Theatrefolk Featured Play: Look Me in the Eye

Welcome to our Featured Play Spotlight. Looking for a powerful one-act that gives students rich character work and makes a strong competition piece? You need Look Me in the Eye by Lindsay Price.

Teenagers in the future are obedient, polite, and respectful. This is due in large part to the government-required "Observation Sessions." But there is a dark underside to this utopian vision.

After learning her brother is scheduled to be "observed," one of the most obedient students starts to question the system. She must decide whether to remain obedient or speak out and face the consequences.

This issue-based drama is packed with tension, emotional stakes, and meaningful discussion opportunities for students.

Bonus: there’s also a free classroom study guide available to help deepen student engagement and support classwork, plus a Spanish version of the play too!

Let's hear from the author!

1. Why did you write this play?

I have always been interested in the insistence of some adults that teenagers must “behave” in a certain way. Or that they feel teenagers aren’t obedient enough, without any acknowledgement of what they themselves were like as teenagers. To that end, I thought, “What if I took this obedience idea to the extreme? What would that look like?” I love writing “what if” plays that take place in a different reality - sort of the future but more really a side step to our reality.

2. Describe the theme in one or two sentences?

In the future teenagers are obedient and polite. But this behaviour comes at a price.

3. What's the most important visual for you in this play?

When we realize what the characters are watching as they stand in a line across the stage.

4. If you could give one piece of advice for those producing the play, what would it be?

Each character in the play responds to their reality in a different way. Make sure this response is not just examined in the lines but in each character's physicality and how they react to each other. We should know how they feel about the world they live in without hearing a line of dialogue.

5. Why is this play great for student performers?

Look Me In The Eye offer students an opportunity to deep dive on themes like obedience and questioning authority. The play questions what it means to be human, which is always a great discussion prompt for teens - for anyone really!

6. Who is your favourite character in the play?

Because of the topic and the situation, I don’t really have a “favourite”  character. I do love how the characters feel real and present, even though they exist in a world that isn’t real. I hope it never becomes real! 

7. What is your favourite line in the play?

It's not so much a line, but I love the language of the world. Unfamiliar words like "Scofflaw" "Deterrent" and "Complicit" are used throughout to let us know that the play doesn't take place in our time.