Definitions

Hey Kathleen, it's Laura. Absolutely incredible. You are a really great writer. Its really a shame we're not taking this, you have so much talent. Great job. - Laura

We are no longer taking this one act. But I would like to submit it to a thespian playwright contest.

=Definitions= by Kathleen Embrey

//(Narrator enters and sits center stage on a stool with a dictionary in hand)//


 * Narrator:** There are many words in the English language. For some words there’s more than one definition. //(Opens dictionary)” Redress-to set right: to correct: to amend.”// And there’s more written. So if you think about it, that’s a lot of definitions. There are the kinds of definitions from Webster, //(lifts book)// but more importantly there are the ones that come from us. Words have different meanings and applications in real life. A book can’t tell you what it’s like to have your first kiss or how it feels to get a root canal. Those are defined by us. One of these words is forgive. It’s defined as //“To cease to feel resentment against.”// Forgiveness has a relationship with religion and strong connotations towards hurt pain. If-//(banging)// Oh! What’s that? //(Yelling)// I think its forgiveness. Yes! Here is comes! //(Takes stool and sits stage right. Enter GIRL and BOY. BOTH sit stage left. GIRL holds a cell phone)//


 * Girl:** So, who’s Julie?


 * Boy:** Who? Uh... my English partner.


 * Girl:** Your English partner?


 * Boy:** Uh, yeah. We’re doing a scene from… Shakespeare.


 * Girl:** Really?


 * Boy:** Yeah.


 * Girl:** //(Standing up)// What play?


 * Boy:** Um... Romeo and Juliet. Yeah (smiles) the kissing scene.


 * Girl:** Tell me a line.


 * Boy:** What?


 * Girl:** Tell me a line that Romeo says.


 * Boy:** Uh, a line? Right here? I have to prepare.


 * Girl:** Do it!


 * Boy:** Uh...Um. Wherefore art thou?


 * Girl:** //(screams)// I knew it!


 * Boy:** //(Jumps up)// What?!


 * Girl:** You’ve been cheating on me with Julie.


 * Boy:** No. No, I told you we’re just English partners.


 * Girl:** I’d like to believe that, but why is she texting you at one in the morning?


 * Boy:** We had some rehearsing!


 * Girl:** Some rehearsing? Yeah right!


 * Boy:** You gotta believe me!


 * Girl:** //(looking at phone.)// “Meet me right now, my house.”


 * Boy:** We rehearsed!


 * Girl:** At eleven?


 * Boy:** Look...alright. //(Sits down.)// I’m sorry. It was just once.


 * Girl:** I knew it.


 * Boy:** Sally and I, we just hooked up once.


 * Girl:** Sally?!


 * Boy:** I mean Julie!


 * Girl:** //(grabbing her coat.)// We’re through. //(Exits)//


 * Boy:** //(Boy climbs over chairs)// Jessica! Look, I’m sorry! Forgive me! //(Freezes.)//


 * Narrator:** Ahh, young love.

//(BOY exits and CONVICT enters stage right and sits. Judge stands center stage.)//


 * Judge:** Mr. Stevens, you have been found guilty of murder in the first degree by a jury of your peers. You have been sentenced to life in prison without parole. Is there anything you would like to say?


 * Convict:** Yes, I would like to say I’m sorry. I know what I did was wrong. I just couldn’t stop myself. I saw red. I loved Kayla. And I never wanted to hurt her. I loved her more than anything. When I saw her with that guy I... I couldn’t stop. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. (Sobs) I didn’t mean to... If there was something I could do to bring her back I would. I’m sorry. She was my angel. I snapped. Please, your daughter was.... please, please forgive me. Forgive me for taking her. //(Sobs as narrator speaks)//


 * Narrator:** Anger and jealousy get you nowhere fast.

//(CONVICT exits. Enter TEEN, on phone and TEEN GIRL center stage.)//


 * Teen Girl:** Katie! Katie! Stop.


 * Teen:** Huh? //(turns around)// Oh, it’s you.


 * Teen Girl:** How could you? How could you say those things about me?


 * Teen:** Well, they were mostly true.


 * Teen Girl:** I can’t believe it. What did I ever do to you?


 * Teen:** Nothing. I was just sick and tired of you and your attitude.


 * Teen Girl:** People are talking about me. My own parents think I did all those things. I don’t know what to do. We used to be so close and now… Why did you spread all those awful rumors?


 * Teen:** I just wanted you to feel how it is to be me.


