LITR 3731: Creative Writing
Student Drama Submission 2005
Jennifer Jones
The Question
Cast:
Dr. White (female college instructor)
Jennifer (engine’s running but there’s nobody behind the wheel)
Alissa (question girl, always asks that one question that causes class to last another 45 minutes)
Daniel (chatty, enthusiastic, love struck newlywed that never comes to class without his laptop)
Devon (ready to take care of business and go)
Mary (Devon’s project partner, overachiever)
Concept: The plan to get out of class early goes awry when students come up with one way after another to waste time until class ends up letting out at the usual time.
Scene: Students are chatting with one another quietly, waiting for class to start. Daniel is happily setting up his laptop and has turned on easy-listening music (Sunny 99.1 type stuff). The music is playing softly, but not too softly. Devon is sitting with her pen ready for note taking. Dr. White walks in and goes straight to the podium.
Dr. White (smiling brightly) - Good evening class! How is everyone doing?
Jennifer (wide eyes) - My Katy is doing wonderfully! She can recognize the letter K now. Everywhere we go, when she sees anything that starts with a K, she says, ‘Look, Mommy! That’s a K!’ It’s so sweet. (smile modestly)
Dr. White (still smiling) - Aw, that’s really great. Tell me again how old she is?
Jennifer – She’s 3 and she has a play at school coming up. We’re so excited. Hopefully, she’ll stay on the stage this time. Last time she went running off the stage and —
Dr. White – Aw, that’s really charming. (looks at class) Well, today we’re going to get out early so let’s get busy with our discussion on different types of learners.
Alissa (turns to Daniel) - Didn’t you get married over Spring Break?
Daniel (excitedly) - YES! I’ve got pictures! I’ll put them up there! (points to screen, then types swiftly on laptop)
Dr. White – Ooo! I want to see them! (rushes to sit with students)
Devon (to herself) - So much for getting out early…what else is new…(sigh)
Mary (to Devon) - And Dude, I was thinkin’ about our project presentation thing that’s coming up in six weeks, and I thought we could use feature analysis as one of the strategies and —
Daniel (walks quickly over to computer and brings up photos on the screen) - OK, I’ll have them on here soon.
Alissa – Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Daniel – It was a bed-n-breakfast in the mountains. It was just really awesome. There was snow and we had the best room in the place. There was this other couple there that wanted our room. The best thing about this place was the food. Steak for breakfast. After they brought in the eggs and toast, like, 20 minutes later, they would bring in steaks and then fruit.
Devon (to herself) - The best part of your honeymoon was the food? Idiot.. (shakes
head)
Alissa (to Daniel) - Are you serious?
Daniel – Oh yea! It was awesome! We never knew what we were going to have at every meal. They just brought us food. It was like a full course meal every time. It was just so cool.
Devon (to herself) – “Full course meal?” What the…
Jennifer (squinty eyes, like she’s concentrating really hard) - So, OK, you never knew what was going to be served? What if you weren’t able to finish the first course because you got full and then they brought in something really yummy for the second course? How did you save room? Oh, that must be why it’s called a FULL course meal. (nods head knowingly)
Daniel (shrugs) - I didn’t have a problem.
Devon sighs and tosses her pen
down.
Mary (to Devon) - I hope my friend that has a bulletin board will let me borrow it. It’s got a hole in it, but that’s ok because we can cover it for the presentation.
Devon (to Mary) - Seriously, are you listening to this? (points to screen) I can’t believe this is being allowed to happen. This class is long enough without Mr. Yakky taking up 45 minutes of class time talking about his stupid honeymoon. Like I really care about this. (sigh again)
Mary (looks at screen) (to Devon) - What’s going on? What are we looking at?
Devon (to Mary) - His honeymoon pictures. He got married over Spring Break. This is ridiculous. I didn’t pay for this. (crosses arms)
Mary - (to Devon) You’re joking. Why is he showing his honeymoon pictures?
