(361870813) selfie

SelfieBy Bradley Hayward

Stephen Lewis Secondary School SEARS Drama Production, 2015

Selfieby Bradley Hayward

(At rise: NICOLE enters and speaks to the audience.)

NICOLE. Nicole arrives at school a half hour early, every day. She’s not a morning person, but who is at seventeen? After hitting the snooze button a few times, she stumbles to the bathroom and takes a look in the mirror.

(A photo of NICOLE is projected on a large screen. It’s a self portrait—a“selfie”—taken in a bathroom mirror.)

It’s her first disappointment of the day. Her mom says she’s beautiful. Her dad thinks she’s cute as a button. But all Nicole sees are the imperfections that make walking into school a nightmare. So she arrives early and disappears into the background.

(ZACK enters.)

ZACK. Zack lives with his dad in a two bedroom over the gas station. It’s a pretty sweet set-up. Pizza for breakfast. Pizza for lunch. Doughnuts for dinner. His mom lives across town. She got the house.

(A selfie of ZACK is projected on the screen. He’s standing in front of his mom’s house.)

Four bedrooms, stainless steel appliances, and granite countertops as far as the eye can see. Zack visits on weekends, but he doesn’t like the stainless steel and granite. His dad says they’re just like his mom. Nice to look at, but impossible to live with.

(LAURA enters.)

LAURA. The morning Laura turned sixteen, she had her driver’s license in less than an hour.

(A selfie of LAURA is projected on the screen. She’s proudly holding up her driver’s license.)

It’s true she has a lead foot, but that’s what people have come to expect from her. Accelerating has always been her specialty. She walked early. Talked early. Developed early. She leaves everyone in her rear view mirror. But there’s something hot on her trail that no pedal to any metal can outrun. Laura has leukemia. She just doesn’t know it yet.

(KAITLIN enters.)

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KAITLIN. Kaitlin is in love. In love with the trees. In love with the birds. In love with the sunset. Every night she sits on her front stoop and watches the sun touch the horizon.

(A selfie of KAITLIN is projected on the screen. She’s seated on a porch, the sun over her shoulder.)

When the bright yellow ball sinks out of view and the sky changes color, she says a prayer. “Thank you for today,” she says. She’s not sure if anyone is listening, but she says it anyway. She hopes that someone, someday, will look at her the same way she looks at the sun, and say thank you.

(TYLER enters.)

TYLER. I’m not gonna lie, Tyler is pretty awesome. Question: which of the following is his best feature? His arms. His abs. His glutes. Answer: all of the above.

(A selfie of TYLER is projected on the screen. He’s flexing in a gym mirror.)

What’s his secret? No prob. Push-ups, crunches, squats. Unfortunately, not everyone thinks Tyler is so awesome. He could wallpaper the entire school with detention slips. But what his teachers fail to recognize is that detention is bad, bad is sexy, and all roads lead to awesome.

(JESSIE enters.)

JESSIE. Jessie has a game she likes to play. She can look at any food item and tell you the exact the number of calories in it. Starbucks makes it easy because the prices are actually calories in disguise. Just take away the decimal.

(A selfie of JESSIE is projected on the screen. She’s holding up a cheese croissant.)

Cheese croissant, 340 calories.

(Projection: JESSIE holding up a muffin.)

410 for a banana muffin.

(Projection: JESSIE holding up a peanut butter cookie.)

Peanut butter cookie, 480. And her personal favorite, a Venti Java ChipFrappuccino Blended Creme. Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it…

(Projection: JESSIE holding up a Venti sized Frappuccino with her name scrawled across the cup.)

590 calories. Boom! Breakfast.

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(MORGAN enters.)MORGAN. Morgan knows all about being different. When she was five, she learned the different ways to tie a shoelace. “Two bunny ears” was her favorite. When she was ten, she learned the different ways to ski. She stuck to the bunny hill. Now she spends all her time with her pet rabbit.

(A selfie of MORGAN is projected on the screen. She’s holding a bunny rabbit in front of her face.)

