This Is Just This

Three couples on a California beach at night grapple with the questions and challenges that come with each stage of life.

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Synopsis

Three couples have come to the beach at night: elders Katie and Sam to recreate the moment of their first meeting, middle-aged Carla and Augie to see the grunion run, and teens Julie and Judd to celebrate their graduation from high school.

Roles

  • Female: 3
  • Male: 3
  • Total roles: 6
Katie
73 years old, sweet and practical.
Sam
Katie’s husband, 77, good-natured, going deaf.
Carla
38 years old, currently stubborn and glum.
Augie
Carla’s husband, 39, sometimes clueless but very kind.
Julie
17 years old, just graduated high school, ready to burst with life.
Judd
18 years old, just graduated high school, awkward and shy, with the makings of a good man.

Setting & Set Requirements

A beach along the California coast, easily created with a soundscape. Late night.

Sample

                                                

Sam: So I walk up to you, very bold, even though my knees have gone weak at the sight of you.  And I say, “Excuse me, Miss.  You shouldn’t be walking around alone on the beach at night.”  And you turn to me, all lit up silver from the moon, and you say…  Come on.  And you say, “I’m not alone now, am I.”  And then a wave comes up, like the answer to a prayer, so I take your hand and pull you away. And I’ll be damned.  You don’t pull your hand away.  I’m so happy with this, I think my heart is going to keel over in a dead faint.  And I say to you, “Nice night, ain’t it?”  And you say to me…

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