Highlighted Writers of February- First Place
A Play By Us
...
A MODERN STORY OF FRIENDSHIP INSPIRED BY JANE AUSTEN’S “SENSE AND SENSIBILITY”
Cast of Characters
Eleanor Dalesly: Intelligent, by-the-book, heart of gold.
Joy Hudson: Seemingly carefree, down to have a good time, lives in the moment.
Brian Harvery: Goofy and shallow on the outside, but truly emotionally intuitive and friendly.
Josh Westkey: Confident, knowledgeable, needs to warm up to you before he’s cool with you.
Anthony Crencreek: Rich, arrogant, spends Daddy’s Money on failing stock investments and calls himself a businessman.
All characters are college freshmen.
Setting
Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Time
The present (not accounting for COVID-19).
Scene 1
AT RISE: We find ELEANOR atop the top bunk in her new dorm room at Johns Hopkins University. It’s move-in day. Her parents have just left the campus. Her mom is already calling.
ANTHONY
(off stage)
“I have not wanted syllables where actions have spoken so plainly.”
ELEANOR
(exasperated)
Yes mom, I remembered my toothbrush.
And the Advil.
I know, I know, wear a sweatshirt in the cold.
(ELEANOR’s new roommate walks in, holding Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.)
ELEANOR
(seeing her, quickly finishing her mother’s sentences) Mhm, mhm, no alcohol, no parties, no boys, got it, love you mom!
(ELEANOR hangs up. JOY enters, wearing a bright orange sweater and ripped acid-washed jeans. Eleanor can feel her cheery energy as soon as she walks in the room. She notices the book Joy is holding and smiles.)
ELEANOR
Sense and Sensibility!
JOY
(beaming)
Yes! Have you read it?
ELEANOR
Of course! One of Austen’s best works.
What’s your name?
JOY
I’m Joy!
ELEANOR
That’s such a lovely name!
(jumping off the bunk)
I’m Eleanor.
JOY
No way!
(lifting her book)
Elinor Dashwood!
ELEANOR
(smiling)
Yes ma’am!
I’ve got a lot to live up to.
JOY
I would definitely say you do.
ELEANOR
(laughing)
Good to know my roomie is also a literature nerd.
JOY
Well, as an English major, I’m kinda obliged to be.
ELEANOR
(excited)
No way! Me too!
JOY
(high-fiving Eleanor)
Hell yeah, Dashwood!
(they laugh)
Looking forward to knowing you.
(ELEANOR smiles at such a peculiar statement.)
Scene 2
(It’s now the first day of classes. ELEANOR and JOY walk to the George Peabody Library for their morning break. They stand outside.)
JOSH
(off stage)
“Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others.”
JOY
I cannot wait for you to meet them!
ELEANOR
Well, if your friends are half as nice as you, neither can I!
JOY
They are, I promise, some of them are just
BRIAN
(noisily entering)
Heyo - Dr. J!
(BRIAN bro-hugs JOY.)
ELEANOR
(aside, through her teeth, to JOY)
You’re friends with this guy?
JOY
(sighing, whispering)
I promise, he’s got something
BRIAN
(To ELEANOR)
Brian, nice to meet you.
(BRIAN reaches out to shake ELEANOR’s hand. She hesitantly accepts.)
BRIAN
Well, hello pretty girl.
JOY
(sarcastic)
Brian, the chances of Eleanor getting with you are just as likely as you actually taking yourself seriously. Close to none.
BRIAN
Never say never, Dr. J.
(JOY rolls her eyes.)
Hey, hey, hey! Look who it is!
(JOSH enters, anxious and hyper aware of ELEANOR. He smiles but looks to JOY for explanation.)
The J-Man!
JOSH
(muttered to BRIAN)
How many times do I have to ask you not to call me that? (turning to JOY)
Hey, who’s this?
JOY
Elinor Dashwood.
JOSH
You don’t say?