 * Teen Girl:** What do you mean?


 * Teen:** My whole life I been at your side. Always the sidekick. Sure It was fun at first. But it was always you. You always got the guy, or won the victory point. Always on the roll and the one that everybody loved. Where was I? Alone and a loser.


 * Teen Girl:** No. Don’t say that. It’s not true.


 * Teen:** Yes, yes it is! Now, for the first time, I’m on top. How does it feel? How does it feel to be me?


 * Teen Girl:** This is wrong. This isn’t going to make you feel better.


 * Teen:** Well I feel pretty good right now.


 * Teen Girl:** No, no, I don’t think so. You know that’s a lie. All you’re doing is hurting someone who cared about you. I have no respect for you.


 * Teen:** //(voice breaking)//I don’t need you.


 * Teen Girl:** You need someone.


 * Teen:** //(crying, hugging.)// You’re right! I need you! Please, let’s not fight anymore.


 * Teen Girl:** No, stop. Look at me. You hurt me, bad. I can’t help you.


 * Teen:** No, please. Forgive me! Please! I’ll never do it again!


 * Teen Girl:** No. I don’t know if I can forgive you anytime soon. Maybe. I don’t know. I have to go, I’m grounded.


 * Teen:** Rebecca, please. I’m sorry. Forgive me!

//(TEEN exits. Enter MAN, center stage, listing to an iPod while waiting for a bus He begins to sing softly. Enter WOMAN stage right carrying a coffee cup and talking on the phone. MAN closes eyes and dances. WOMAN bumps into him and spills coffee on MAN. BOTH fall.)//


 * Woman**: Ahh!


 * Man:** I’m sorry.


 * Woman:** No, it was my fault. I should have been paying attention.


 * Man:** It’s alright. Are you hurt?


 * Woman:** No, I’m fine but, Look at your shirt! That’s going to stain. //(WOMAN touches his shirt.)//


 * Man:** It’s okay. //(He takes her hand.)//


 * Woman:** Forgive me.


 * Man:** //(Looking her in the eye.)// It’s okay. //(BOTH smile then exit.)//


 * Narrator:** As you can see words can’t be defined by a book. Three completely different situations all with different outcomes. Words are funny that way. They can’t be pinned down or explained. You don’t believe me? How about the one word everyone knows but no one can define. Yes I’m talking about love. //(Winks)//

//(Enter center stage MOTHER with CHILD lying on her head on mothers lap.//


 * Mother:** And the mighty king asked his subjects if there was a man pure of heart that could lead the army into battle. All of the knights stepped forward but the young boy knew that because of his deed he would lead his kingdom into victory against evil. The end.


 * Child:** Again! I want to hear it again.


 * Mother:** No, no it’s time for bed.


 * Child:** No, mommy. Tell me another story.


 * Mother:** Tomorrow. Tonight you have to go to bed


 * Child:** Alright.


 * Mother:** //(standing up)// You know that I love you?


 * Child:** Yeah.


 * Mother:** Even though I make you go to bed?


 * Child:** Yeah. //(Yawns.)//


 * Mother:** You’re my favorite girl in the whole wide world.


 * Child:** //(eyes closed)// Mommy, I’m your only girl!


 * Mother:** Good night, I love you. //(CHILD falls asleep. MOTHER “closes door”)//

I’ve loved you since the day you were born. //(Inhales and walks away.)//


 * Narrator:** What a great story. //(Falls asleep)//

//(CHILD exits OLDER WOMAN enters.)//

==== Older Woman: (Kneeling with rosary in hands.) That meditating upon these mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.(Sign of the cross.) In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.(Stands up, walks towards aisle and genuflects. Enter GIRL.) ====


 * Older Woman:** Hello? I someone there?


 * Girl:** Um…Hi.


 * Older Woman:** Look at you! All wet, you’ll catch a cold!


 * Girl:** Yeah it’s bad out there.


 * Older Woman:** Take this. (OLDER WOMAN places shawl on GIRL.)


 * Girl:** That’s very kind of you. Thank you.


 * Older Woman:** Did you come here for services, because they’re over, I’m sorry.


 * Girl:** I.. I don’t know.


 * Older Woman:** Something must have brought you to here tonight.


 * Girl:** I guess I wanted to talk to a priest or something.


 * Older Woman:** I’m sorry this weather has got everybody at home, Father John is not here. I’m surprised so many people came tonight. I guess those who have love the lord will always come to worship.


