Upper Grades Plays is protected by U.S. copyright law. Only current subscribers may use this play (www.playsmagazine.com). Dear Journal... An exciting collection of monologues, dialogues, and one-liners that can be used as a flexible drama workshop piece, introducing journaling to a class or a whole school.... By Judy Culp Judy Culp writes, This piece is highly adaptable: It may be used as is; users may pick and choose certain selections for presentation; or certain selections may be combined with four or five pieces written by members of a drama or English class on timely issues. Consequently, the number of actors who participate is flexible. SETTING: May be performed on a bare stage or in a classroom. Actors holding large journals and pens or pencils stand or sit on the floor, or on ladders, desks or stools. The objective is to have a setting in which participants are relaxed and comfortable. 1ST ACTOR: Our school likes to do journal writing. We write in our journals (Holds up journal) 2ND ACTOR: A lot! 1ST ACTOR: We write about today s news, 3RD ACTOR: Personal feelings, 2ND ACTOR: Famous quotations and what they mean to us, 3RD ACTOR: Not-so famous quotations, 4TH ACTOR: And freeeeeeeeeee topics! 2ND ACTOR: That s when you write about whatever you want within reason, that is. Remember where you are. 5TH ACTOR: If you can think of anything to write about. If not, you can just write your name or anything the purpose being to write. 4TH ACTOR: Journal writing helps you learn to express yourself on paper and expound... OTHERS (Interrupting; ad lib): What? Speak English, please! (Etc.) 4TH ACTOR: Elaborate on our emotions and reactions to where we are in life. 2ND ACTOR: I like the idea of writing any thoughts kinda like a diary. 5TH ACTOR: Whatever! ALL (Together): So, anyway (They pause and take up journals and pen- 2
cils. Actors take turns reading and acting out the following pieces.) Topic One. (One actor reads each topic sentence, indicated in the text by bold-face type.) Driving: Are you excited about being able to drive, and are you ready for the responsibility? What a question...our teacher must be reading my mind. Yesterday after school, my mom let me drive wow! What a trip!!! O.K., so it was just to the end of my driveway and back, but I was driving! I felt 10 feet tall, and that is a miracle because as everybody knows, I am the shortest guy in my class. My little sister is in the fourth grade and she is taller than I am. Really. I think somebody placed a curse on me when I was born. Everybody else in my family is fairly tall except for me. But, when I get my license I ll be as tall as anybody. I think I ll be a good driver, if I can just reach the pedals. I m very long from the waist up, you know. (Gestures) See? Look. Just like anybody else. Sometimes I think somebody sat on me when I was younger. Funny, ha. Well, I don t think so. Oh, well. Maybe my mom will let me drive to the corner next week. You never know. (After a pause) How do you feel about the new dress code? Can you believe my teacher gave us this topic? How does she think I feel? Where am I? I have In-School Suspension again for a dress-code violation. Wouldn t you know it? I don t get it. Why should it matter what I wear? I m a good student, and I don t get in trouble and I think I should be given the freedom to decide if I want to wear purple hair, seven earrings in my navel, or short shorts with lace trim. That mean Mrs. Bell turned me in. Probably because she s jealous that she s too old to have neat shorts like mine or she has them but only wears them around in her house where nobody can see her. So this is the deal: When I lift my arm my skin shows. Like nobody in this school has ever seen skin before. I have a lot shorter shirts at home. Boys can wear shirts that look like underwear, so where s the equality here? What s the problem? I d rather concentrate on something else like passing school, or the name of the new guy in Algebra. I d like to be a distraction to him, but not if I look like every other girl in this school. What s memorable about that? I know it s no longer so easy to see who s in what gang...but what does that have to do with me? Dress codes get a life! I am so excited. Our school is wearing uniforms this year for the first time. White shirts, khaki skirts or pants sounds cool to me. School might just get to be safe once again. At least it won t be so obvious who has money, who doesn t, who is in which gang, who isn t. Last year I was threatened because I was wearing one of the rival gang s colors. I didn t even know! I mean, I thought pink and black were like a fifties kind of thing, you know what I mean? Boy, when those two girls (or guys) had me up against the locker, I wasn t feeling like Happy Days, that s for sure! So anyway, I figure I ll wear my Me clothes after school and on the weekends. This way I ll have my freedom of dress, plus stay in line with school rules. Makes sense to me. Interlude 1ST ACTOR: So, waazzup? 2ND ACTOR: Nothin. Just hangin. 3