She’s really into bunnies. People think Morgan is weird and not a day goes by she doesn’t have to hear all about it.

(SAM enters.)

SAM. Sam remembers when boys were gross, nap time was stupid, and the worst thing that could ever happen was dropping an ice cream cone on the sidewalk. So what the hell happened?

(A selfie of SAM is projected on the screen. She’s hunched over a pile of paperwork, looking overwhelmed.)

Sam is knee-deep in SAT scores, college applications, and everything else that makes life complicated. She wants to go back to a time when things were easy and she had time for herself.

(The projection fades.)

MORGAN. Autumn.

JESSIE. Temperature drops.

(Projection: A thermometer.)

TYLER. Leaves change.

(Projection: Red and yellow leaves.)

KAITLIN. Backpacks ready.

(Projection: A backpack hanging on a hook.)

LAURA. Pencils sharpened.

(Projection: A handful of sharpened pencils.)

ZACK. Senior year.

(Projection: A pile of textbooks.)

SAM. First day of school.

(Projection: A school exterior.)

NICOLE. Mom told me it’s what’s on the inside that matters. She said it was unimportant if a person was overweight or had pimples,

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or if they had brown hair or red hair, or if they were tall or short. So long as a person was nice and kind, they would be loved. “Beauty comes from within,” she said. But on the first day of school, as I walked into gym class and found everyone staring at me, I realized something. What a load of crap! It turns out beauty totally comes from the outside. It’s ugly that comes from within.


TYLER. Hey, duck face.

NICOLE. What?

TYLER. Quack.

NICOLE. What are you talking about?

(A selfie of NICOLE is projected on the screen. Her lips are pursed together.)

TYLER. Quack, quack, quack.

NICOLE. Stop it!

TYLER. Nice picture, Daffy.

NICOLE. Don’t call me that.

TYLER. You prefer Donald?

NICOLE. My name is Nicole.

TYLER. (As Donald Duck:) Hiya, toots.

NICOLE. Why are you being so mean?

TYLER. (As Daffy Duck:) You’re despicable.


NICOLE. See what I mean? On the outside, beautiful. Inside,—

ZACK. Ugly hardly describes the way Mom treats my dad. She’s brutal. Sugar in his gas tank, stealing his mail, spying on him. And let’s not forget the time she threatened him with a shotgun. It’s not like he did anything to her. I mean, she’s the one who should be sorry. And with a little help, she was.

JESSIE. So, did you do it?

ZACK. Let’s just say she got the “open concept” living room she always wanted.

(A selfie of ZACK is projected on the screen. He’s holding a sledgehammer in front of a wall with a hole through it.)

JESSIE. What are you gonna do if she finds out it was you?

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ZACK. I hope she finds out it was me.JESSIE. What? ZACK. Why else do you think I did it?

JESSIE. Really?

ZACK. She needs to know she’s not the only one in this family who’s mad.

JESSIE. Got it. Loud and clear.


ZACK. Not a very pretty picture, but it’s an honest—

LAURA. Picture day! Only the most important day of the year. And I’m sort of known for having super amazing hair. My mom is a hairdresser, so I always have the latest style. This year I was thinking up, but down and to the side is what’s in right now, so that’s what we did. But now I’m not so sure. I really like it up. So many decisions!

MORGAN. What are you so worried about? LAURA.

How can you say that? It’s picture day! MORGAN.

We’re seventeen. Isn’t every day picture day?

(A selfie of LAURA is projected on the screen. She’s posed in a dressing room mirror, turned sideways to look at a new dress.)

LAURA. I just hope I bought the right dress.

MORGAN. It’s fine.

LAURA. Fine? That’s not good enough. I don’t want my kids to come across my yearbook someday and say, “What was she thinking?”

MORGAN. Calm yourself.

LAURA. So…?

MORGAN. So, what?

LAURA. Is this a “what was she thinking” dress?

MORGAN. No. (Points to her face.) But this is a “what was she thinking” face.

LAURA. This is so exhausting!

MORGAN. Take a pill.

LAURA. No, really. I think I’m gonna faint. MORGAN. Laura, you don’t look so good.