ELEANOR
(smiling)
Well, my name is Eleanor, just not Elinor Dashwood. Only in my dreams.
JOSH
(matter-of-fact-ly)
Well, I’m Josh, in real life and my dreams. Sense and Sensibility is incredible, so I hope you live up to your namesake.
(ELEANOR is surprised at JOSH’s knowledge of Austen’s classic, along with his bluntness, but she appreciates it. BRIAN attempts to enter the conversation.)
BRIAN
Sense and Sensibility. I think I read that once.
JOY
You?
BRIAN
Yeah!
(BRIAN smirks, knowing he’s about to annoy JOSH.)
Oprah wrote that, right?
JOSH
(annoyed)
God-
(ELEANOR and JOY collectively roll their eyes, but smile.)
(turning to JOY)
You wanna head in?
ELEANOR
Where are we going?
BRIAN
Well, pretty girl, there’s a top secret underground club a hop skip and a jump away.
JOY
(seeing ELEANOR’s confusion, exasperated)
Shut up, Brian.
(BRIAN smirks.)
We’ve got a special spot for ourselves here.
Welcome to the JJBC.
ELEANOR
The...what?
JOY
Our study group! The Joy, Josh, Brian Club. Josh is a Philosophy major, and Brian’s a Business major. Now with you, we’re the JJBEC.
(The group starts heading inside.)
BRIAN
I like it. The “E” adds sophistication.
(They enter GEORGE PEABODY LIBRARY.)
Scene 3
(JOY leads the group to a table. She sits next to JOSH, leaving ELEANOR to sit with BRIAN. The duos are a comfortable distance
away from each other. They’re each on opposite sides of each other.)
ANTHONY
(off stage)
“Between THEM no subject is finished, no communication is even made, till it has been made at least twenty times over.”
BRIAN
(staring at ELEANOR)
So…
ELEANOR
(looking up from her work)
So?
BRIAN
What’s your favorite song?
ELEANOR
Brian, are you serious?
BRIAN
Do I look serious?
(He makes a very serious face. ELEANOR can’t help but laugh. BRIAN smiles.)
ELEANOR
Hmm. I think Honeybee by the Head and the Heart.
BRIAN
Interesting. Don’t think I’ve ever heard it.
ELEANOR
Well, you don’t strike me as someone into alternative music.
BRIAN
(surprised)
You’re into alternative? Was not expecting that. Thought you listened to, like, fancy piano music or something.
ELEANOR
(smiling)
I guess I give off a “fancy piano music” vibe, huh?
BRIAN
Smart, pretty girls usually do.
ELEANOR
How do you know I’m smart?
BRIAN
Because you finished studying about an hour ago to work on... (BRIAN gestures towards ELEANOR’s laptop.)
...whatever warrants the loud typing I’ve been hearing.
ELEANOR
(shocked, impressed)
Guilty as charged.
BRIAN
You writing a book?
ELEANOR
No, a play, actually.
BRIAN
What’s it about?
(BRIAN slides in his chair closer to ELEANOR.)
ELEANOR
(smiling, surprised at his genuine interest)
Well, it’s-
(JOY creeps up behind ELEANOR, startling her.)
JOY
(yawning)
Hey, I’m exhausted, I’ll meet you back at the-
(JOY sees the Google Doc entitled “Play” up on ELEANOR’s laptop.)
What’s this?
ELEANOR
(embarrassed)
Oh, it’s just this play I’m writing-
(JOY starts reading ELEANOR’s play. She’s infatuated with it.) It’s nothing special, but I’ve always wanted to be a playwright.
JOY
Dashwood, this is genius.
ELEANOR
Oh, please.
JOY
I will be reading that tomorrow.
(She starts off, then turns around.)
Oh, right, I won’t be here tomorrow night. I’m going out with a boy from my 8 AM class.
ELEANOR
Damn, girl! Only been here a day and getting asked out.
JOY
(smiling)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.
(JOY exits.)
