1. Dawn's
Coming
Characters:
Wayne (adult male)
Earl, his son (teen/young adult male)
Setting: a pig farm in Georgia
Format: comedic drama
Synopsis: Wayne and Earl are in a field on their farm at dawn —
they are waiting for the sheriffs to show up to foreclose on the
farm. They are armed and prepared to defend their home. As they
wait, Earl begins indicating that he might not be ready to die.
Father and son begin discussing life, farming and women and discover
that they are more alike than they had thought. Then conclusion has
a nice little twist and should prepare the audience for the other
scenes, most of which have an interesting twist at the end.
2. Slow
Dance with a Stranger
Characters:
Pearl (teen/young adult female)
Setting: a small town in Mississippi
Format: monologue, comedic/drama
Synopsis: Pearl relates what happened when she didn't follow her
mother's advice — and found her self in a slow dance with an
attractive stranger. A sweet little humorous story about one of
those precious, youthful encounters with the opposite sex.
3. Nashville
Characters:
L.G. Munroe (male, early 50's)
Bobby Ray Burton (young adult male)
Marie (female offstage voice)
Setting: the office of a major record company in Nashville
Format: comedic drama
Synopsis: Bobby Ray Burton is an aspiring Country Music singer
who is being recruited by Munroe. Burton appears to be a talented
and modest rising star. And Munroe offers him a lucrative contract…
with a catch!
4. Meeting
Delilah
Characters:
Duvall (male) -- a cowboy
Setting: a country bar in Virginia
Format: comedic monologue
Synopsis: Duvall relates his chance encounter and courtship of
Delilah. This humorous story is sort of a bookend to “Slow Dance
with a Stranger,” from the male point of view.
5. The
Encounter
Characters:
Harlan (male, late 30's *white*)
Tricia (19-year old *black* girl)
Gil (offstage voice)
Setting: the office of an insurance salesman in Alabama
Format: strong drama
Synopsis: Tricia encounters the man that she has been told raped
her mother (and is therefore her father). Harlan's side of the story
is very different, and even more shocking. This scene is an
extremely powerful piece of drama. The twist in this story is
surprising, shocking and moving. This one scene, in my opinion, will
be worth the price of admission.
6. Unbuckling
the Bible Belt
Characters:
Brother Malcolm (adult male, preacher)
Setting: a church in North Carolina
Format: monologue, comedic/drama
Synopsis: Brother Malcolm relates the interesting events that
occur when a group of church deacons decide to preach and save the
sinners on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
7. Belinda's
Marriage
Characters:
Belinda (female, late 30's)
Charlie (male, late 30's)
Setting: Belinda's mobile home in Arkansas
Format: comedic
Synopsis: A view of Belinda and Charlie's ho-hum married life as
they sit in front of he TV in their mobile home.
8. The
Affair
Characters:
Miss Amelia (adult female, 50ish)
A Man (seen onstage, no lines)
Setting: an outdoor cafe in Charleston, SC
Format: essentially a monologue; dramatic
Synopsis: a conversation between Miss Amelia and her male
companion — although we never hear the man speak; Miss Amelia
responds in places as if she is responding to comments he has made,
but the scene is really done as a monologue. Miss Amelia is
flirtatious, and we get the feeling that there is a relationship
between the two characters. At the end of the scene we discover the
true nature of the relationship!
9.
Just
Another News Item
Characters:
Claude Spinner (elderly *white* male)
Mr. Pogue (*black* journalist)
Annabelle Spinner (Claude's wife)
Setting: the living room of a small mobile home in Kentucky
Format: drama
Synopsis: Pogue is interviewing Spinner for a news item; the
story is, at first, vague, but we see that Spinner reveres the
Confederate battle flag. At first Pogue asks how he can respect a
flag that represents slavery and racism. As the interview finally
gets around to the news topic itself, we discover there is a
different story involved than what we might have believed…
10. Wildcat
Characters:
Jimmy (18-year old student)
Setting: an empty gymnasium in Lexington, Kentucky
Format: monologue; drama
Synopsis: Jimmy relates the passion and desire needed to play
basketball for the University of Kentucky. He has been told that he
doesn't have what it takes and we see a glimpse of the character.
Does he really have heart? Or is he just self-deluded?
11. Lazlo's
Mine
Characters:
Webster Corrigan (a young coal miner)
Samuel Potter (a wizened old miner)
Setting: a collapsed coal mine in West Virginia
Format: drama
Synopsis: Two miners, one young and one an older veteran, are
trapped in a collapsed coal mine. When faced with their desperate
situation, their initial reactions are completely different. But as
the scene concludes, we see what these men share in common.
12. Wisdom
Characters: Bessie (93 year-old black woman)
Setting: the front porch of a modest house in Alabama
Format: monologue
Synopsis: a wonderful concluding scene where Bessie shares the
wisdom of her 93 years. She relates what it means to be Southern —
not “redneck jabber” or hot weather or new skyscrapers. No. The
strength and beauty of the South is its people. This monologue caps
the rainbow of Southern people presented in the 12 scenes, and gives
the audience a look at an eccentric, lovable character and leaves
the audience with very warm, positive feelings. |