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LAURA. Me, or the dress?

MORGAN. You’re drenched in sweat. Sit down.

(The projection fades.)LAURA. That was the moment the whole world changed. Suddenly I wasn’t “smile for the camera” Laura anymore. I was—

SAM. Sick and tired of studying! If I have to look at one more textbook about World War II, I swear I’ll end up growing an itty-bitty black moustache. But if I don’t study, I won’t get into the school I want and if I don’t get into the school I want, I might as well learn how to flip burgers now. Must. Stay. Awake!

(A selfie of SAM is projected on the screen. She’s chugging an energy drink.)

KAITLIN. Holy cow, Sam. Think you got enough caffeine there?

SAM. (Frantic:) Who wrote that list?

KAITLIN. What list?

SAM. You know, the list. The list!

KAITLIN. I have no idea what you’re talking about.

SAM. (Grabs KAITLIN and shakes her violently.) Think, woman! The list! They even made a movie about it!

KAITLIN. That’s it, I’m cutting you off. No more Red Bull for you.

SAM. (Breaks into tears.) I know I know who wrote the list, but…I’m soooooo tired…and right now all I can come up with is Qui-Gon Jinn! And that’s not right. Or is it? Are Jedis German?

KAITLIN. I don’t think so.

SAM. I need to pass this test!

KAITLIN. Sam. It’s Mr. Howe. Everyone is going to pass.

SAM. I don’t mean pass. I have to ace it. I have dreams, you know.

KAITLIN. Hey…

SAM. Schindler!

KAITLIN. I have dreams, too.

SAM. Schindler’s List!

KAITLIN. I’m not stupid.

SAM. Thank god!

KAITLIN. Wait a sec. Star Wars was about World War II?

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(The projection fades.)SAM. I never did end up going to sleep. I took the test, but I was so groggy that I messed up the essay question. Thankfully, Mr. Howe graded it on a sliding— JESSIE. Scales are the worst. Eat 4000 calories on Monday and by Wednesday, long after you’ve forgotten if it was a cheeseburger or a hot dog you ate, the number on the scale reminds you it was both. And on Friday, the French fries and onion rings appear.

LAURA. Why are you going on a diet? You look perfectly fine to me.

(A selfie of JESSIE appears. It’s a picture of her feet on a scale that reads 165 pounds.)

JESSIE. You’re one to talk.

LAURA. I don’t understand.

JESSIE. Please. You put away a whole bag of Doritos every day and it never shows.

LAURA. That’s not true.

JESSIE. It’s like you have a hidden trap door that opens up at night and lets out all the carbs.

LAURA. You’re not fat.

JESSIE. Not yet. And I intend to keep it that way.

LAURA. We could go to the gym together.

JESSIE. Ugh.

LAURA. Or play volleyball.

JESSIE. I hate sports.

LAURA. I’m just throwing out ideas. I think a crash diet is a little extreme.

JESSIE. So is having to buy two seats on an airplane.

LAURA. Just sayin’.


JESSIE. 165 ways to lose weight. 165 books about how to lose weight. 165 pounds. Ready, set,—

TYLER. “Go get your own girlfriend,” I said. And that’s when I pounded his face in. You shoulda seen it. It was beautiful. He was on the pavement, crying like the big old baby he is. When he finally got up, there was gravel all caked up in his bloody cheek. What can I say? Some artists paint with a brush. I paint with a fist.

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NICOLE. That was crazy.

TYLER. Totally.(A selfie of TYLER is projected on the screen. It’s a picture of his bloody fist.) ZACK. How many stitches?

TYLER. Sixteen.

NICOLE. That’s all?

TYLER. I know. Not even close to my record.

NICOLE. But I saw his face. That was 50 stitches, at least.

TYLER. That’s what I thought.

NICOLE. And you?

TYLER. You kiddin’? Stitches are for cry babies.

NICOLE. Yeah.

TYLER. You wanna know the best part?

NICOLE. What?

TYLER. I never even seen that girl before. I just said he was hitting on my girlfriend so I’d have a reason to deck him.

