Genre:
DRAMA
Runtime:
0 - 0 mins
Cast:
3 male(s), 2 female(s), gender-flexible
Synopsis:
Act Act One, Scene One - It is a Friday in a suburban household, the night before a big football game. Ginny is making a birthday cake for her football star son, Justin, the golden boy of the family. John returns home from work and steams open a letter from Notre Dame, inviting Justin to interview the next weekend. He and Rachel, a teen, go out to get blue and gold birthday party decorations for Justin's birthday party that night. Bobby, the elder son comes to the house drunk. We find that John had been an alcoholic but is now sober, and Bobb's life is going on a downward path. Ginny helps Bobby sober up with coffee before the others get home. The scene ends with the family shouting, “Surprise” as Justin approaches from offstage. Act One, Scene Two ��" The family arrives home from Justin's funeral. He has been the victim of a high school shooting. At John's insistence, Ray, the police chief and a family friend, tells them the specifics of the shooting. It appears Justin's body was found hunched over a female victim's, apparently trying to protect her. They deem him a hero. John begins drinking again, but BOBBY stops. Rachel breaks down with guilt because she ran away from the gunshots instead of going to find her brother. They see a memorial of seven crosses on the hill just above the school, which means that someone has planted a cross for the shooter as well. John is furious. The family debates whether the shooter was a victim, and where God is in this whole picture. John calls Ray back and protests. Ray returns the contents of Justin's locker. The family examines the clothing, Ginny puts on his jacket, and they view the photos of the birthday party. Bobby and Ginny discuss memories of the long nights when John was still drinking. Rachel sets up a shrine to Justin. Act Two, Scene One ��" Each family takes part in a dramatic fugue wherein they reveal how they spent the first sleepless night after the funeral. John runs up the hill and destroys all seven crosses; Bobby has a revelation when he opens the Bible for guidance (Song of Solomon, Ch. 2, v. 28); Ginny describes symptoms of phantom pain and depression; and Rachel mourns her loss of Justin's teasing and big brother behavior. The fugue ends with the whole family watching John destroying the memorial. Rachel and Bobby debate whether the shooter was a victim. Ray comes to arrest John and takes him prison. Act Two, Scene Two - Rachel gives a monologue about reporters taking over the streets of the town, shoving their cameras in the faces of the victims, yet focusing only on the shock of the killings. She relates how her father came shackled through the courtroom and was released, and how each day is becoming worse. Ginny is depressed. John wants to move and Ginny refuses. Bobby goes to visit his estranged little daughter, then returns and says he would like to go back to school and become a minister. Bobby says that rumors are circulating that Justin had been a bully and caused the shooter's rampage. Rachel goes to a friend's house, and then violently beats a girl at the mall because she heard her voice the rumors. John insists of getting Rachel out of town, but Ginny won't leave. Rachel says there is no God. John takes Rachel and leaves. Ginny is completely incapacitated by depression, and sinking into the delusion that Justin is still alive. Bobby remains in the family house to take care of his mother and moves into the position of the “good son”.
Notes:
2014 - BEHOLD Workshop Production, The Blank Theatre Living Room Series, Hollywood, CA.*** 2011 Winner, BEHOLD Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwriting Excellence ***2010 Winner, BEHOLD, The New American Playwrights Project sponsored by The Utah Shakespearean Festival
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