darklight

darklight examines depression and anxiety in teens. Characters fight their inner thoughts, search for their truths, and have surreal conversations with death. Some fail, some find hope.

This is a relevant and necessary issue to explore.

Drama Experimental Form Issue-Based Movement-based Vignettes

Average Producer Rating:

This is a vignette play!

Recommended for High Schools

Running Time

About 35 minutes

Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes

Cast

16 Characters

2 M4 F10 Any Gender, Plus THOUGHTS (10 to 20 actors)

Set

Simple set

Length

38 pages

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Performance Royalty Fees

Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes.

Exemption details for scenes and monologues for competition.

16 Characters
2 M, 4 F, 10 Any Gender, Plus THOUGHTS (10 to 20 actors)

Characters in this play are currently identified as male or female. Directors are welcome to assign any gender (binary or non-binary) to any character and modify pronouns accordingly.

Group One (5E)

Anxiety [A] 46 lines

A sharp pointed coach figure; One monologue

Depression [A] 43 lines

A grandmotherly type, soft, flowing, smothering figure

Luz [A] 7 lines

The light. Moves, acts and speaks with positive purpose; One monologue

Moe [A] 24 lines

Suffering from Anxiety

Van [A] 37 lines

Suffering from Depression

Group Two: 5 to 10 actors (1M, 4-9E)

Depression Thoughts [A] 24 lines

5-10 actors; This is a group that represents Depression. They move slowly, always as a tight mass. They are rounded, heavy, and carry a narrow light.

Anxiety Thoughts [A] 24 lines

5-10 actors; This is a group that represents Anxiety. They move with a scattered, straight legged frenzy. They carry a searching frantic light.

The following vignettes are played by members of the THOUGHTS group: [A, E, E, E, E, M]

Anxiety Questions, Anxiety Awake, Anxiety Alone, Depression Questions, Depression Awake, Depression Alone/Dad

Group Three: 4F 2M 5E

Mr/Mrs Halycon / Rey [A] 36, 36 lines

A salesman with a specific product / Suffering from Anxiety

Riya / Fallon [F] 17, 17 lines

Best Friends talking about dating. Mostly.

Theo / Theo / Kari / Liv / Mason / Jyn [M / E / F / F / M / E] 33, 12, 4, 4, 7, 13 lines

Theo is a friendly, welcoming character who his friends rely on. Theo2 is Theo’s inside depression, slowly taking over. Kari, Liv and Mason are friends of Theo. Jyn is a new student, who sees right through Theo.

Van / Death [A, E] 37, 37 lines

Death and Van meet in the in-between world. Death is cheerful and very much the anti-stereotype of a Death character. Van is also a Group One character. One monologue each.

Praise for darklight

Rachelle Kinn

CHS Theatre Department

darklight is a great play about a topic no one want to talk about. It was a challenging and rewarding play to direct.

Debbie Hornback

Montesano Jr/Sr High

The cast really wanted to make sure the message of hope was loud and clear to all who saw it.

Jade Hanham

Hawkes Bay Youth Theatre

The students were totally engaged with this play from the very first reading. It is a thought-provoking piece with lots of opportunities for physical theatre. It does delve into serious subject matter but this is the reality for many young people. My students also appreciated that the issues were expressed through the teenage perspective.

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