The Gift – An Excerpt

The Gift © 2016 by Maria L. Yost, is a ten-minute play originally written for the Montana Repertory Theater 5 on 5 Play Slam series, and had its first reading on December 11, 2016. It was also performed as a part of the Missoula, Montana First Night Festivities on December 31, 2017.

This play explores the tense relationship between a mother and daughter who are brought together after the death of their father/grandfather. If you are interested in reading the complete script or would like to produce this play, please contact the author,

ACT I, SCENE 1

  (JAMIE and T.J. are sitting in a 1986 banana crème Volvo station wagon on a desolate dirt road in the middle of nowhere.  There are a few trees, a stream and an old farmhouse in the distance, but not much else.  JAMIE turns the car off and steps out.  T.J. does the same but is focused on her cell phone.)

JAMIE

Plot 12609.  Right here!  This is it! 

(JAMIE runs out into the open field, leaps and does a perfect double pirouette, landing in a pose like Maria in the opening sequence of The Sound of Music.)  

T.J.

Dammit!  No signal!  Shit!  No fucking signal!

(Throws the phone against side of the car.) 

JAMIE

Thriller Jean!  Watch the language!  Look at all this open space!  Beautiful!

T.J.

 Don’t call me that!  It’s T.J.

JAMIE

Fine. T.J.

T.J.

Seriously?  Jamie…You fucking named me after a Michael Jackson song!

JAMIE

TWO Michael Jackson songs!

T.J

Whatever.  As soon as I turn eighteen, I’m changing my name.

JAMIE

To what?

T.J.

I don’t know.  Something.  Maybe “The Doctor.”  Who knows.  Just nothing so fucking stupid.

JAMIE

Thrill—T.J.  LANGUAGE!  Anyway, Michael Jackson was the best—

T.J.

Child molester?

JAMIE

Stop!   Look, I was sixteen.  My frontal lobe wasn’t fully developed.

T.J.

Whatever.  I can’t get any signal out here. 

End of Selection