Series: The Plays of Tom Anselmo
Volume: 2
Title: Three One-Act Plays
Subtitle: Matt & Sara, The Voices, Penny
Author: Tom Anselmo
Publisher: Red Brindle Press
Edition: First, 2006
ISBN-13: 978-0-9770794-2-1
Pages: 232
Binding: Quality Paperback
Price: US $15.95
Availability: Spring 2006. Available to the booktrade through Baker & Taylor
Buy Now
Book Description:
A quick read of these one-act plays might leave an impression that the three stories do not have any particular connection. In one, a stutterer, vacationing in a southern clime, is attracted to a guest; in another, a woman who unexpectedly sees her best friend’s beau seemingly carousing in a public place must decide whether to tell her friend or not; and in the third, a sister-in law asks her husband’s relatives for a loan to pay off her husband’s debts incurred in a bookie scheme gone awry.
The common thread in each play is that an event exposes a vulnerable part of a character’s personality. Not all the players sense and recognize their vulnerabilities. A few do and develop insights as a result of their self-exposure; others, more fragile, defend against such openness.
In Matt & Sara, both are burdened by a sense of humiliation: Matt’s because of his stuttering; Sara’s because of her family’s behavior at the resort. Attracted to each other at a distance, they happen to meet one evening. Will they truly reveal who they are? How will they react to — or be tolerant of — each other’s inhibitions?
In The Voices, Cathy’s observation of her friend Ellie’s beau with another woman has put her in a bind: to tell or not to tell. Would Ellie want to know? Could the scene she witnessed be innocent? Cathy’s struggle is personified by two voices representing her ambivalent impulses. One voice reminds her of the delicacy of relationships and boundaries that should not be crossed; the other voice exhorts her to disclose what she has seen, that editing her true thoughts will compromise her intimacy with Ellie. They vie for Cathy’s attention as she struggles to find what is best for her friend.
Penny’s visit with her 14-year-old daughter to her sister-in law Gail (the central character in the "Trilogy, Vol 1") evokes an on-going issue between them: Is Robby, Penny’s husband and Gail’s brother, an addicted gambler or not? Penny believes not and argues for Robby’s good character. Gail is disturbed that Penny is holding onto old romantic notions about him, and not protecting herself and her daughter from serious economic consequences. Can the extended family remain intact after this visit?
In the telling moments of each of these plays, the central characters are thrust into making significant decisions. Will they withdraw into the safety of a static version of self or will they discover a new way of being?
Buy Now
Click here to read an excerpt
Click here to learn the backstory of this play
Go to Volume 1: Gail's Place