NICOLE. Since when do you need a reason?

TYLER. I just didn’t like the way he looked at me, ya know?

NICOLE. Totally.

TYLER. Hey, Nic. You know what?

NICOLE. What?

TYLER. (Puts his arm around her.) You’re not so bad since you dropped the whole good girl thing.

NICOLE. Thanks.

TYLER. It never suited you anyway.

NICOLE. No. It didn’t.


TYLER. So what if I got suspended? Like that’s supposed to be a punishment? Girls love it when guys get in trouble. Plus, it gave me extra time to hit the gym and work on my—

KAITLIN. Absolutely not! There’s no way I’m sending my picture to a guy just because he asked. Whatever happened to romance? Seriously, guys need to get with the program. A girl wants flowers

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and candy and notes in her locker. Not some low-res picture of a sunken chest. And if this guy thinks he’s getting a picture of my chest, then he’s even more delusional than I thought.ZACK. Are you gonna do it?

KAITLIN. Of course not! There’s nothing romantic about a hard drive filled with dirty pictures.

(A selfie of a current female celebrity is projected on the screen. A suggestive one, perhaps wearing a bikini, or even less.)

ZACK. Romance is overrated.

KAITLIN. No, romance is underrated.

ZACK. Tell that to my parents.

KAITLIN. I have this hope, and I know it’s crazy, that there’s this perfect guy out there for me and he’s just sitting somewhere, waiting for me, only he doesn’t know that he’s waiting for me. But the fact that I know he’s waiting for me and he doesn’t know he’s waiting for me is what makes all this waiting more romantic than I can possibly express.

ZACK. No, I think you expressed it quite clearly.

KAITLIN. Don’t laugh.

ZACK. But what if this guy doesn’t exist?

KAITLIN. He exists.

ZACK. But if he doesn’t—

KAITLIN. He does!

ZACK. But if he doesn’t, won’t you be disappointed?

KAITLIN. But don’t you see? He could be anyone. He could be the guy sitting next to me on the bus. He could be the guy walking his dog down the street. He could be…

ZACK. What?

KAITLIN. You.

ZACK. Now you’re making it impossible not to laugh.

KAITLIN. No, really. Wouldn’t it be amazing if the perfect guy was right in front of my eyes the whole time and I just didn’t see it?

ZACK. You watch too many movies.


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KAITLIN. Maybe I do watch too many movies. Maybe I am expecting too much. Maybe one picture won’t hurt. I just can’t bear the thought of ending up with—

MORGAN. Nobody ever sits with me at lunch. (A picture of an empty cafeteria chair is projected on the screen.)

It’s not as bad as it sounds. I’m not the kind of person who craves attention. I don’t need to take a thousand pictures of myself every day just to prove I exist. “Hey world, look at me! Notice me! Love me!” Me, me, me. When did everyone become so self-centered? As I see it, the word selfie is two letters away from selfish.

SAM. Is this seat taken?

MORGAN. No.

SAM. Mind if I join you?

MORGAN. Not at all.

(In place of the picture of the chair, a selfie of MORGAN is projected on the screen. She has an eager smile on her face.)

SAM. Thanks.

MORGAN. So, what’s up?

SAM. Huh?

MORGAN. Got any plans for tonight?

SAM. I’m sorry, but…do you mind if we not talk?

MORGAN. What?

SAM. I’m just super tired and wanted a quiet place to sit where nobody would bother me.

MORGAN. Oh.

(The picture of the empty cafeteria chair replaces the selfie of MORGAN on the screen.)

SAM. If I fall asleep, wake me when the bell rings.

MORGAN. Sure.

SAM. Thanks a mil.


MORGAN. (Quietly:) Look at me. Notice me. Love me. Who needs that, right? Oh well, I have time. It’s only—

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JESSIE. Winter.

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NICOLE. Snow falls.

(Projection: Snow flakes.)

SAM. Icicles form.(Projection: Icicles.)

LAURA. Mittens return.

(Projection: Hands wearing mittens.)