1ST ACTOR: Gotta fly. 2ND ACTOR: Gnarly, man. 3RD ACTOR: Bad threads. 2ND ACTOR: Wipe me out. 3RD ACTOR: Laters. 4 You are invited to a party and you know the parents aren t going to be home. What do you do? Wow, the teacher must be reading my mail! Somebody must have sneaked on us. So my folks aren t going to be home. Small detail. I plan on making sure that all is under control. I said no liquor, no drugs, just a chance to chill with no adult looking over our shoulders. I have the numbers down, only asked a few of my good friends. It ll be cool. I m not worried. I ll make sure everybody goes home early. Today s topic is a quote from Emily Dickinson: I m nobody...who are you? Are you nobody, too? Reflect on what Ms. Dickinson is saying. I remember Emily Dickinson. She was the strange lady who always wore white and never left home. At least she had a home. Funny how someone so long ago knows how I feel. We re supposed to react to the quote of the day and I can sure react where do I start? Maybe I ll talk about my foster home? Wait which one? I think this is number seven in five years. Sounds fun, huh? Just kidding. So how did I get here? Well, quite simply my mom prefers her new boyfriend who doesn t care for kids, and my dad prefers the drug of the day so nobody wants me and I guess that makes me a nobody too. Just like Ms. Dickinson. I also have this poem. (Recites) Life s no fun for a foster child Life s no fun at all. Nobody asks what you d like. Nobody comes to call. Life s not fair for a foster child Life s not fair at all. Sitting alone in a brand-new room Staring at a blank white wall. Life s not confusing for a foster child Life s not confusing at all. Trapped in a web you didn t make Trapped in a life you can t escape. Life is endless for a foster child Life is endless after all... How to have a future when you never had a past... How to look uncaring when you long to stop at last.... Doesn t anybody want me? Doesn t anybody care? No, life is no fun for a foster child Life is no fun at all. (After a pause) I thought my last home might work out Janet actually seemed to care but I m afraid to let anyone know that I care. What if they let me get comfortable and then out the door I go? I don t know that I have many protective layers left. Acting tough is the only way I know to survive. A few more years, that s all then I m on my own. Yes, Ms. Dickinson. I can safely say I m nobody, too! So. What do I do? I used to think I was nobody, too. No roots, messed-up family, and I was always in trouble. But you ll never believe what happened. (Recites) I think I ve found a safe place One where I can dwell. I thought it couldn t happen
Just shows you never can tell. When they first walked in I wanted to cry. What could they want with an older guy? One like me who came from trouble A mom long in prison, A dad lost in the rubble. I tried to look uncaring Hoping to hide my sorrow. Unwilling to hedge the bets I knew I d be here tomorrow! But she knew... I don t know how. She looked through layers so carefully placed Hiding the longing On my sad, young face. This one, she stated. She quietly touched my cheek. We need each other. This boy s the one I seek! I looked behind me for A small hidden child. But blank white walls Met sterile checkered tile. Oh, we ve become a family slowly My new Mom, Dad, and I. It isn t always easy, But we continue to try To mend the aches and Soothe the hurts and Build a home of trust. To wipe the slate clean at last. To survive we know we must. My window looks out on a clear-blue sky MY WINDOW!!! I said that, didn t I? Guardian Angel Today, instead of writing my journal, I am going to write my Guardian Angel. O.K., O.K., I know it s silly, but I can t help it I do believe in angels, don t you? I can t believe the new guy who enrolled today. I think I am in love. First thing this morning, I saw him in the hall talk about drop-dead gorgeous does he steam my windows or what!!!! Well, he might if he met me. One never knows. I am almost sure he likes me. I mean, it was pretty obvious how he looked around and sat by me in math. So what if it was the only empty chair in the room? I could tell he was glad to be there. Failure Well, I d be surprised if I hadn t gotten in trouble SPECIAL NEEDS DEPRESSED SLOW TO UNDER- STAND I ve heard it all. So this is my question: If I am so dumb, then why do I understand every time I fail? Skateboarding I am my board my board is me - I love after school Me, my board The pavement I fly, man - For a while it is me on a roll no problems, no worries, no questions as to where I have been, no homework, no Mom telling me to do this or Dad telling me about how hard he worked when he was my age I am my board my board is me. Wow! Did I get in trouble. Thought I had this party thing all worked out. I was ahead of the game. Everything started the way I thought it should and my buds were there and we were being cool and then this group of guys from another school showed up. How did they even know about the party? Turns out one of the girls I asked mentioned it to them. Anyhow, they had a couple of six packs, and some small-time drugs, but still drugs. I told them they had to leave and they said well, you don t want to know what they said. 5
Anyway, they started going through the refrigerator, trashing the living room boy, how I wish my folks had walked in about then. Then the police came. Sirens, lights, the works. Oh, yeah. The neighbors figured something was up and called the cops. I ended up with a lecture from the cops, they called my folks, they came home, and anyway, to make a long story short, I am grounded until I am 55. Oh, yeah. I wish I could rewrite my journal now. It s a big responsibility to be in charge of a lot of kids. I wasn t thinking. Yeah, I guess you figured that out, didn t you? Guardian Angel No. 2 So, this is the plan. Last week I mentioned the new guy in class, and this is the deal (Fall Follies Or Spring Fling). I would really like to go with him if you could arrange it. If you will help me with this one little thing, then I promise to try and straighten my act out talk nice to my parents, listen to my teachers, you know. I ll just wait for a sign or something. It doesn t have to be big, maybe a hello in the halls or something. How does that sound? Twin day JANET: Oh, great. Twin day Laura, Laura, Laura, let s dress alike. LAURA: What am I going to do? JANET: Laura has been my best friend since third grade. I remember so well she was the new girl in school. LAURA: I was so alone. Janet was so energetic. She just bounced into my life, took over and became my sponsor. JANET: We both like the same things. I like cheerleading and love basketball. 