JOSH
Think I’m gonna head out too. Got a lot of work to do.
BRIAN
Wait, so, what were you doing here all this time?
JOSH
Other work. Duh.
(JOSH exits. ELEANOR and BRIAN start packing up their things.)
ELEANOR
That boy is a character.
BRIAN
Definitely takes some time to get used to him, but he’s a good kid.
(Beat.)
ELEANOR
(considering)
I think you’ve got more depth than you let on.
BRIAN
(smirking)
Maybe I do, maybe I don’t.
What I most certainly have is hunger.
ELEANOR
Aaaaand there he is.
BRIAN
(smiling)
Goodnight, Pretty Girl.
(ELEANOR shakes her head, but smiles. They exit.)
Scene 4
(A few weeks have passed. Now everyone is in the swing of things. JOY asked ELEANOR to meet at the usual spot of the JJBEC in the library, but she’s late.)
BRIAN
(off stage)
“It is not everyone,' said Elinor, 'who has your passion for dead leaves.”
ELEANOR
Where is she-
(JOY enters with ANTHONY holding her hand. They walk over to ELEANOR. She fake smiles.)
JOY
Hey!
ELEANOR
(to JOY)
Hey!
(to ANTHONY)
Hey, Anthony.
ANTHONY
(shortly)
Eleanor.
(Beat.)
(to JOY)
I’ll see you later, ok?
JOY
(overly-giddy)
Of course!
(ANTHONY exits. JOY sits across from ELEANOR, who continues typing on her laptop.)
Look, I know you don’t like him, but you don’t have to be a jerk about it.
ELEANOR
You were late. Again.
JOY
So you’re just gonna not respond to what I just said?
ELEANOR
(already annoyed, this conversation has happened before) I don’t know what you’re talking about.
He was the one who was short with me.
JOY
(defensive)
Only because he knows you don’t like him!
ELEANOR
If my opinion matters that much to him, he can talk to me himself.
I hate how you constantly treat him like a child, J.
JOY
I do not treat him like a child.
But you’re acting like one.
ELEANOR
(closing her laptop, rolling her eyes)
What is he doing to you? Do you even hear yourself? You’re being so defensive.
JOY
Do you hear yourself? What is your problem?
ELEANOR
My problem is he only hangs out with you for hookups, Joy, and you know it.
JOY
(extremely defensive, raised voice)
That is NOT true.
Just because you’re jealous of him getting me into the industry doesn’t mean you have to act like this.
ELEANOR
(finally losing control)
Oh, so, I’m jealous? You wouldn’t have even taken up playwriting had you not read my script! He’s only using Daddy’s Money on you to keep your body around!
(Heated beat.)
I don’t care that him and his money got you an agent. Because one day, I’m going to earn that with talent. Not money!
JOY
(losing it)
You’re full of bullshit. He loves me. I’ve got talent and you don’t, and it’s time that you accept that!
(Beat. The two have fought before, but not to this point. JOY has crossed the line.)
ELEANOR
So that’s how it is.
(JOY just stares into the table.)
Well, I’m happy sweet Anthony has handed everything to you on a silver platter.
Enjoy the cushioned ride.
(ELEANOR exits. JOY sighs and buries her head in her hands.)
Scene 5
JOSH
(off stage)
“I will be calm. I will be mistress of myself.”
(ELEANOR has stormed out of GEORGE PEABODY LIBRARY following her fight with JOY over ANTHONY, her boyfriend’s, intentions. She opens the door to her dorm to find BRIAN sitting in her desk chair, twirling a flash card around in his hands, nervous.)
ELEANOR
(relieved)
Brian.
BRIAN
(smiling)
Hey!
(seeing the troubled look in her eyes)
Are you ok?
(ELEANOR hugs BRIAN and starts to cry. BRIAN feels his heart break.)
BRIAN
Hey, what is it?