TYLER. Snowballs attack.

(Projection: A fist holding a snowball.)

KAITLIN. Angels appear.

(Projection: A snow angel.)

MORGAN. Christmas.

(Projection: A Christmas tree.)

ZACK. December 25th was the day our bachelor life came crashing to an end. Dad’s new girlfriend moved in and ruined everything. Just like that, she inserted herself in my life the same way a splinter inserts itself under a fingernail.


TYLER. Is she nice at least?

ZACK. When Dad’s around, yeah. But when he’s gone, it’s a whole other story. The other day she took down all my stuff in the living room and put up these ugly porcelain angels.

(A selfie of ZACK is projected on the screen. He’s holding a porcelain angel by the throat.)

TYLER. Smash ’em. I would.

ZACK. That’s your answer to everything.

TYLER. Because it works.

ZACK. Everything was perfect until she came along. Now she’s always asking where I’m going and what I’m doing. I told her off this morning and she actually told me I should get down on my knees and pray for forgiveness.

TYLER. Gross.

ZACK. If it happens again, she’ll be the one in need of prayer.

TYLER. Tell your dad.

ZACK. Like he’d care. His brain is no longer making the decisions.

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TYLER. Then what are you waiting for? Show them angels who’s boss.

(The projection fades.)ZACK. And I did. The next day I was sent packing. Although I’m not sure which punishment was worse. Living with her or living with—

LAURA. Mom drove me to every single doctor’s appointment. It didn’t matter if there was a rain storm or a blizzard or even a cancellation. She’d yell at the nurses to find an opening if it was necessary. It was often necessary, which I didn’t like at all. I hate being the reason Mom is sad.

(A selfie of LAURA is projected on the screen. She’s in a doctor’s office, holding up a bag of blood.)

KAITLIN. How come you’re wearing oven mitts?

LAURA. Oh, these? They’re not oven mitts.

KAITLIN. They sure look like oven mitts.

LAURA. I only wish I was taking brownies out of the oven. These are to keep my fingernails from popping off.

KAITLIN. (Freaked out.) Huh?

LAURA. If you want to go, I understand.

KAITLIN. No. I said I’d be here. I want to be here.

LAURA. It’s the chemo. Apparently some people’s fingernails curl up and pop off. So they give you these frozen gloves to prevent that from happening.

KAITLIN. What about your hair?

LAURA. What about it?

KAITLIN. Is it going to fall out?

LAURA. Probably. But I’d rather find a clump of hair in the couch than a bunch of fingernails.

KAITLIN. Are you scared?

LAURA. Scared? No.

KAITLIN. Really?

LAURA. A person can only be scared of things they can’t control. Trust me. I’ve got this.

KAITLIN. I’m glad to hear you say that.


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LAURA. The truth is, I was scared. I am scared. But what’s the point of having two people scared when it only has to be—

JESSIE. One hundred and eleven pounds.

(A selfie of JESSIE is projected on the screen. It’s a picture of her feet on a scalethat reads 111 pounds.)

111 stairs I can climb. 111 dresses I can wear. 111 boys at—

SAM. School is driving me crazy!


So I ditched the books for one night. One stupid night! But one night is all it takes to change everything. Things got crazy and I totally lost my judgment. I wasn’t thinking at all. And once you send something into cyberspace, there’s no taking it back.

ZACK. What are you gonna do?

SAM. I don’t think there’s anything I can do. The damage has been done.

(A selfie of SAM is projected on the screen. She’s holding a bottle of beer, bleary eyed and wild.)

ZACK. It’s not like we all haven’t done it.

SAM. But we don’t all have pictures to prove it.

ZACK. I think you’re making much too big a deal of this.

SAM. No. I’m not. Kaitlin is friends with Tyler and Tyler is friends with Nicole and Nicole’s uncle is the dean of admissions at the university I’m dying to get into.

ZACK. Maybe he won’t see it. Maybe he won’t care.

SAM. Oh, he saw it. And he definitely cares. He printed a copy and faxed it to my dad!

ZACK. Who uses a fax machine anymore?