 * Girl:** It’s nothing. I just have been really confused about things. I thought that if I came here my life would change or something. But I guess that’s silly.


 * Older Woman:** Don’t say that. The lord God gives you strength to anything. I have devoted my life to him. God is with you in all that you do.


 * Girl:** Things have been really hard. People have been really mean. And I don’t know what to do.


 * Older Woman:** Look to god, Your father knoweth what things you have need of before you ask him- Mathew 6:8


 * Girl:** I guess. It’s just this guy said he loved me, but he’s a liar. I’m just so mad at him.


 * Older Woman:** The lord asks us to forgive those who trespass against us.


 * Girl:** But he said he love me, that has to mean something.

come to an end; they are new every morning. That love is with God. //(OLDER WOMAN smiles, then extends hand to GIRL.)//
 * Older Woman:** The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never

//(OLDER WOMAN and GIRL exits while MAN and WOMAN enter holding hands.)//


 * Man:** //(laughing)// Oh Jess!


 * Woman:** I’m not joking! I really did have green hair.


 * Man:** I need proof.


 * Woman:** It’s true. It was a fad... I don’t know.


 * Man:** You were still beautiful.


 * Woman:** You didn’t even know me!


 * Man:** You’re always beautiful, every part of you.


 * Woman:** Stop.


 * Man:** I remember the day we met.


 * Woman:** Oh, yeah. I got my latte down your shirt.


 * Man:** I bet you wished you were down my shirt too!


 * Woman:** Hey!


 * Man:** No, you were beautiful, like an angel.


 * Woman:** Oh, I love you.


 * Man:** That’s why I’m doing this //(gets down on one knee)//


 * Woman:** Mike-!


 * Man:** Jessica Peters will you marry me?


 * Woman:** Yes! Yes! //(BOTH hug)//


 * Man:** I love you.


 * Woman:** I love you too!


 * Narrator:** //(with tissue)// I’m a sap for happy endings!

//(Couple exit, TEEN BOY and TEEN GIRL enter stage left. TEEN BOY mimes putting a car in park.)//


 * Teen Boy:** Here we are.


 * Teen Girl:** Oh, I’ve never been here before.


 * Teen Boy:** //(scoffs)// Sure. Don’t worry, I’ll be nice.


 * Teen Girl:** Um. //(pushing him back.)// Look I don’t want to do this.


 * Teen Boy:** C’mon don’t you love me?


 * Teen Girl:** No. I mean I do love you but I don’t want to.


 * Teen Boy:** It’s okay.


 * Teen Girl:** I don’t want to Josh.


 * Teen Boy:** //(advancing)// I love you Becca.


 * Teen Girl:** No.


 * Teen Boy:** But I love you.


 * Teen Girl:** No means no, Josh.


 * Teen Boy:** C’mon don’t be that way.


 * Teen Girl:** Look I really like you but this is too fast. I’m not comfortable with this.


 * Teen Boy:** //(sits back)// Fine.


 * Teen Girl:** Just take me home please. //(BOTH freeze)//


 * Narrator:** //(Shakes head)// I remember high school. There was a spot commonly referred to as //(Makes hand quotes)// Make out point. Peer pressure was as prevalent then as it is today. //(Stares off into space)// So, uh love. What can I sat that hasn’t already been said before? It’s an emotion. It’s not always shared between two people in a relationship. Love can be as pure and strong as the bond between a mother and child. But it can also be mistaken for lust and the desire to fit in. No dictionary is going to tell you that. Some emotions are as confusing as the beings that feel them. Our last word is one that I think we’re born with. That as infants we know the meaning of. Happy. //(smiles)// We sing songs about it. ♫ If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.♫ //(entire ensemble claps hands)// We use it in everyday life. It’s so important that one country monitors their citizen’s happiness. Happiness is incredibly multisided. Let me show you.


 * Old Woman:** Hello. Weather’s nice, isn’t it? I sit out here when the suns out. It’s real nice. I like the feel of the breeze. It gets me out of the home. I don’t get out much. I’m 76 years old, and things are different than I remember. The world moves so fast. Now I sit here and watch everything go by. I remember every morning I would look out the window and watch the birds, if only for a moment. I would see the trees sway with the wind. Then I would kiss Michael, my husband. He left me nine years ago. He had a heart attack. I remember looking out the window and knowing I wouldn’t be able to kiss him. That’s why I sit here. Every time I feel the breeze or hear the birds sing I know that one day I will kiss him again. Here sitting on this porch is the one place I am happy.


