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Underwater by Lindsay Price play script cover

Underwater

by Lindsay Price Canadian Author

This powerful drama dives into the life of a teenage competitive swimmer whose entire world revolves around the dream of Olympic gold. Swimming has always been her passion—until now. Surrounded by the relentless expectations of her parents, teachers, coaches, and herself, she feels trapped on a roller coaster speeding out of control.

Sometimes, the weight of expectation is heavier than water—and you can drown without ever sinking.

The script offers bold opportunities for your ensemble to shine through interactive staging and a rewarding challenge for tech students to design creative lighting and sound.

A dynamic and theatrical character-driven piece, this play is a resonant exploration of identity, ambition, and the cost of perfection.

Drama Character Study

Recommended for High Schools

At a Glance

Running Time
About 35 minutes
Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes
Cast
12 Characters
1 M3 F8 Any Gender, Plus ensemble of enthusiasts
Set
Simple set
Length
32 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.

12 Characters

1 M, 3 F, 8 Any Gender, Plus ensemble of enthusiasts

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.

MORLEY O [F] 146 lines
Morley Meer. A teenage competitive swimmer. Up until this moment, has always loved swimming with the goal to compete at the Olympics.
MORLEY I [A] 56 lines
This character represents Morley’s inner thoughts. It is not necessary for this actor to resemble Morley Outside or even be the same gender. They represent the true self, which does not need to be a visual likeness.
SWIMMERS [A] 30, 24, 22, 20 lines
One, Two, Three, and Four represent the swimmers on Morley’s high school swim team as well as her club program. There is no need to put them in different costumes for the two swim teams—they symbolize all teenage swimmers.
KIT [F] 36 lines
A fellow competitive swimmer. Has known Morley for a long time and even used to be friends. Bitter about Morley’s success.
MOM [F] 35 lines
Morley’s parent. Focused on fully supporting Morley to reach their highest potential as a competitive swimmer.
DAD [M] 35 lines
Morley’s parent. Focused on fully supporting Morley to reach their highest potential as a competitive swimmer.
COACH [A] 22 lines
Coach Finn. Coach of Morley’s High School swim team, the Ridgeway Royals. Focused on fully supporting swimmers to their highest potential in a high school setting. A different character (but not entirely) than Club Coach.
CLUB COACH [A] 20 lines
Coach Riley. Coach of Morley’s club team, Breakers Swim Club. Focused on fully supporting swimmers toward the Olympics without any room for anything else. A different character (but not entirely) than Coach.
TEACHER [A] 21 lines
A drama teacher with the attitude that everyone who wants to be involved with the school musical should have the chance. It’s about community, not pushing to be the best.
ENTHUSIASTS [A] 28 lines
A group who is enthusiastic about Morley being a competitive swimmer. In the script, this group includes Mom, Dad, Coach, Club Coach, the Teacher, and Kit, but it doesn’t have to. (Technically, neither the Teacher nor Kit is enthusiastic about Morley being a swimmer—it all depends on your numbers.) You can include as many Enthusiasts as your stage can handle.

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