SAM. Not the point. The point is, he’s unsure I have the “dedication” it takes to be a student at his school. His school! Like he owns it or something.

ZACK. You’re the most dedicated person I know.

SAM. Yeah, but a picture says a thousand words. And the thousand words he got say otherwise.

ZACK. So…now what?


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SAM. Good question. Now what? You have no idea how much I want to bury my head under a blanket and play with my toys like I did when I was—

MORGAN. Little is the new big. Cars used to be big and now they’re little. Cell phones used to be huge and now they’re tiny. The world used to be enormous and now it’s small.

(A selfie of MORGAN is projected on the screen. It’s a picture of her hand pointing across a vast sky full of puffy white clouds.)

JESSIE. I don’t understand what you’re saying.

MORGAN. Think about it.

JESSIE. I am, but this is a weird conversation.

MORGAN. Fine. Take music, for example. It used to be you needed a huge orchestra to listen to music. Then they figured out how to put it into a machine. Then it got smaller when they started putting it on records. Smaller still when they invented cassettes, then CDs. Now music doesn’t even exist anymore. Just the idea of it exists. It’s out there, somewhere, floating in the cloud. Waiting to be downloaded.

JESSIE. Your point?

MORGAN. Is that what happens to us? Do we exist on the planet, getting smaller and smaller, until one day we end up in the cloud and just the idea of us exists? Waiting to be remembered.

JESSIE. You’re giving me a headache.

MORGAN. Never mind. It was a stupid thought.

JESSIE. I think I’m just hungry.


MORGAN. Me too. Hungry for answers. I just want to know—

KAITLIN. Why did I do it? Better yet, why did he do it? I’m such an idiot! Thinking my Prince Charming was on the other end of an internet connection. I’ll never be able to show my face in school again.

NICOLE. You can never show your face in school again.

(A selfie of KAITLIN is projected on the screen. Her head has been cut out and pasted onto the female celebrity’s body shown earlier.)

KAITLIN. Who’s seen it?

NICOLE. Only everybody.

KAITLIN. Shoot me now.

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NICOLE. There’s a meme going around, too.

KAITLIN. Oh no! What does it say?

NICOLE. You don’t want to know.

KAITLIN. Tell me.

(NICOLE whispers in her ear. The selfie of KAITLIN is replaced by the sameimage, but with the word EASY written across the bottom. KAITLIN gasps.)

NICOLE. I’m sorry.

KAITLIN. (Starts to cry.) What did I do to deserve this?

NICOLE. Nothing.


Nothing at all.

KAITLIN. I just want to crawl into a hole and—

TYLER. Dying for your art is what makes an artist immortal. And that was my plan. The fight to end all fights.

LAURA. Tyler? Are you awake?

(A selfie of TYLER is projected on the screen. He’s in the hospital, his head covered in bloody bandages. His face cannot be seen.)

TYLER. Laura?

LAURA. Yeah. Laura.

TYLER. Am I in the hospital?

LAURA. Yes.

TYLER. Good.

LAURA. No, not good.

TYLER. Great?

LAURA. Terrible. You almost died.

TYLER. I did?

LAURA. Yeah.

TYLER. Sweet. How many stitches?

LAURA. I don’t know. A lot. Your leg is a mess. TYLER. Not me. The other guy. LAURA. You mean other guys.

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TYLER. There was more than one?

LAURA. Yeah. You’re lucky to be alive.

TYLER. Laura?

LAURA. Yeah?

TYLER. Is that you?

LAURA. Yes.

TYLER. Am I in the hospital?

LAURA. Yes. You’re in the hospital.


TYLER. Six weeks I was there. Then six more in juvenile—

NICOLE. Detention? For real? What am I, twelve years old? And do they really think a locked door is going to stop me? Most of the windows in our pathetic school don’t even shut.

SAM. You’ve really changed, Nicole. These last few months…I don’t even know who you are anymore.

(A selfie of NICOLE is projected on the screen. She’s in the driver’s seat of a car, showing off a tongue ring.)

