Kara In The Chair

Kara in the Chair1

An original play by Jillian Busch2

Cast:3

Young Kara: Throw back memory in Adult Kara’s story to therapist4

Adult Kara: Traumatized patient at Shrink’s office5

Dr. Small: Mental patient pretending to be a Therapist6

Jessie: Young Kara’s Best friend7

Sue: Kara’s Mom8

Richard: Kara’s dad9

Mental Warden: Orderly/ security at a mental institution.10

Secretary: Dr.Small’s assistant. Doesn’t know she works for a11

loony-toon12

Act 1, Scene 113

Lights go up on center stage, the spotlight on a girl and a man sitting in an office type setting .Over on Stage left a girl types in another office type setting, blocked like a waiting room.14

Dr. Small: Alright Kara, can you tell me when these anxieties of yours first began?15

Adult Kara: Well, let me think. I was fairly young, maybe sixteen. I remember it as if it were yesterday. 16

Lights come up and reveal two young girls on stage right, lights dim stage left. 17

Young Kara: Jessie, I don’t know what to do?!18

Jessie: Kara, I’m so sorry. That’s one thing you can’t get back once it’s gone.19

Young Kara: What do I do?!20

Jessie: Tell your mom?21

Young Kara:  Gracious, No! She would…22

Lights Dim stage right, come up stage left23

Dr. Small: Very interesting. So, you told your best friend? 24

Adult Kara: Of course I did! We used to tell each other EVERYTHING!!!25

Dr. Small: And how did Jessie react to your fake cough ‘eh-herm’ loss?26

Adult Kara: Oh she was fabulous! She didn’t think it was weird to have lost it at all!27

Dr. Small: (interested.) Really?28

Adult Kara: She even told me she’d given hers up a LONG time before I lost mine.29

Dr. Small: (Incredulously) So young!?30

Adult Kara: She was always more (make quotation fingers in air) “sophisticated” than girls our own age. 31

Dr. Small: I see. Well, unfortunately, our time is up Kara. I will look over my notes and think about this situation. See you next session.32

Adult Kara: Of course, thank you Doctor.33

Lights go down both left and right, Black out. End of Scene 134

Act 1, Scene 235

Lights up Stage Left. Enters Adult Kara far right36

Secretary: Dr. Small will you see you now Kara.37

Adult Kara: Thank you. (Enters office)Good afternoon, Dr. Small. 38

Dr. Small: Good Afternoon Kara! Now, have a seat and we will continue our discussion.39

Adult Kara: Alright. Where were we?40

Dr. Small: Your friend had just suggested you tell your mother you had “lost it”.41

Adult Kara: Ah yes, well… (Lights dim, spotlight up stage right) 42

Young Kara: My Mother’d kill me if she knew I had…(Looks around the stage cautiously)  lost it!43

Jessie: Well, what are you going to do then?44

Young Kara: I don’t know! I can’t sleep at night knowing it was taken from my own bed! If my mother knew…. 45

Lights dim center, go up stage left46

Dr. Small: So your mother was critical of you then? 47

Adult Kara: Not usually, but it was something very special in my family. You know how it is…you only get one and once it’s gone, that’s it!48

Dr. Small: I see, continue…49

Adult Kara: Well…50

Lights dim stage left, Lights Up stage right51

Jessie: Kara, I’m so sorry. I have to go. I hope you figure this out, Hon! 52

Young Kara: Thanks Jess…(exits Jessie. Out loud to self) Now what do I do?53

Lights dim stage right, come up center54

Dr. Small: So all of this made you feel scared, and confused, didn’t it Kara?55

Adult Kara: Very, to have something like that taken from me!56

Dr. Small: So you didn’t give it up, it was taken from you? Yes… that would be traumatizing…57

Adult Kara: (Crying) And by my own Father!58

Dr. Small: (gasps) Your father?!59

Secretary: (entering) Dr. Small, it’s time for your seven o’clock. Mr. Lawson is here and waiting.60

Dr. Small: Thank you Patty. (to Kara) Please, come back for another session tonight in… (checks watch) one hour. We’re on the edge of a breakthrough. 61

Adult Kara: Of course, thank you Doctor! See you in one hour! 62

BLACK OUT63

Act 1, Scene 364

Lights up on Secretary, stage left, and Dr. Small’s office @ center65

Adult Kara: (Checks in with Secretary) Hello again!66

Secretary: Oh Good! Dr. Small is waiting to see you, you may go right in!67

Adult Kara: Thank you! (Enters Dr.’s office) I’m back!68

Dr. Small: Wonderful! Please, have a seat Kara. (Kara sits) Alright, now you were just telling me about how it was taken from you by your father. 69

Adult Kara: (Very Dramatic) Yes!70

Dr. Small: How did that make you feel Kara?71

Adult Kara: Betrayed, hurt. It represented my youth, my pure beliefs and he (sigh) soiled it!72

Dr. Small: Please Kara, continue you must let it ALL out. 73

Adult Kara: It was very dear to me. Something so clean, it WAS 16 years old. I suppose it was time, but not like that! It was always freshly starched…74

Dr. Small: Starched!?75

Adult Kara: (Dismissively, gets up and paces) Yeah…When I saw him in the act, I just screamed for my mom!76

Adult Kara keeps pacing, lights stay up center and left, also come up stage right. Enters Young Kara’s father stage right, wringing his filthy hands on an equally dingy, tattered cloth. 77

Young Kara: Hi Daddy!78

Richard: Hello Angel. 79

Young Kara: (Sees the rag her father holds and goes rigid)Dad, is that my?... (Screaming)MOMMY!!!!!!!!80

Stage right freezes, lights stay up81

Dr. Small: So, when it happened you called for your mother immediately?82

Adult Kara: Oh you bet I did!(still pacing fiercely)He was wringing his filthy hands on it! 83

Both Kara’s in Unison, stage right unfreezing screaming84

Both Kara’s: Blankie!!!85

Young Kara’s mom enters in a rush to see what’s wrong86

Sue:  Kare-Bear, what happened? 87

Young Kara: (Hysterically) Daddy used blankie as a grease cloth!!!88

Richard: (Looking at the rag, groaning) Oh no! This ratty old thing was Blankie? 89

Sue:  Richard! That was her baby blanket! We brought her home in it!!!90

Richard: How was I supposed to recognize that?! It had more holes in it than a teenager at a Rock Concert!!!91

Stage Left unfreezes92

Dr. Small:  A blanket? You’re an anti-social, psychotic loser because Pops dirtied your baby blanket!?93

Stage right94

Sue: Her BLANKET!?95

Richard:  I’m sorry!96

Young Kara: Blankie! (crying, runs off stage)97

Sue: Kara, honey wait!!!98

Richard: I said I was sorry!99

Stage Left100

Dr. Small:  All this time ( starts laughing) I thought…101

Kara:  What?102

Dr. Small: Never mind.103

Mental Warden enters stage left, mimes with secretary. She faints. He enters the Dr.’s office104

Warden: (to Kara) Excuse me Ma’am. (to Dr grabbing him) Come on Tommy, time to go back to the toon-bin!105

Dr. Small: But I was playing Doctor!!!106

Warden:  Sorry buddy, play time’s over. Say G’bye to the nice lady and let’s go get that jacket! Exits w/ Tommy/Small stageLeft107

Adult Kara: (travels to dead center) Well, there’s an unexpected twist! (To audience) 108

BLACK OUT, CURTAIN CLOSE109

         The End!110