Excerpt from FAMILY TIME

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SYNOPSIS

Mom, Dad and their eight-year old son enter a coffee shop to spend “family time” together. The proceed to pull out laptops, cell phones and iPads. The boy tries to be playful and the parents use the techology to reign him in. Husband and wife can barely hold a civil conversation and the barista is half-way paying attention while texting.

CAST

(2M, 2F)

• JOSIE: Barista. — woman (18)
• JAG: Boy. — boy (8)
• SAM: Father. — man (late 20s)
• LIZ: Mother. — woman (late 20s)

TIME

Now.

PLACE

A coffee shop.

STYLE

Naturalistic. (Ten minute play)

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The lights rises on a coffee shop. There are several tables center and a counter at one side. [Extras might fill empty tables, studying or reading, some with laptops.]

(JOSIE, a Barista, is busy drying glasses behind the counter. A family enters. JAG, a young boy [6-8 years old] runs in first.)

JAG

Family time.

(JAG quickly finds a table he likes, on which sits a fake flower permanently glued inside a vase. He holds it upside down and shakes, then examines it. SAM [Dad] carries a large bag, and heads for the counter. LIZ [Mom] finds a table of her own, sits in the stage right chair facing stage left and starts looking in her purse. JAG chants to himself “Fam-Lee-Time, Fam-Lee-Time”.)

LIZ

Over here, honey. Mommy likes this table.

JAG

Mom. Mom! Look! Hey Mom.

(JAG holds up the vase and turns it upside down. LIZ answers him in a slightly over-enthusiastic tone without looking at him.)

LIZ

That’s totally cool Jag.

JAG

It is. It’s totally cool. Dad! Hey Dad!

JOSIE

What can I get you started with?

LIZ

Dad’s busy Jag.

SAM

What do you want, hon?

LIZ

Jag! Comes sit with Mom and Dad.

SAM

Liz!

JAG

Dad! Look.

(LIZ is still digging through her purse.)

LIZ

What?

JAG

Totally cool.

(JAG makes a few trips around the table while holding onto the flower in the vase, then he turns and circles the other way. LIZ finds a mirror in her purse and is checking herself. Perhaps she uses some lipstick.)

SAM

What are you going to have?

LIZ

Me? I want a Mocha. In a to-go cup.

JOSIE

This is to go?

SAM

Yes. No. A to-go cup, but for here.

LIZ

Honey, stop doing the circles please.

(JAG continues circling, now humming to himself.)

SAM

Liz!

LIZ

Jag!

SAM

So, yeah. A Mocha to go, and—

JOSIE

What size? We’ve got the good, the bad and the ugly.

SAM

The what?

JOSIE

It’s our sizes. Good is small. Bad is medium, and the ugly is the twenty ounce.

SAM

Right. I remember now. So I’ll have one ugly Mocha and—

JOSIE

That’s for you?

SAM

No. I just said. It’s—

LIZ

Sam! Sam!

(JAG finally brings the vase with the flower over to his Mom like an airplane, adding an airplane noise. LIZ gets a text and is answering it.)

SAM

Hang on. And I’ll have a, umm… a bad Caramel Latte. No, just make it good.

LIZ

Jag, put it back. That belongs at the other table.

JOSIE

So you want a good bad Caramel Latte.

SAM

What?

JOSIE

I’m just messing with you.

LIZ

Sam!

SAM

Jesus. What is it Liz?

LIZ

Make mine decaf.

SAM

Decaf instead on the Mocha. And one Chocolate Milk.

LIZ

Put it back, Jag.

(LIZ is finishing her text. JAG sits in the upstage chair of the table facing the audience, holds the flower in his lap and begins kicking the leg of the table repeatedly.)

JOSIE

Okay. One decaf ugly Mocha, a good Caramel Latte. What size on the Chocolate Milk?

SAM

Good is fine. Small.

JOSIE

Eight thirty three. Out of ten.

LIZ

Did you remember decaf?

JOSIE

I’ll bring them out for you.

(JOSIE hands SAM his change. SAM crosses to the table, sets the bag on the chair opposite LIZ, unzips it and pulls out laptops and plugs, handing one to LIZ, one for himself and headphones for JAG.)

SAM

One for Mommy. One for Dad and one for Mister Jaggy-boy.

LIZ

He doesn’t like “Mister Jaggy-boy.”

SAM

What?

LIZ

I’ve told you that.

(SAM proceeds to plug things in to an outlet under the table. JAG holds the flower in the vase out for his Dad to see.)

JAG

Look! Dad!

SAM

Hang on there partner.

LIZ

Or “partner.” He doesn’t like “partner.”

JAG

Dad!

SAM

Just let me get us set up, son.

JAG

It’s totally cool.

SAM

That is totally cool. Awesomely cool.

LIZ

This is your plug.

SAM

What? No. Is it?

LIZ

Yeah. Here. We’ll trade then.

(In trading plugs, the wires loop over JAG who pretends to be caught in a spider web, flailing his arms in jest and tangling the wires.)

JAG

I’m a sea monster. Aaaaaah! Help!

LIZ

Don’t play with the wires, Jag.

JAG

I’m caught in the ocean. It’s a net. Dad! Dad, you be the fisherman.

SAM

Stop fooling around. Listen to your Mom.

---

PRODUCTIONS:

2013 “New Rocky Mountain Voices” Festival, Westcliffe, CO — Directed by Lissa Miller, the cast included Ty Baumgardner, Megan Hedgberg, Luke Schnickle and Rylie Rinks.

Contact rajnoosh[at]gmail[dot]com for the full script.