NICOLE. You remember that song Mr. Dyck made us listen to in band class. Change is good, or let’s make a change, or times they are a changin’. Whatever it was. Change being the key word. Besides, look who’s talking, Miss Party Animal.

SAM. That was one day. For you, it’s a lifestyle.

NICOLE. Mind your own business.

SAM. I just don’t want you to end up doing something stupid. Something you can’t take back. Something permanent.

NICOLE. Or what? You gonna ground me?

SAM. All I’m saying is, keep this up and you’ll end up with no friends.

NICOLE. I have plenty of friends.

SAM. Quantity is not the same as quality.

NICOLE. Thanks for the tip. Maybe later we can stitch it on a pillow.

SAM. I just don’t want you to end up all alone.

NICOLE. Hey. People are finally starting to notice me.

SAM. For the wrong reasons.

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NICOLE. But they’re noticing. Besides, when it comes right down to it, don’t we all end up alone?

SAM. Well, you’re certainly making sure of it.


NICOLE. I know that was mean, and I’m not sure I even meant it. But she was drifting away, so why not give her a push? Whatever. People change. Things change. Even the seasons change. It’s almost—MORGAN. Spring.

TYLER. Ice cracks.

(Projection: A frozen lake.)

SAM. Water flows.

(Projection: A glistening stream.)

LAURA. Buds arrive.

(Projection: A branch with budding leaves.)

KAITLIN. Flowers bloom.

(Projection: A flower.)

ZACK. Children play.

(Projection: A tire swing.)

JESSIE. Sunlight lingers.

(Projection: A sunset.)

KAITLIN. I used to love the sunset, but now it makes me sad. It marks the end of something. Another day gone. Another day by myself.


The whole picture thing put up these walls around me that weren’t there before. I don’t like it. Not one bit. I feel so alone, but…I’m scared. Scared to reach out and take a chance on what I know, deep down, really matters.

(A selfie of KAITLIN is projected on the screen. She’s holding her hands in the shape of a heart.)

Still, I blow the sunset a kiss. Just in case.


ZACK. Love sure has a way of smacking you across the face.

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(A selfie of ZACK is projected on the screen. He’s holding up a fist with the letters L-O-V-E written across his knuckles.)

Boy, did I have it all wrong. Dad’s new girlfriend wasn’t new at all. She was around long before the divorce. Suddenly all of Mom’s crazy actions made perfect sense. It kinda makes you wonder, who can you trust? Well, I know who you can trust. Nobody. The only person you can look out for is yourself.


TYLER. I just wanted someone to be proud of me. When you feel bad about yourself, you look for ways to feel good about yourself. First it was my body,which turned out awesome, if I do say so myself. But that wasn’t enough.

(A selfie of TYLER is projected on the screen. A mug shot.)

My corrections officer says I’m making progress. They’ve got all kinds of programs in here. Basketball. Carpentry. Painting even. And funny enough, I’m good at it. I just don’t think anybody will notice. Too little, too late.


NICOLE. I look in the mirror and I don’t even recognize myself. Sure, I got everything I ever wanted. Parties, popularity, a life. But now I don’t even know if I want those things anymore. Can a person try on different personalities to see which one fits? Or do they become permanent fixtures?

(A selfie of NICOLE is projected on the screen. She’s displaying a tattoo on her wrist.)

I can’t take back the things I’ve done, but I can change the things I’m going to do. Or at least I can try.


JESSIE. People say I eat my feelings, but they have it backwards. My feelings eat me. I wish there was a measurement for self esteem, but there’s not. I learned that the hard way.

(A selfie of JESSIE is projected on the screen. It’s a picture of her feet on a scale that reads 95 pounds.)

95 hairs in the sink. 95 trips to the doctor. 95 people telling me I’m too skinny. I see the signs, but I need someone to show me the way. I don’t think I can make the trip alone.


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SAM. Lonely is living in the future. Here and now passes you by until a string of yesterdays pile up like snowflakes. And digging yourself out from under them is exhausting.

(A selfie of SAM is projected on the screen. She’s in bed, just waking up.)

