Friends Forever

 FRIENDS FOREVER

 by

Vicki Bartholomew

A large cast play for high school students.          

19F, 4-8M     

 75 minutes         

 Friends Forever

Copyright ©2002 by Vicki Bartholomew

All Rights Reserved

CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that Friends Forever is subject to a royalty.  It is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, the British Commonwealth, including Canada, and all other countries of the Copyright Union.  All rights, including professional, amateur, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, and the rights of translation into foreign language are strictly reserved. 

The amateur live stage performance rights to Friends Forever are controlled exclusively by Drama Source and royalty arrangements and licenses must be secured well in advance of presentation. 

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           CAST for FRIENDS FOREVER

          Seniors  (Main cast)

Catherine             Belle            Kendra

Chrissy                Beth             Brooklyn

Tanya                  Fontaine       Tina

Kelly                   Randy           Young Catherine

Liz

Miss Green  

       Younger girls  (Small roles, may be divided)

Jade Lynn             Becky Ann         Wanda Lu

Mary Theresa        Jenna Jo             Ria Kim

          Male cast (Small roles, may be double cast)

Lance                  Paul             Garrett

Todd                             DUI

Casey                  Ryan

CAST NOTES for FRIENDS FOREVER         

High School Girls

Main Cast Girls are Seniors at a prep school.  Northeastern accents unless otherwise noted.  May be done without accents.

CATHERINE Marriott

       New girl in school/quiet/moody or

       depressed/sometimes slight limp or

       stiffness/ballet dancer/from San 

       Francisco.

LIZ Whittier             

       Catherine’s roommate/boy crazy/not 

       athletic looking/loves clothes.

KENDRA Phillips

       Catherine’s other roommate/very 

       athletic/soccer player.

CHRISSY Edwards

       Loves to shop/nicknamed Plastic

       Princess/takes Liz and Beth 

       shopping/cries.

BELLE Jackson

       Beth and Brooklyn’s roommate/Southern girl/new at school. 

BETH    

       Belle and Brooklyn’s roommate/ 

       sweet/speaks in a surgary sweet 

       voice (not comic)/gives presents/is 

       the surprise thief.

BROOKLYN

       Belle and Beth’s roommate/soccer 

       player/real name Clarice Epstein/

       scholarship student/Brooklyn accent.

 (Note: Others in cast may be A-A except Belle.)

FONTAINE

       Steals boyfriends/attractive/great 

       hair/soccer player.

TINA   

       Talks fast all the time/comic.

MISS GREEN

       Teacher/dorm counselor/intercom 

       announcer.

RANDY  

       Kendra’s cousin/comes for soccer 

       game with rival team from St. Mary’s. 

YOUNG CATHERINE

       A ballet dancer/may wear a mask. 

          MALES

LANCE  

        Kendra has a crush on him/athletic/crashes the 

        slumber party at Liz’s invitation.

PAUL    

        Crashes the slumber party with Lance.  Hair is 

        disguised with curler hat stuffed with tissue 

        paper or nightcap.

GARRETT 

        Young Garrett appears with young Catherine in 

         a flashback.  

TODD   

        Garrett’s brother who appears in the funeral 

        flashback.  Sad and aggressive.  Wears suit.

DUI    

         Driver appears in funeral flashback.  17 years old.  

         Wears colored shirt and a tie.

 CASEY     

         Kendra’s brother.  Also in snow scene.

 RYAN    

         Kendra’s youngest brother.  Same 2 scenes.

JUNIOR VARSITY GIRLS:  These six roles may be divided to provide 7-12 roles by dividing names into the first and middle names.  Younger than main cast.  They might wear a different school uniform than the main cast.  (May also be used for girls in the snow fight, patrons arriving for talent show in ACT II, girls at the slumber party.)

 JADE LYNN                MARY THERESA

 BECKY ANN                JENNA JO

 WANDA LU                 RIA KIM

 Senior Roommates:       Catherine, Liz and Kendra

                                       Brooklyn, Belle and Beth

                                       Fontaine, Chrissy, and Tina

                                      Tanya, Kristen and Amy

                                      Kelly, and unnamed

 STAGE

      The play takes place in the dorm of a fictitious 

 northern girls’ school named West Hills Secondary School for Girls.