 * Nurse:** Who are you talking to?


 * Old Woman:** Oh, nobody//. (NURSE helps OLD WOMAN up)//


 * Nurse:** Okay.


 * Old Woman:** The weather’s nice.


 * Nurse:** Sure is. //(BOTH exit)//

//(Enter MOTHER, carring an easel, box, and apron.)//


 * Mother:** Hi. What am I doing? Isn’t it kind of obvious? I’m setting up my paints. Isn’t this a beautiful view? I love all the trees. Even though each and every one was planned to compliment the houses I still like them. You might think I’m silly. Sitting in my backyard, next my daughter’s tables and tea sets, with the neighbor’s dog barking non-stop. You might just see a frumpy old house wife pretending to be Picasso. Sitting behind a house she can’t afford knowing that when she goes back inside she’ll be the same person as before but I love it. Painting is my joy. I always loved art but I’ve found a way to make my feelings know with a brush. Each stroke I get lost in the scenery and forget all my troubles. I love creating beautiful scenes. I hang them up, and when I’m cooking or cleaning I’ll look at them and think about those places. Things haven’t been going so well. My marriage is in trouble and we’re in debt, but that doesn’t matter when I paint. I’m someone different, and bold. I am the happiest of happys when I paint. But when I’m done, and I hear that damn dog, I’m my old self again. At least I have the paintings.

//(MOTHER exits.CHILD enters with car and dolls)//


 * CHILD:** Vroom! Vroom! Erkk! //(Stops car.)// Everybody out! Whew what a trip! Do you like my car? It’s new. I like it when I get new things. Megan and Brittany do too. Don’t you? I dress them up in pretty things so they can be pretty too! I used to have to pretend how they got around. Now I don’t have too. This car, I think it’s called a convert-ble, is so fun. Megan drives around and Brittany tells her where to go. Sometimes they go to they go the movies, and see all the stars. Once they went to the mountains and drove right to the top. Sometimes Brittany wants to drive and they fight. Mommy and Daddy are fighting. They’re getting a divorce. Daddy left. He gave me this car. Mommy said that she would get a closet that spins for Megan and Brittany. I love new things. They make me happy. I wonder when Daddy’s coming back. //(Rolls car and exits stage left.)//


 * Narrator:** //(Holding G.I. Joe)// It’s an Action figure, NOT a doll.

(Teen enters center stage, sits.)


 * Mom:** Honey, Uncle Mike is here. Come say hello!


 * Teen:** In a sec. //(Fixes hair)// How do I look? I just finished sledding with my cousins. My hair was a mess. But when we got back they had rosy cheeks and looked adorable, so it was okay. Joey’s seven and Ramona’s nine. I don’t get to see them much--only on holidays. Then I get two kid siblings. I’m the baby of the family, so it’s nice to be a big sister once in a while. I love my family. It’s so much fun when we all get together at Grandma’s house. No matter where we all are. I feel like I belong when I’m here. Hold on. //(Picks up phone. scoffs.)// The other thing I like about Holiday’s is that I can just get away, from everything. I don’t have to bother with who’s with whom or what people are saying about it. I can just turn it off. Then all the people who matter are my family. It’s so liberating. I feel truly happy here.


 * Mom:** Jewels!


 * Teen:** If you’ll excuse me I’ve go get a bear hug and see what kind of dried meat Uncle Mike brought this time. //(Runs exiting stage right.)//


 * Narrator:** You’ve seen some of the words that are defined in books like this. Only the surface is scratched when it comes to these matters. We define these words in an effort to collect and conquer. Instead we should find these meanings in our own life. These words don’t define us. We define them. Every day in our lives we add to them and grow. From every stage we learn what it means to be human. As children we have pure hearts and minds that are molded by the good and bad. As teenagers our friends and hormones influence us, sometimes a little too much. As adults we are left with new pathways, and challenges. We watch the world change before our eyes and see friends and loved ones be born and die. The only thing we can do is try to find a balance, and maybe on the way, the meaning of our lives. Because in the end we make life what we want it and these are only-


 * Entire Ensemble:** Definitions.

//(**As children**-Enter CHILD, MOTHER, CONVICT, BOY, TEEN BOY, TEEN GIRL, GIRL,TEEN, MAN, WOMAN, OLD WOMAN with NURSE.)//