Excerpt from FAMILY TIME

---

SYNOPSIS

Mom, Dad and their eight-year old son enter a coffee shop to spend “family time” together. The proceed to pull out laptops, cell phones and iPads. The boy tries to be playful and the parents use the techology to reign him in. Husband and wife can barely hold a civil conversation and the barista is half-way paying attention while texting.

CAST

(2M, 2F)

• JOSIE: Barista. — woman (18)
• JAG: Boy. — boy (8)
• SAM: Father. — man (late 20s)
• LIZ: Mother. — woman (late 20s)

TIME

Now.

PLACE

A coffee shop.

STYLE

Naturalistic. (Ten minute play)

---

The lights rises on a coffee shop. There are several tables center and a counter at one side. [Extras might fill empty tables, studying or reading, some with laptops.]

(JOSIE, a Barista, is busy drying glasses behind the counter. A family enters. JAG, a young boy [6-8 years old] runs in first.)

JAG

Family time.

(JAG quickly finds a table he likes, on which sits a fake flower permanently glued inside a vase. He holds it upside down and shakes, then examines it. SAM [Dad] carries a large bag, and heads for the counter. LIZ [Mom] finds a table of her own, sits in the stage right chair facing stage left and starts looking in her purse. JAG chants to himself “Fam-Lee-Time, Fam-Lee-Time”.)

LIZ

Over here, honey. Mommy likes this table.

JAG

Mom. Mom! Look! Hey Mom.

(JAG holds up the vase and turns it upside down. LIZ answers him in a slightly over-enthusiastic tone without looking at him.)

LIZ

That’s totally cool Jag.

JAG

It is. It’s totally cool. Dad! Hey Dad!

JOSIE

What can I get you started with?

LIZ

Dad’s busy Jag.

SAM

What do you want, hon?

LIZ

Jag! Comes sit with Mom and Dad.

SAM

Liz!

JAG

Dad! Look.

(LIZ is still digging through her purse.)

LIZ

What?

JAG

Totally cool.

(JAG makes a few trips around the table while holding onto the flower in the vase, then he turns and circles the other way. LIZ finds a mirror in her purse and is checking herself. Perhaps she uses some lipstick.)

SAM

What are you going to have?

LIZ

Me? I want a Mocha. In a to-go cup.

JOSIE

This is to go?

SAM

Yes. No. A to-go cup, but for here.

LIZ

Honey, stop doing the circles please.

(JAG continues circling, now humming to himself.)

SAM

Liz!

LIZ

Jag!

SAM

So, yeah. A Mocha to go, and—

JOSIE

What size? We’ve got the good, the bad and the ugly.

SAM

The what?

JOSIE

It’s our sizes. Good is small. Bad is medium, and the ugly is the twenty ounce.

SAM

Right. I remember now. So I’ll have one ugly Mocha and—

JOSIE

That’s for you?

SAM

No. I just said. It’s—

LIZ

Sam! Sam!

(JAG finally brings the vase with the flower over to his Mom like an airplane, adding an airplane noise. LIZ gets a text and is answering it.)

SAM

Hang on. And I’ll have a, umm… a bad Caramel Latte. No, just make it good.

LIZ

Jag, put it back. That belongs at the other table.

JOSIE

So you want a good bad Caramel Latte.

SAM

What?

JOSIE

I’m just messing with you.

LIZ

Sam!

SAM

Jesus. What is it Liz?

LIZ

Make mine decaf.

SAM

Decaf instead on the Mocha. And one Chocolate Milk.

LIZ

Put it back, Jag.

(LIZ is finishing her text. JAG sits in the upstage chair of the table facing the audience, holds the flower in his lap and begins kicking the leg of the table repeatedly.)

JOSIE

Okay. One decaf ugly Mocha, a good Caramel Latte. What size on the Chocolate Milk?

SAM

Good is fine. Small.

JOSIE

Eight thirty three. Out of ten.

LIZ

Did you remember decaf?

JOSIE

I’ll bring them out for you.

(JOSIE hands SAM his change. SAM crosses to the table, sets the bag on the chair opposite LIZ, unzips it and pulls out laptops and plugs, handing one to LIZ, one for himself and headphones for JAG.)

SAM

One for Mommy. One for Dad and one for Mister Jaggy-boy.

LIZ

He doesn’t like “Mister Jaggy-boy.”

SAM

What?

LIZ

I’ve told you that.

(SAM proceeds to plug things in to an outlet under the table. JAG holds the flower in the vase out for his Dad to see.)

JAG

Look! Dad!

SAM

Hang on there partner.

LIZ

Or “partner.” He doesn’t like “partner.”

JAG

Dad!

SAM

Just let me get us set up, son.

JAG

It’s totally cool.

SAM

That is totally cool. Awesomely cool.

LIZ

This is your plug.

SAM

What? No. Is it?

LIZ

Yeah. Here. We’ll trade then.

(In trading plugs, the wires loop over JAG who pretends to be caught in a spider web, flailing his arms in jest and tangling the wires.)

JAG

I’m a sea monster. Aaaaaah! Help!

LIZ

Don’t play with the wires, Jag.

JAG

I’m caught in the ocean. It’s a net. Dad! Dad, you be the fisherman.

SAM

Stop fooling around. Listen to your Mom.

---

PRODUCTIONS:

2013 “New Rocky Mountain Voices” Festival, Westcliffe, CO — Directed by Lissa Miller, the cast included Ty Baumgardner, Megan Hedgberg, Luke Schnickle and Rylie Rinks.

Contact rajnoosh[at]gmail[dot]com for the full script.