      There is only one set, a dorm room.  There are three beds arranged in a half circle upstage. Catherine’s bed is central.  Kendra’s wall is covered with sports posters, Liz’s with posters of boys, and Catherine’s wall is empty.  The door is between Catherine’s bed and one of the other beds. The opening on the other end of Catherine’s bed can be used for Catherine’s closet or a second door.  The audience side (downstage) is an imaginary wall with a central 

imaginary window and imaginary mirrors on each side.  

      During the first scene there are boxes and suitcases scattered around the room.  Later the room looks lived-in, but Catherine’s part of the room is always very neat. 

       There is no special scenery for the flashback scenes, the talent show scene, nor the snow scene.

       For the play’s opening at Oglebay Institute, they used a large scrim over Catherine’s bed.  For most of the play they had a transparency of an ornate gate saying “”West Hills Academy””.  Later, they had the flashbacks take place on a platform behind the scrim instead of taking place downstage in spotlight.  I liked the transparency, but I hope someone will try the flashbacks on stage where they are more visible.    

 SOUNDS

 Bells for mail call, dinner, and class.

 Crash of broken tree limb.

 Radio with rock’n’roll, classical.

 Thud of a snowball on the window.

 Sound of burglars breaking in.

 A burglar alarm.

 Siren (flashing lights).

 AD LIB ACTIONS

      In the first scene, the actors are unpacking.  In later  scenes, some actions are specified and others may be ad libbed:

           doing homework

           typing on computer

           reading book, magazine, newspaper

           folding laundry

           hand sewing

           putting on makeup or lotion

           putting in curlers or hair ribbons

           exercising

           shaving legs

           painting nails

           cutting and pasting pictures

           eating a snack

           re-arranging bulletin board

           making beds, folding a blanket

           putting away clothes

           dusting

           cleaning the invisible window, mirror

           playing around with soccer ball

           making a model of a castle

           shaking pompoms

           etc.

 ACT I Scene 1

AT RISE:  The day before the school year starts.  LIZ and KENDRA are wearing shorts appropriate for soccer practice.  KENDRA is putting up posters and LIZ is unpacking.  Some of Liz’s clothes are in a small case on Catherine’s bed.

KENDRA: I’m done. (SHE plays with her soccer ball and pushes it out the door.)

BETH:(BETH enters carrying a bracelet.) Hi, Liz!

LIZ: Hi, Beth!  Can you believe summer is over?  I needed at  least another month of summer vacation, didn’t you?

BELLE:   All my friends are at West Hills.  I’m glad to be back. 

LIZ:  Not me.  We spent three weeks in St. Martin.  There were these hot French lifeguards on the beach.  Look!  I’ve got their pictures!  Aren’t they fine!

BELLE:   They look . . . so old.

BELLE: They go to the University of Paris.

BELLE:   Did they speak English?

BELLE: They didn’t need to.

BELLE:   Liz!  

LIZ:  Don’t worry.  I’m joking.  They thought I was a little kid. (LIZ looks at photograph again and sighs.)

I’m going to have this one blown up poster size.  What did you do this summer?

BELLE:   I spent the summer with my grandmother.

LIZ:  Uh, oh.  You must have met SOME cute boys though?

BETH: (BETH shakes her head and hands LIZ a present.)  I brought you a present. 

LIZ:  A coral bracelet.  Did you get it in Hawaii?  Beth, how sweet of you to think of me on your vacation.  

BELLE:  I didn’t go to Hawaii.  I got it at home.  Do you like it?

LIZ: I love it.  Thank you. 

KENDRA: (KENDRA enters wearing shorts.) Hi, Beth.  Miss G. is looking for you.  I think your new roommate is here.

BELLE:This is so exciting!  I’ll see you later.

(KENDRA makes a face/gags at BETH’s surgery tone as she exits.  LIZ doesn’t notice.)

LIZ:  Bye!  I hope she gets a nice roommate.  She’s so sweet.

KENDRA: Sure she is.  (LIZ notices KENDRA’s tone, but Kendra continues talking.) Haven’t you finished putting your stuff away yet?

LIZ:  I brought too many clothes.  Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t get assigned a roommate?  We could share the other closet.

KENDRA: Don’t you mean, you could take over the third closet?  Why did you buy so many new clothes?

LIZ: I needed them.

KENDRA: What for?  We wear uniforms!