A rejection letter arrived in the mail. Not like I didn’t expect it. I brought it on myself. But don’t we all?


LAURA. I didn’t lose any fingernails, but my hair fell out. A small price to pay, I guess. And I always wanted to be a redhead.

(A selfie of LAURA is projected on the screen. She’s wearing a bright red wig.)

I’m not afraid of dying. We all die, so what’s to be afraid of? I just don’t wantto be by myself when it happens. Especially if it happens when I’m young. When my grandparents died, my mom was no longer a daughter. When Dad died last year, she was no longer a wife. And if I died…she would no longer be a mom. I wouldn’t want her to go through that alone.


MORGAN. My rabbit died this morning. He was old, so it’s not exactly a tragedy. But I’ll miss him just the same. Having him around meant that I didn’t have to talk to myself. He listened to all the weird things I had to say and never judged me for a second. And in doing so, he made a difference. He didn’t just see me. He saw the me I’m going to be. Which gives me faith in other people. Faith that people can change. Faith that life is not about what other people see.

(A selfie of MORGAN is projected on the screen. She’s holding an index card in front of her face that reads BE YOURSELF.)

It’s about the picture you have of yourself.


EVERYONE. Summer.

(Projection: A field of daisies.)

LAURA. On the first day of summer, at 4:34pm, Laura died. The nurses looked on as Laura’s mom quietly gathered her belongings into a cardboard box. It was the first time she touched Laura’s phone without a fight. She turned it on.


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LAURA. The screen illuminated and a smile appeared on her face. The last selfie Laura took was beautiful. Her eyes twinkled. The corners of her mouth were turned up. She was alive. And best of all, she wasn’t alone.

(A selfie of KAITLIN and ZACK is projected on the screen. He’s kissing her cheek, the sun over their shoulders.)

KAITLIN. Kaitlin is in love with the sunrise. Watching the sun peek over the horizon to greet the day is even more beautiful than a sunset. Beginnings always are.

ZACK. Zack sits with Kaitlin and takes it all in. Love might not be forever, but right now, right now is enough. He is thankful.

(A selfie of TYLER and MORGAN is projected on the screen. They’re holding up a painting of a bunny rabbit.)

TYLER. Tyler is still awesome. Even more awesome since he traded his fist for a paintbrush. He made his sister proud.

MO RG A N . Morgan still feels different, but so does everyone else. She named her new rabbit Tyler and no longer feels weird about feeling weird.

(A selfie of JESSIE, NICOLE, and SAM is projected on the screen. They all have ice cream cones, their arms around one another.)

JESSIE. Jessie knew there was 220 calories in her ice cream cone, but that was no longer the number she counted. The only number on her mind was the number three. Three friends…and counting.

NICOLE. Nicole looked in the mirror and finally saw what her parents said was there all along. The beauty she found had nothing to do with her reflection. She turned away from the mirror and never looked back.

SAM. A scoop of vanilla ice cream toppled from Sam’s waffle cone and landed on the sidewalk. She looked at it and laughed, realizing there’s always more ice cream. There’s always more…everything.

(A selfie of LAURA is projected on the screen. She’s alone in a hospital bed, her head wrapped in a scarf, with a blank expression on her face.)

LAURA. Before Laura died, she looked at her phone and did not like what she saw. So she snapped one last selfie and released it into the cloud. Laura closed her eyes and thought to herself, that’s better.

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(A selfie of LAURA in a hospital bed is projected on the screen. She is surrounded by NICOLE, ZACK, KAITLIN, TYLER, JESSIE, MORGAN, and SAM. All are smiling.)

(The lights fade.)

End of Play

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CAST

NICOLE IsabellaZACK NoahLAURA AnnabelleKAITLIN LilyTYLER AnthonyJESSIE LaurenMORGAN LitalSAM Orel

CREW

Director DanStage Manager Elizabet

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(361870813) selfie

Documents

selfie of zack

selfie of laura

selfie of tyler

selfie of kaitlin

zack lives

shes cute

shes beautiful

morning laura