The February People’s Choice Award goes to…

The people have spoken… The February People’s Choice Award goes to Isabella Madrigal, for her play, THE PROJECT, presented as a staged reading at Monday Night PlayGround on February 10th live at Broadwater Second Stage and simulcast via Vimeo Livestream. Congratulations, Isabella!

Courtesy of Isabella, we’re pleased to share the first two pages from the award-winning script. Enjoy!

The Project
by
Isabella Madrigal

CHARACTERS

Carol: 50s or 60s. White. Woman presenting. She’s a 4th-grade teacher who is strict and means business. Sincere.

Roseanne: 30s. Native American (Cahuilla). Woman presenting. She is a single mother who is exhausted most of the time but loves her daughter more than anything else. Soft-spoken, kind.

Millie: 9. A spunky but sweet kid, she’s competitive and excels inside and outside the classroom.

Song choice: “This Land Was Made for You and Me” by Woody Guthrie. Start time: 0:10 End
time: 0:56

SCENE 1
A typical second-grade classroom after hours. Carol sits at her desk, sorting through a stack of papers. Every so often, she purses her lips and scribbles something down. After two or three comments, she glances up at the clock and shakes her head. It’s 7:45am. A soft knock, and then Roseanne enters through the door. She grasps Millie in her right hand. Carol looks up.

ROSEANNE
I’m sorry we’re late. Gas tank was empty and-

CAROL
We’ll just have to get this done in fifteen minutes instead of thirty. Hello, Millie.

MILLIE
Hello Mrs. Sanders.

ROSEANNE
Why don’t you go color while me and Mrs. Sanders talk, huh?

Millie nods and sits down at a small table in the back where Carol has laid out crayons and coloring pads. Carol takes out her notepad as Roseanne takes a seat opposite her.

CAROL
I’m afraid we need to discuss Millie’s tardiness.

ROSEANNE
I know I-

CAROL
She’s late two, sometimes three days of every week. Look, I know you probably have your reasons, and I understand that, but we have a policy. This is a public school and there are certain standards every student is held to.

ROSEANNE
I work every day. I don’t have help. My mom, she used to bring Millie to school, but she passed in April-

CAROL
Millie mentioned.

ROSEANNE
Oh, she did?

CAROL
Let me level with you. If it was up to me, I wouldn’t penalize her for it. I’ve looked the other way for months now, but I can only do that for so long. And I guarantee other teachers at this school won’t do the same. It’s best to get this under control now.

ROSEANNE
I understand. I’ll figure it out.

CAROL
Good…I get it. I really do. I was raised by a single mother. Might I suggest carpooling?

ROSEANNE
We live pretty far. Out in Anza.

CAROL
On the reservation?

ROSEANNE
Yeah. But I’ll make it work…Look, um, I was also hoping to talk to you about the Mission Project. Millie brought home a rubric.

CAROL
Ah, yes! Okay. Well, as you may be aware, every year, the fourth grade class does the Mission Project as part of our social studies unit. Now, while this will likely be the largest-scale project Millie has completed, we ask that parents refrain from getting involved. It’s important the students do this themselves. The project consists of a two-page write-up, a small-scale model, and a five-minute presentation to their peers.

ROSEANNE
I’m sorry-

CAROL
Essentially each student must, in pairs of two, select one of the twenty-one California Missions to present on and recreate-

ROSEANNE
Recreate?

CAROL
Yes. Now, it doesn’t have to be anything crazy. They may even make it with paper if they wish. The important thing is that they are learning the history in a fun and engaging way. It’s many students’ favorite part of the year.

ROSEANNE
I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with that.

END OF SAMPLE

Join us for the next round of Monday Night PlayGround on February 10th! For more info, click here!