ELEANOR
(sniffling)
Joy and I fought again, but she went too far this time. S-She told me I was untalented, and I don’t know why, but the way she looked at me when she said it
S-she made me believe it-
(BRIAN pushes ELEANOR out to face him)
BRIAN
El, come on, you know that’s crap.
You’re an incredible writer. The hell does she know?
(ELEANOR laughs despite herself.)
ELEANOR
Wait, how did you get in?
BRIAN
(sighing)
I asked Joy to let me in earlier. I was gonna surprise you.
ELEANOR
But, why-, for what
BRIAN
Well, I was gonna ask-
(keeping his cool)
But the timing obviously just didn’t work out
ELEANOR
Ask what?
(ELEANOR wipes her tears and straightens up.) I’m not letting Joy ruin any more of my day.
BRIAN
(smiling at her determination, but keeping his cool) Alright, well, it’s no big deal-
(BRIAN eyes the flashcard in his hand.)
ELEANOR
(oblivious, smiling)
Brian Harvery, are you nervous about something?
BRIAN
No...
Well, maybe a little...
(ELEANOR’s mouth falls agape. BRIAN smiles.)
It’s because I only get nervous about really important stuff.
(ELEANOR takes the hint and looks genuinely at BRIAN. BRIAN takes out his phone, and taps something. Music starts to play.)
BRIAN
If I remember correctly...
ELEANOR
Honeybee. The Head and the Heart.
But
BRIAN
(smiling, cutting her off)
Would you give me a sec?
(ELEANOR gives him a sec. He sits her down on the bottom bunk.)
I came here to tell you that I’d really like to take you out sometime.
Like, on a date.
(ELEANOR is floored. Her face burns bright red.)
And...
I know Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen not Oprah, is your favorite book, so:
(BRIAN reads from his flashcard.)
“I come here with no expectations, only to profess, now that I am at liberty to do so, that my heart is and always will be...yours.”
(ELEANOR, though still in shock, manages a smile. BRIAN lights up at the sight of it.)
BRIAN
So, is that a yes, Pretty Girl?
ELEANOR
A million times over.
(BRIAN laughs and hugs her, relieved. Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door. ELEANOR eyes BRIAN with a “who could that be?” look. BRIAN pauses the music. She opens the door.)
ELEANOR
(breathless)
Joy.
JOY
Congrats on the boyfriend, Eleanor.
BRIAN
(awkwardly polite)
Hey, Dr. J.
(BRIAN can tell JOY is not in the mood.)
(desperate)
Hey, El, wanna go grab something to eat?
ELEANOR
(smiling)
Absolutely.
(ELEANOR and BRIAN exit, leaving JOY alone in the dorm. She is visibly hurt. She notices the flash drive in ELEANOR’s laptop, marked “Play”. She unplugs it, holding it in her hands. She considers her thoughts.)
JOY
(quietly)
I’m so sorry. But I need this.
(She puts it in her pocket. JOY exits.)
Scene 6
ANTHONY
(off stage)
“Money can only give happiness where there is nothing else to give it.”
(JOSH and JOY sit in the GEORGE PEABODY LIBRARY. ELEANOR and BRIAN are elsewhere.)
JOSH
How come Eleanor and Brian haven’t been coming to JCCBEC?
JOY
(ill convincingly)
How should I know?
JOSH
I thought you guys were super close, especially you and El.
JOY
(cutting him off)
Have I told you I finished my play?
JOSH
Uh, cool! The one about the French Canadian polar bears? (ELEANOR’s “Play” flash drive is visible in JOY’s computer.)
JOY
Actually, I decided to change my theme. Wanna see? (JOSH skims “JOY’s” work.)
JOSH
This is so great, J! But, that sophisticated vocabulary, it doesn’t really sound-
(ANTHONY creeps up behind JOY.)
ANTHONY
There’s my little superstar.
(JOY smiles, childlike.)
JOSH
(rolling his eyes)
Great.
JOY
That’s me!
ANTHONY
(to JOSH)
Not excited to see me, Josh?
