applied to a theatre school but Jill is the one who has the real desire to become an actress . Both have received letters from the school and are meeting so they can open the response letter together. The scene takes place in a park.
(Jill walks to a bench in the middle of the stage and sits. She is carrying an envelope)
Jill: (looks around) Where is Karen and what is taking her so long to get here? We both agreed that we would open our letters from The Dramatic Institute together. (looks at envelope) I wonder what is contained in this envelope? Is it my dream or my worst nightmare? I can't tell you how much I want to study drama at the Dramatic Institute. All my life I have longed for my dream to come true, and that dream depends on what is in this envelope.
(Karen comes running in and flops down beside Jill. She is not holding an envelope)
Karen: Hey Jill, sorry that I am so late. My mom wanted me to clean my room before I left.
Jill: That's okay Karen, I know how it is. (noticing that she is not holding an envelope) Where is yours?
Karen: It is in my purse. Hold on, I'll find it. (looks through her purse - long pause) I know that it is here somewhere. I remember throwing it in there. (pause) Oh there it is.
Jill: You don't seem very excited about this Karen.
Karen: You don't think that I am excited? Well, honestly I am not really excited. Going to The Dramatic Institute would be great. But if I don't get in, I don't get in. I don't really care since it is no big deal.
Jill: No big deal?
Karen: Don't get me wrong Jill, I know that going to this Dramatic Institute is your biggest dream, and I am sure that you will get in and become a wonderful actress. But for me, like I said, if I don't get in I don't get in.
Jill: If you felt that way why did you audition?
Karen: Oh, auditions are so much fun. And give up the chance to spend a day in a big city? I don't think so.
Jill: Right. Let's open the envelope.
Karen: (stops her) Before we do, let's make a promise.
Jill: A promise?
Karen: If you go off to this school and become a major star and I am still flipping burgers at the local hamburg joint…..
Jill: Oh Karen….
Karen: That we will still be friends.
Jill: Of course. We will always be friends and stay close, no matter where our paths take us.
Karen: Yes! (both girls open the envelope and take out a letter)
Karen: (excited)I don't….
Jill: (disappointed) believe it.
Karen: Wow!
Jill: You could say that again.
Karen: So, what does it say? (pause - Jill doesn't answer) Jill? Earth calling Jill. What does the letter say? (pause - Jill still doesn't answer but hands letter to Karen who starts to read it out loud) Dear Jill Sommers: Thank you for you interest in The Dramatic Institute. Although you are….
Jill: (sharply) You don't need to read it out loud.
Karen: (pause) I'm sorry Jill. I know how much you wanted to get into that school….
Jill: Hey that's okay. We don't need that stupid school do we? There are lots of other theatre schools and who says that The Dramatic Institute is the best school anyway right? We don't need them do we?
Karen: Jill, there will be other schools.
Jill: Not like The Dramatic Institute. Oh, how I wanted to study there.
Karen: Well, maybe next year then.
Jill: No, once you are rejected from that school you never go back. At least we were rejected together.
Karen: (softly)Jill, I was accepted.
Jill: Pardon me?
Karen: I said that I was accepted.
Jill: Oh. (pause) Well, think how great you will feel when you reject the offer.
Karen: Nobody said anything about telling them that I didn't want to go there.
Jill: Excuse me?
Karen: Well, maybe I should give this acting thing a shot.
Jill: But you don't even care about acting.
Karen: I do so.
Jill: No you don't. The only reason why you tried out was because you wanted to spend a day in the city and get out of this small town because there was nothing to do that afternoon. You were so flip before about this whole thing.
Karen: But can you imagine? Me? An actress?
Jill: I can imagine myself an actress, but not you. How could they make that mistake. Yeah, this is all a big mistake. I have talent you know.
Karen: Obviously not enough. (pause) I'm sorry, that was the wrong thing to say.
Jill: You're right. It is ironic isn't it? I have been trying to improve my skills for years and I worked so hard on my audition piece but I was beat out by someone who decided to audition at the last moment and who didn't really care.
Karen: I'm sorry Jill.
Jill: If you were really sorry Karen you would not accept this.
Karen: I can't do that. If I don't take a chance on this then I will never know if I ever could had made it as an actress.
Jill: Please don't tell me that you thought that up on your own.
Karen: I mean it Jill. Why do you have to put me down like this?
Jill: Why? Do you understand at all? This envelope was supposed to contain my dream. What was supposed to happen was I would get accepted and if you got accepted that would have been a bonus. But no, I am living my worse nightmare. I thought for sure that The Dramatic Institute would take me. I really thought they would.
Karen: Do you expect me to give up my dream too?
Jill: What dream? You never had a dream. You often said that you were living off of my dream. Well, I hope you have fun at the institute. (sarcastically) I'm glad that I could help you achieve your goals. (Jill exit)
C. Clarke
April 1998
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