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Pressure: Competition Version

Pressure: Competition Version

by Lindsay Price

NEW Competition Version!

A raw, fast-moving portrait of teenage pressure, told through intersecting stories of young people trying to survive a world that demands everything from them. Grades. Popularity. Resilience. Perfection. All while they are still figuring out who they are. When all they want is to be seen, understood, and safe, the pressure does not let up.

This is a character-driven drama with no easy answers and no neat endings.

Ideal for mixed ability groups. The script offers strong opportunities for both novice and advanced actors, with meaningful roles for all.

Drama Character Study Choral Work
Also available in a one-act version here.

Recommended for High Schools

Running Time
About 35 minutes
Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes
Cast
14 Characters
4 M8 F2 Any Gender, Plus Mob
Set
Simple set
Length
29 pages
Free Excerpt

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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.

14 Characters
4 M, 8 F, 2 Any Gender, Plus Mob

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.
NOTE: See author's note in script for further details.

PENNY [F] 55 lines
A relentlessly overworked high achiever. Dresses to reflect her uptight high achieving ways.
KYLE [M] 33 lines
Caught between the dreams others have for him and the ones he secretly imagines for himself. He dresses in second hand clothes and in dark colours.
ALEX [M] 38 lines
A newcomer from Ukraine trying to learn a new language, make friends, care for his family, and stay afloat in unfamiliar terrain. Happy to have clothes on his back.
TERA [F] 79 lines
Shy and uprooted, convinced she will never fit in. Wears whatever she thinks is going to make her popular.
SARAH [A] 44 lines
Kyle’s best friend. Straight talking.
MRS. KEELY [A] 23 lines
A supportive, kind Teacher.
GEORGIA [F] 7 lines
Penny’s academic rival in big hair and high heels.
DAVE [M] 29 lines
Knows everyone worth knowing. A basketball player. A dangerous date.
ALLY [F] 60 lines
On the formal committee, wants to help Alex.
SAM [F] 34 lines
Wants to be on Tera’s good side when she gets a date with Dave, but not above pushing her out of the way.
AMY [F] 9 lines
Tells a chilling tale of what it’s like to date Dave.
MAMA [F] 7 lines
Alex’s ailing mother.
FATHER [M] 12 lines
Puts a lot of pressure on Kyle to follow in his brother’s footsteps.
MOTHER [F] 11 lines
Pressures Kyle to do his best.
MOB [A] 11 lines
The voice of pressure itself.

More Plays Like Pressure: Competition Version

Pressure

by Lindsay Price

Four teenagers struggle with pressures. The Refugee, the newbie, the perfectionist and the less than perfect. Everything comes to a head the week before prom.

A group of teens piece together who they are and who they are becoming, revealing their fears, dreams, and defining moments through raw, interconnected monologues.

A jealous teen battles a literal monster that shadows her every move, forcing her to decide whether to let it consume her life or find the courage to break free.

Seven lives intersect in a series of funny and touching moments that reveal the beauty, chaos, and change in friendships, family, and love.

A competition-length version of Sweep Under Rug by Lindsay Price

A competition-length version of The Super Non-Heroes by Taryn Temple

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