JOSH
I plead the fifth.
ANTHONY
(to JOY)
Agent will call you in 10. He thinks he’s found a theater that’s interested in purchasing the rights to your play.
JOY
(beyond excited)
Oh, my God! Oh, Anthony.
ANTHONY
(interrupting her)
I’ll see you tonight?
(JOY hesitates.)
JOY
Actually, I’ve got a lot of work to do.
ANTHONY
(scarily intense)
You...what?
(JOY quickly shifts gears. JOSH looks on warily.)
JOY
(tiredly)
Yeah, I’ll see you tonight.
ANTHONY
(switching moods)
Fantastic.
Until tonight, my love.
(ANTHONY exits. JOSH looks at JOY.)
JOY
(not able to keep eye contact)
Don’t say anything, Josh.
(JOSH looks down again. He spots, and recognizes, ELEANOR’s flash drive in JOY’s computer. His face falls into disappointment.)
Scene 7
BRIAN
(off stage)
“Do not let the behavior of others destroy your inner peace.”
(JOSH has left JOY in the library under the ruse of having dinner plans with friends. He’s gone to talk to ELEANOR. He knocks on her dorm door. ELEANOR answers.)
ELEANOR
(clearly panicky)
Hey Josh! Have you by any chance seen a flash drive labelled “Play” lying around anywhere, it’s blue, and I’ve lost it, and my entire heart’s work is on that thing, and Brian and I have been looking everywhere-
(JOSH looks at ELEANOR filled with pity.)
JOSH
(interrupting her)
Eleanor. We need to talk.
(JOSH shows himself into ELEANOR’s dorm room.)
I know where your flash drive is.
(ELEANOR’s eyes light up.)
ELEANOR
(smiling wide)
REALLY? Oh, thank God, thank you so much Josh, you have no idea how much I-
JOSH
(interrupting her)
No, Eleanor. It’s not that easy.
(ELEANOR stops smiling.)
Have you and Joy been fighting lately?
ELEANOR
I-well yes, but what does that have anything to do with- (ELEANOR’s eyes go wide in a moment of realization.)
JOSH
Joy.
She stole it.
And she’s selling it to a local theater with her agent as we speak.
(Beat.)
Courtesy of Anthony.
ELEANOR
(in a devastated state of disbelief)
This can’t be happening-
(ELEANOR descends into a state of sobbing. JOSH calls BRIAN, and awkwardly hugs ELEANOR until he arrives. The three then await JOY’s return to the dorm.)
Scene 8
JOY
(off stage)
“It is not what we think or feel that makes us who we are. It is what we do. Or fail to do...”
(ELEANOR, BRIAN, and JOSH sit side by side on the bottom bunk of ELEANOR and JOY’s bed, with ELEANOR’s head on BRIAN’s shoulder. When JOY enters, they all jump up.)
JOY
What’s going on?
(ELEANOR rips JOY’s backpack from her, pulling out her laptop. The flash drive is still sticking out.)
What the hell are you doing?
(ELEANOR casts JOY a sinister glance. She backs down. ELEANOR rips the flash drive out of the computer.)
ELEANOR
(rapidly emotional)
You.
I can’t believe how much of a monster you are.
A monster and nothing less.
(Beat. JOY stands in shock. ELEANOR is distraught.)
You’re going to pick up the phone. You’re going to cancel whatever deal you just made. And you’re going to tell that theater you stole someone else’s work.
(JOY eyes the door, BRIAN and JOSH stand in front of it. JOY sees this, and picks up her phone.)
JOY
(on the phone, voice cracking)
Hi, yes, I’m afraid I cannot accept your offer. No, I- no, I don’t want more money
I-
(Beat.)
I stole it.
I stole the play.
I didn’t write it.
For any further inquiries, contact Eleanor Dalesly. (She hangs up.)
JOY
Eleanor, I-
ELEANOR
(interrupting her)
Don’t. Don’t speak to me right now.
