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The Gift by Lindsay Price play script cover

The Gift

by Lindsay Price Canadian Author inspired by O. Henry

Kymberdee has gone through a transformation. Her family life has been turned upside down and because of that she has changed from a selfish materialistic hollow human being to someone who puts people ahead of things. She’s changed her name, her friends, her outlook.

But what are the events that have lead to this transformation? And when given an opportunity to return to her materialistic friends, has she changed enough to resist? And why are those foreign exchange students wandering west looking for Meester Staaahr?

Inspired by the short story The Gift of the Magi.

Dramedy Character Study Holiday

Recommended for High Schools

At a Glance

Running Time
About 90 minutes
Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes
Cast
22 Characters
4 M 13 F 5 Any Gender
Productions
Produced by 10+ schools
Licensed by schools and youth theatres around the world
Set
Simple set
Length
96 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.

22 Characters

  • 4 Males
  • 13 Females
  • 5 Any Gender

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.

  • Kim Female 155 lines
    16. Trying to change. Ex best-friend to Malinda.
  • Kymberdee Female 210 lines
    15. A past version of Kim. Best friends with Malinda. Shallow and materialistic.
  • Malinda Female 144 lines
    16. The biggest fish star in a very small pond. Shallow – a straw man surrounded by crows. Ex best-friend with Kim.
  • Bob Male 87 lines
    17. Brother to Kim. Real name is Killoran, which he hates. Easygoing and very giving.
  • Laura Female 94 lines
    17. Cousin to Kim. Has cancer. Facing her situation. Sarcastic.
  • Paige Female 130 lines
    16. Girlfriend to Caleb. Grounded.
  • Caleb Male 107 lines
    16. Goes by Cal. Boyfriend to Paige. Friendly and more perceptive than he seems.
  • Wyatt Male 49 lines
    16. Seems to be a star-struck snob, but really is opportunistic.
  • Swan Female 46 lines
    15. A star-struck snob, and will learn that it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
  • Erica Female 65 lines
    15. Not so secretly desires to be Malinda’s friend.
  • Dixie Female 93 lines
    15. Not so secretly desires to be Malinda’s friend. Has an odd home life.
  • Harper Male 40 lines
    15. He is in constant misery because Dixie is sort of blackmailing him.
  • Tanner Any gender 51 lines
    16. A fraternal twin with Taylor.
  • Taylor Any gender 49 lines
    16. A fraternal twin with Tanner. These twins can be two guys, a girl and a guy, or two girls.
  • Blue Female 3 lines
    16. A somewhat silent secret weapon.
  • Ceecee & Ceelee Female 20, 15 lines
    15. Two girls who are essentially ‘crows.’ They flock around Malinda, agree with everything she says and constantly croon for shiny things.
  • Bal / Gas / Melchi Any gender 3, 4, 5 lines
    17. Three foreign exchange students. They sometimes appear to speak very little English and sometimes appear to be quite wise. As in the three wise men. And they always seem to be searching for something…
  • Kandace Female 48 lines
    Kim’s mother. Used to be quite like Kymberdee but has changed.
  • Ms. Gullickson Female 41 lines
    Known as Ms. G. The drama teacher.

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