Daniel – And this is when we were on the mountain. It was cold. See all the snow?
Dr. White – Wow, that’s really impressive.
Alissa – Is that a deer?
Daniel – Oh yea!! They were everywhere!! There’s one here. (clicks) And here’s one. (clicks) And, oh! Let me go back to that other picture of the trees. (clicks) No… (clicks) No… (clicks) Not this one either. (clicks) Here it is! See? There are three deer in this one!
Jennifer (wide eyes) - There were deer?
Devon groans.
Mary (to Devon) - Well, anyways, about our project, I was thinking we could use “Dinosaurs” as our category for the feature analysis and then demonstrate how students can use —
Daniel (jumping up and down in his seat and pointing at computer screen) - LOOK! Here’s a picture of my fia.. I mean, wife!!
Dr. White – Aw, she’s really pretty.
Daniel (clicks) – Here’s one of us together. I hate my hair now. I used to have really long hair. Down to here. (points to shoulder) I miss my hair. My wife hated it. My hair looked better than hers. I think that’s why she didn’t like it. Girls used to always ask me how I got my hair to look so good. They asked what shampoo I used. I always told them that stuff you buy at the store, Suave. But I had to cut it for the wedding. (sighs dreamily) I’m a different person since the wedding. Just ask my wife.
Devon (to herself) That’s funny, you still look like the same loser to me.
(2 hours and 10
minutes later – Daniel
has finally finished showing his 5000 honeymoon photos and has returned to his
desk. He sits with his head buried
in his laptop. The music is still playing.
The class has had a 20-minute discussion on different types of learners.)
Dr. White
– OK, so, before we go, I’d like us to take 2 minutes to go over our
post-assessments that are due next week, just to make sure everyone is on the
right track. Who has a question for
me?
(silence)
Dr. White
– No one?
(Devon begins
packing up her books)
Alissa
– I have a question.
(Devon
pauses)
Dr. White
– OK.
Alissa
– How long is it supposed to be?
Dr. White
(holds up index finger)
- Just one page and make sure you include your qualitative observations.
You should also be starting to think about your project presentations
that are due next month. If no one has anything else, then that’s all we have for
today.
(Devon
stands and begins packing up her books again)
Jennifer
(looking blankly into space) –
No…
Dr. White
(looks at Jennifer)
– I’m sorry?
Jennifer
(still blank) - No… No… Oh! I’m sorry.
Dr. White
– OK
Jennifer
– I have a question…
(Devon
drops her books on the table and plops into her chair)
Dr. White
– What’s that?
Jennifer
– I don’t know…
Devon
(frustrated, to herself)
– You have got to be kidding me.
Dr. White
– You don’t know?
Jennifer
– Sometimes I hear music.
(Class
turns to Daniel. He looks up from
his laptop, and then quickly turns down the music.)
Jennifer
– But sometimes I hear water running through pipes in the attic and no one
else does. My husband said we
don’t even have water pipes up there.
Dr. White
– (bewildered) Umm,
OK… Do you still have a question?
(Devon’s
knees shake, anxious to leave)
Jennifer
– No... I mean, yes... No... Wait… What’s a qualitative observation?
Dr. White
– It’s kind of like a one-paragraph summary of your results from the
post-assessment.
Jennifer
– Post assessment? (realization
lights up her eyes) OH! POST
assessment!! You want us to post
our assessment on a web page! I was
thinking you wanted a post-it note.
Dr. White
– No, I don’t want either. I
want your post-assessment.
Jennifer – (confused)
Oh… post-assessment?
Dr.
White – Yes.
Jennifer – (dawn slowly rises)
As in the opposite of our pre-assessment that we did 2 weeks ago?
Dr.
White – You got it!
Jennifer – (excited)
OK! I got it! If anyone has questions, call me cuz I got it!
Alissa (to Jennifer)
– I have a question!
(Devon
walks out in a huff)
Theme:
Sometimes people can monopolize gatherings with unnecessary stories or
questions.