We will coexist in this dorm, nothing more.
(turning to BRIAN and JOSH)
Thank you guys.
(turning to JOSH)
Thank you.
(BRIAN and JOSH exit. ELEANOR exits the dorm. JOY is left standing, alone.)
(JOY looks out at the audience. She scans every disappointed face. She seems to feel the audience’s energy. She audibly sighs as she hangs her head with shame.)
Scene 9
JOSH
(off stage)
“What do you know of my heart? What do you know of anything but your own suffering.”
(ELEANOR is sitting on the top bunk in her dorm. She lies flat on her back, staring at the ceiling.)
ELEANOR
Brian has been asking me how I am. How I feel.
So has Josh.
But how do you tell someone how you feel, if you don’t even know yourself?
(Beat.)
How do you ask for help, when you don’t know what you need help with?
(Beat, tearing up)
Joy betrayed me. She backstabbed me. I feel so stupid for letting her do that. I feel it every day. Every day. I should’ve known the way she read my play that night.
(Beat. She sits up and looks toward the audience, as if looking for an answer. JOY walks into the dorm. ELEANOR sits up.)
JOY
You didn’t “let” me do anything. I did it to you. It wasn’t in your control.
(Beat.)
You haven’t spoken to me in weeks. You’ve talked to everyone about us but me.
(Beat.)
I messed up, El. And I’m really sorry.
I just-
(JOY sits on the bottom bunk.)
You seem to have everything I ever wanted. The remarkable intelligence, the talent, the drive. The wonderful boyfriend. There isn’t a kid here that doesn’t love you, or who wouldn’t.
(Beat.)
I just wanted to have a piece of it.
A piece of your success.
And I regret, wholeheartedly, what I did, this isn’t a justification.
Just an explanation.
(Beat.)
ELEANOR
(quietly)
Thank you.
I just wish you would have run with your own play. It had potential.
JOY
I know.
(Beat. JOY looks up at ELEANOR.)
I-
I’m ready to be different.
And
I’d love for us to have a second chance.
(ELEANOR looks warily down at JOY, who looks back at her. The two seem to say something through their shared glance. ELEANOR sits back.)
ELEANOR
(finally)
I’ll have boundaries in place.
And this’ll be messy.
JOY
I wouldn’t expect anything less.
ELEANOR
Ok.
Then, a second chance.
JOY
A second chance.
Scene 10
BRIAN
(off stage)
“Know your own happiness. You want nothing but patience- or give it a more fascinating name, call it hope.”
(ELEANOR, JOY, JOSH, and BRIAN stand in a row in front of their spot in the GEORGE PEABODY LIBRARY)
ELEANOR
(breaking the fourth wall, talking to the audience) Joy and I were in a weird state for a while. It was awkward. I felt like I would rather us just become strangers.
JOY
(breaking the fourth wall, talking to the audience) I knew she was hesitant. I understood. But I missed having her as a friend. And once I got over my own insecurities, I was able to be open with her. I was able to be myself.
BRIAN
(breaking the fourth wall, talking to the audience) I honestly didn’t think it was amendable. I thought Eleanor was too far gone from Joy.
JOSH
(breaking the fourth wall, talking to the audience) But in the end, they pulled through. I guess second chances don’t always end up bad.
Except for Anthony. Joy broke up with him, he sucked. (Lights fade out on JOSH and BRIAN.)
ELEANOR and JOY
(looking at each other)
Sense and Sensibility.
JOY
To have sense is to know yourself. To know your wrongs and right them.
ELEANOR
And to be sensible is to have the ability to give that second chance, even when others deem success impossible.
(Lights fade out on JOY.)
ELEANOR
“She knew that what Marianne and her mother conjectured one moment, they believed the next—that with them, to wish was to hope, and to hope was to expect.”
Joy and I co-wrote this play inspired by our favorite book. It’s what brought us together again.
We hope you enjoyed it.
(Lights dim out on ELEANOR.)
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