Digital Script This PDF is for authorized digital use only and may not be printed. Federal law provides severe civil and criminal penalties for the unauthorized alteration, reproduction, distribution or exhibition of copyrighted materials. This PDF may not be distributed in excess of the amount of copies purchased. For performance, you must still apply for rights on our website, be approved and purchase a cast quantity of scripts in either digital or print format. Alone, Together Edited by WILLIAM DAVIES KING Foreword by RISA BRAININ Written by LINDA ALPER, KATIE BENDER, JAMI BRANDLI, DAN CASTELLANETA, DEB LACUSTA, LEO CABRANES-GRANT, MIA CHUNG, YUSSEF EL GUINDI, ANNE GARCÍA-ROMERO, IDRIS GOODWIN, ENID GRAHAM, ARLENE HUTTON, LILA ROSE KAPLAN, WIL- LIAM DAVIES KING, JENNY MERCEIN, BRIAN OTAÑO, LYNN ROSEN, CHERI STEINKELLNER, JAMES STILL, ALISON TATLOCK, ANNIE TORSIGLIERI, JOHN WALCH, CHERYL L. WEST and SHERI WILNER. 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For performance of any songs, music and recordings mentioned in this play which are in copyright, the permission of the copyright owners must be obtained or other songs and recordings in the public domain substituted. ©MMXX by DRAMATIC PUBLISHING Printed in the United States of America All Rights Reserved (ALONE, TOGETHER) For inquiries concerning all other rights, use the contact information listed at the front of the agented plays. If not available, contact DPC. ISBN: 978-1-61959-253-7 FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY IMPORTANT BILLING AND CREDIT REQUIREMENTS All producers of the play must give credit to the author of the play in all programs distributed in connection with performances of the play and in all instances in which the title of the play appears for purposes of advertising, publicizing or otherwise exploiting the play and/or a production. The name of the author must also appear on a separate line, on which no other name appears, immediately following the title, and mustDSSHDULQVL]HRIW\SHQRWOHVVWKDQ¿IW\SHUFHQW WKHVL]HRIWKHWLWOHW\SH Biographical information on the author, if included in the playbook, may be used in all programs. In all programs this notice must appear: “Produced by special arrangement with THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC., of Woodstock, Illinois.” In addition, all producers of any play in this anthology must include the following acknowledgment on the title page of all programs distributed in connection with performances of the play and on all advertising and promotional materials: “Commissioned and originally presented in June 2020 as part of the University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Theater and Dance LAUNCH PAD Zoom Festival Alone, Together; Risa Brainin, Artistic Director.” FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY iii Table of Contents Foreword by Risa Brainin x Linda Alper Pick Me Up 1 Cast: One actor, any gender. When called on to make a special Italian dessert, a chef in a senior living residence discovers an emotional connection to a difficult resident. Katie Bender King Zoom 9 Cast: Two female; two males; one female/male/non-binary. Don King is dying, he convenes a family zoom meeting to divy out his fortune. The Most Human Human 29 Cast: One female, 20s. Maybe the Turing Test prize for Most Human Human is something Maria could get famous for . flaws and all. Jami Brandli Pandemic Therapy 35 Cast: Two females, one 20s, the other 40s-50s; one male, 20s. A young married couple struggles to adjust to their new pandemic living situation while their therapist wrestles with her own problems. Zoom Audition 48 Cast: One female, early to mid 20s. A young woman does her first Zoom audition while she wrestles with her inner darkness. Leo Cabranes-Grant Zoom Baby 53 Cast: One Latino/Puerto Rican male, mid-30s; one white female, early-30s. As the Covid pandemic starts to unravel in the United States, an intercultural couple has a Zoom conversation in which the future of their marriage is challenged by an unexpected glitch in their fertility plans. FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY iv Dan Castellaneta and Deb Lacusta Dynamite Sales 66 Cast: One female, 30s; one male, 30. When a business motivational speaker loses control of her sales seminar to her only participant—a clueless, sexist, misanthrope—she begins to question her own career. Rosebud 83 Cast: One male, 20s-30s; one female, 20s-30s; one of any gender, 20s-30s. When one couple’s relationship goes online due to Covid, the romantic bloom is off the Rosebud, so to speak—all because of a strange obsession with Orson Welles’ film Citizen Kane. Mia Chung Quietus 94 Cast: One character named I. Any sex or race. “I” has been feeling queasy lately. Which Actually Isn’t So New 97 Cast: Two females, any race. Two friends catch up with each other. Yussef El Guindi Cha-Cha 110 Cast: One female; one male. This is supposed to be Salma and Justin’s date night, but Justin is worried that Salma may be coming down with the virus. She hesitates seeing a doctor because she is undocumented. A marriage proposal, and learning to cha-cha are a couple of the things that occupy this call between two people in love who are trying to survive. Anne García-Romero Late Night Prayer 124 Cast: One male; one female. While experiencing anxiety over her future, an undocumented student actor reaches out to her fellow actor to seek guidance and solace. Idris Goodwin The Art of Coping 133 Cast: One any gender. A young adult takes to the live stream and provides tools to help us soldier on. FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY v Talk Tomorrow 139 Cast: Two any gender. In the midst of a global pandemic, two siblings have their daily video call. A play about connection. Enid Graham Do Not Go, My Love 151 Cast: One female, 30-60; one male, around 20. While navigating the cold bureaucracy of a government help-line, two people find a way to have a human connection. Arlene Hutton All the Cranes in the World 162 Cast: One female, 18. While her sister is hospitalized, Meredith has to remotely babysit her five-year-old niece via FaceTime. Neither Here Nor There 167 Cast: Two females, 21, any race. Two best friends, roommates since freshman year, are separated when their college shuts down after spring break and discover a class divide they didn’t know existed. Lila Rose Kaplan Pandemic Romance Monologue 180 Cast: One female, late 30s, any race. Rowan's husband won't stop buying romance novels. What's she going to do? William Davies King Les Mots Justes, or Hold Your Tongue 184 Cast: Three characters, any gender, any age. Three characters in search of a way—a word—to cut the distance. Playful/painful vignette. Jenny Mercein Auld Lang Syne 194 Cast: One female, 40s-60s; two males, 40s-60s. When a global pandemic cancels their high school reunion, Dan makes the bold move to reach out to his long-lost friend Abby. Brian Otaño I’m Not Going Home 203 Cast: One actor, early 20s, any gender or ethnicity. FOR AUTHORIZED DIGITAL USE ONLY vi A young Covid-19 patient in New York City finds the courage to end a relationship from their hospital bed. South Lake Tahoe, California 209 Cast: Two males; two females, late teens/early 20s, any ethnicity (except Glenn, who should be white). A Zoom party/movie night takes a frightening turn for four quarantined students. Lynn Rosen But Here I Am 222 Cast: Ideally two males, but male, female, or non-binary for either part is fine. In this serio/comic scene, two siblings who are polar opposites try to connect during a late-night call. That Flower, That Flower 232 Cast: One female, 20s. In this serio/comic monologue, a betrayed wife leaves her husband a “Dear John” video before fleeing. The Shakespeare Section 236 Cast: One male, or female, or non-binary. Feel free to change all pronouns to anything, ideally 20s but can be any age. In this comic monologue for camera, or for a live audience, a student spots the person they're in love with and channels Shakespeare to win them over.