LIZ: Chrissy spent last week with me, and we hit every mall in the city.  It’s hard not to buy something when you shop with Chrissy.  

KENDRA:  Yeah, the Plastic Princess.  They’ll probably name a mall after her someday.

LIZ:  Didn’t you go back-to-school shopping, Kendra?

KENDRA: Sure, I bought new soccer shoes, running shoes, socks, underwear and a Nike shirt.

LIZ: That’s all?

KENDRA: I got a new soccer ball.

LIZ: No dresses?

KENDRA: Not me!  But my mom bought me a party dress. 

LIZ: Ooh, let me see!

(KENDRA shows LIZ the dress.)

It’s pretty!

KENDRA: I’ll never wear it.

LIZ: It would be perfect for the Harvest Dance.

KENDRA: Get real!  Like some boy is going to ask me to go to the Harvest Dance. 

TINA: (TINA enters carrying a small box or bag.  She is wearing shorts.)  Here I am!  Here I am!  Here I am!

LIZ:  Tina!

KENDRA:  Tina!  Are you our new roommate?

Tina: (Speaks fast.)  

Don’t I wish!  Alas, some malevolent being has assigned me to share my dark dungeon with the luscious Fontaine seducer and breaker of male hearts. Naturally, I will swallow all scruples and bow and scrape before her in the hopes that she will throw her unwanted crumbs my way.  Wouldn’t it be great if she showed up overweight and with acne!  

LIZ: Tina, how unkind!  Like you said, at least we get her crumbs.  No cake, no crumbs.

KENDRA: I thought you were going to room with Brooklyn?

Tina: (Still talking fast.) They changed us.  The administration of this fine institution has decreed that I am a negative influence on  poor innocent Clarice, alias Brooklyn.  Brooklyn’s new roommate is named Annabelle Jackson.  She’s from Georgia,  plays the violin, and (Tina speaks in southern accent.) 

 “her daddy”” has two “”huntin’ dogs””.  Kristen and Amy have a new roommate named Tanya Jackson.  She’s from Connecticut and plays the violin, too, but Annabelle Jackson says she doesn’t believe they are related as there aren’t any “”Yankees”” in her family.  Your new roommate’s name is Catherine Marriott.  She’s from San Francisco. 

KENDRA: That’s all?

LIZ: What do you mean, that’s all?  They wouldn’t even tell us her name.  How did you find out?  

Tina: (Speaking fast.) 

I read her application on Miss Green’s desk.  She didn’t have any hobbies or interests listed on the front page and I was unable to look on the second page and garner any further useful information because, at the precise moment that my hand of its own volition had reached out to turn the page, Miss Green chose to return from the powder room.    

LIZ: You’re lucky she didn’t catch you a second later. 

Tina: (Sighs and speaks a little slower.) Yes, Miss G. has an uncanny ability to catch me at every indiscretion I commit. (Speaks fast again.) Can you imagine the disgrace of being caught when I had only  arrived at this sacred establishment minutes before.  They  would probably have had the police flag down my parents car and return for their miscreant daughter forthwith.

KENDRA: Nah, if they didn’t expel you for climbing down the oak tree  at 2 A.M. last spring, they wouldn’t expel you for looking at a paper.

Tina: (Normal speed.)  Oh, yes, they would.  My parents and I have signed a contract that I will conduct myself in a exemplary manner . . . or . . .I’m out-a-here! (TINA pretends to hold knife to her throat as she speaks, and then she exits.)  

KENDRA:  Do you think she can?

LIZ: Exemplary?  By her standards, maybe.  By a normal person’s, no way.

LIZ:  Hey, they got us a new mirror. 

(LIZ looks in invisible mirror downstage.)

KENDRA: How can you tell? (KENDRA crosses to mirror.)  

It looks like the same mirror to me. 

LIZ:  You are living with a mirror expert.  (KENDRA and LIZ both stand in front of mirrors facing audience.  Then KENDRA crosses to stand behind her  as LIZ continues talking.)  I wonder what Catherine will be like.  You know, my mom is still friends with her high school roommates.  Wouldn’t it be great if the three of us stayed friends forever?  

KENDRA:(KENDRA speaks looking over Liz’s shoulder.)    Friends forever.

(MISS GREEN and CATHERINE enter. CATHERINE is carrying a suitcase. MISS GREEN is carrying a clipboard.)