6 LAURA: Even after all these years, Janet doesn t realize that I hate spectator sports. Now, give me my running gear, a cool afternoon...long-distance running is great for me. I usually wait till Janet is at cheerleading. I don t know why I haven t said anything to her. Guess I m just chicken. She always makes fun of the runners and I get tired of trying to explain. I get a lot of thinking done while I m running. JANET: Next year we will be at high school. Parties, boys, fun... LAURA: I really need to tell Janet I m planning on attending the magnet fine arts school. Art is very important to me and my art teacher put my name in for the new school. It s way across town, but my folks say they ll see that I get there. JANET: I am so glad that Laura and I are tuned into each other. Sometimes I think she s trying to tell me something, but she never does, so it must be my imagination. LAURA: Twin day sounds great. What do you want us to wear? How do you feel about body piercing? How do you like my gold stud? (Points to tongue) The one in my tongue? I still have problems talking my tongue is a little swollen and the other night I forgot and had some really hot soup. OWWWWW! Talk about burn... I think it makes me an individual. My girl doesn t like it at all. Funny, she didn t complain about my eyebrow ring, or this little diamond on my nose. My mom, now she went through the roof! Took my phone away for a week... said, I GIVE UP!! Real dramatic you know how parents are. I got in trouble at school with the eyebrow ring. Some jock cornered me after school, threatened to yank it out. Principal called me in for a (Puts fin-
gers up in quote sign) chat, so, not being stupid, I let that one go. But next week I thought I might get my navel done who knows? What do you wish for? 1ST ACTOR: I wish to pass Algebra with at least a C. 2ND ACTOR: I want my big brother to come back safely from the military. 3RD ACTOR: I d like a date with the new guy maybe go to the movies. 4TH ACTOR: I wish to play basketball in high school. 5TH ACTOR: I wish my parents still lived in the same house together. 6TH ACTOR: I wish I could sing like (Name a singer). ALL: I wish I didn t have to grow up. What are your thoughts on older people? Like I really think about something like that. Closest I can come to this subject is my grandpa. He lives down the road from us and we visit every Sunday after church. We used to go fishing a lot he d pick me up from elementary school and we d go spend the afternoon down by the reservoir. It was pretty neat we didn t always catch anything, but Gramps brought cokes and chips asked about school asked about my soccer team asked about me how I felt, what I didn t like. Seems like now I m older I don t have time to go fishing. Gramps used to call, but I always have something to do. Karen Steel s Grampa has Alzheimers and he never knows who she is anymore. I saw her crying the other day when we talked about the importance of grandparents. Maybe I ll call Gramps after school and see if he wants to go fishing tomorrow. Guardian Angel No. 3 This isn t working. I believe we talked last week about the dance thing...well, I don t mean to be rude, but I don t have a dress yet; I don t have an appointment to get my hair done; I don t have a date; in fact, I haven t talked to Mr. Wonderful this week. Am I asking too much? I don t think so! Let s review: I said I d straighten out if you helped me. I mean, I told Mrs. Carlile I liked her earrings...i told Mr. Sterling he was an awesome English teacher, which he may think strange since I have failed the last three tests, but I m trying here, Guardian Angel! Work with me I told Mrs. Whittle I loved dissecting frogs! What more can I do? Time is running out. Oh, hi, Todd. I didn t see you there. (Note: Names of real teachers may be inserted above) How do you feel about the events of September 11, 2001? So there we were. Sitting in class everybody milling around trying to get the TV to work. I was talking about the big game Friday when I realized that the plane hitting the Twin Towers was not pretend. It was real. Everybody in my class just stared. What in the world was going on? Hey, Mr. Smith, turn the TV up. Is this for real? We sat there all morning watching, two planes, two towers, then a plane hitting the Pentagon and then one crashing into the ground - What happened? We sat looking at each other in shock. This couldn t be real. Not in our country. Not in America! 7
But it did happen. It did. America is overnight no longer invulnerable. That is what our teacher said. We are like the rest of the world. No longer the masters of our destiny. Freedom isn t free after all. Journal finale (Poem may be recited by one actor, divided among actors by verses, or in small groups.) Journals are fun Journals are sad Journals reflect The best days we ve ever had. Journals are our life Tied up in a book Our tears our laughter, Our hopes our dreams, Our sighs our heartaches, Life s not always what it seems. Our journal is a journey Both tried and true Our journal is a testament To what we ve been through. For we are people all our own Full of life and stories Some new, some old Some not yet written Some not yet told. A small reminder In a world filled with strife. Hold on to that journal The story of your life Someday you may share it With a grandchild or two Your journal still lives Through it so will you. THE END 8