MISS GREEN: Girls, I’d like you to meet your new roommate, Catherine Marriott.  Catherine, this is Kendra Phillips and Elizabeth Whittier.  

CATHERINE:  How do you do?

KENDRA: Hi!

LIZ: Hi!  This is your bed.  Let me get my things off of it.

(LIZ and KENDRA remove items from bed.) 

MISS G.: Well, I’ll leave you girls to get acquainted.  If there is anything you need, Catherine, just come to my office and I’ll help you.

(MISS G. exits.)

CATHERINE:(CATHERINE sets suitcase on the bed and starts to unpack.)  Thank you, Miss Green.

(CATHERINE ignores LIZ and KENDRA’s friendly overtures.  There are pauses between comments. CATHERINE unpacks as they talk.  CATHERINE doesn’t look at them, but LIZ and KENDRA make eye contact as though to say what’s wrong with her?)

LIZ: I hear you’re from San Francisco. (Silence.)  You are from San Francisco,  aren’t you?

CATHERINE: Yes, I am. 

KENDRA: I’ve never been there.  I’ve seen lots of photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge.

LIZ: And China town.  (Silence.)  I’ve been to China town in New York.  They must be very similar.  (Silence.)

KENDRA: My dad’s a big fan of Steve Young.(Silence.)  You know, the quarterback.  (Silence.) Of the San Francisco 49ers.

CATHERINE: I don’t watch basketball.

KENDRA: Football.  

CATHERINE: I’m not really into sports.

(KELLY and BROOKLYN enter dressed for soccer practice.)

KELLY: You guys ready?

KENDRA: Catherine, this is Kelly and Brooklyn.

BROOKLYN: My real name is Clarice, Clarice Epstein.  

CATHERINE: How do you do, Clarice?

KELLY: Please, call her Brooklyn.  If you call her Clarice, she might forget she’s our star defender.  Do you play soccer, Cathy?

CATHERINE: Catherine.

KENDRA: She’s not into sports.

BROOKLYN: You should give it a try.

CATHERINE: I don’t know anything about soccer.

KELLY:  We’ll teach you.

LIZ: Come on, Cathy.   It’s fun.  

CATHERINE: Catherine. 

LIZ: If I can learn, anyone can.

KELLY: Right!  We taught Liz last year, and she got a Varsity  letter. 

BROOKLYN: Yeah, you don’t have to be an expert to play on our soccer team.  

LIZ: All you do is run up and down the field like you know what you’re doing.

(LIZ does a feminine little run across the stage and curtsies.)

BROOKLYN: Or you can sit beside Liz on the bench.

LIZ: Hey, I heard that.

KELLY: We’ll wait for you to change.

CATHERINE: I couldn’t.  I need to unpack.

KENDRA: Are you sure?  

(LIZ walks to front of stage and puts on lipstick looking into mirror.)

BROOKLYN: Get your face out of the mirror, Whittier!

KELLY: Liz, why are you putting on makeup?  We’re going to sweat.

KENDRA: Quick!  Come on, before she gets out the curling iron!

LIZ: I’m coming!

(KELLY, BROOKLYN, KENDRA and LIZ exit.  Catherine unpacks.  FONTAINE enters looking for KENDRA and LIZ.  FONTAINE is wearing short shorts and a tight shirt.  Her hair is curled.)

FONTAINE: Ta da!  Hey, where’s Kendra?

CATHERINE: She went to play soccer.

FONTAINE: (FONTAINE goes to window, looks out at audience and shouts.)  I see them.  HEY, WAIT FOR ME!  You’re new here, aren’t you.  I’m Fontaine.

CATHERINE: I’m Catherine Marriott from San Francisco, California.

FONTAINE: Do you have a boyfriend?

CATHERINE: What? (Unusually upset by this question.)

FONTAINE: A boyfriend?  I guess he’d be in San Francisco anyway.  

CATHERINE:  Yes, San Francisco. (CATHERINE speaks reluctantly, because her boyfriend is dead.)

FONTAINE:  Is he tall, dark and handsome?

CATHERINE: Garrett was blond.

FONTAINE: But handsome?

CATHERINE: I’m sorry, I don’t want to talk about him.

FONTAINE: Well, in a week or two when you forget him, let me know,

Friends Forever

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