Just Knock

After a terrible breakup, the pair cannot figure out if they should repair their love or stay away forever, but is their conversation real or just in their imagination?

In one of my undergraduate classes, Playwriting, we were tasked with writing a play that contained the concept of “recognition and reversal.” This is when you get the audience to think one way about a character and scenario, and then, you turn it around in one line to reveal new information that makes them think the opposite way.

For instance, you may think the mother is in the wrong the whole time, until she reveals that the father was the one doing the terrible thing the whole time. This changes the audience’s opinion on the mother, and the whole story gains more intensity and increases the risk factor.

I decided to tap back into my roots to create a drama. I love writing dramatic stories as well, but my stronger suit is comedy. I wanted to challenge myself with creating a play based on emotions instead of laughs. This was a difficult task, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 I first took a concept I created a long time ago, and decided to mold it into something new. I had an idea based around a door. Let me explain… The two people would have a closed door between them, separating them from each other and their worlds. They would talk through the door, or to themselves, without ever seeing the person.

Then, with this original idea, I brainstormed about a couple having recently had a bad breakup. It took a toll on both of them. The door would be placed in between them as a symbol of separation and the hesitation to address what had happened and if they should repair their love.

 Instead of talking directly about their relationship, though, the ex-boyfriend brings one of his ex-girlfriend’s jackets that he found in his apartment to her door to try and return it. They talk out their relationship through talking about the jacket. It is old and ratty, yet comfortable. Is it worth keeping, or is it better to just get a new jacket?

In the end, the audience is unsure of whether or not they actually spoke to each other, until the girl opens the door to find no one there. She opens it just as he leaves.

 This was a difficult piece to create, as I had to solve the problem of how the audience would know the scenario was in the characters’ heads. To do this, I played with lights and positioning of the characters and added descriptions to the script. Overall, this concept was fun to play with and I hope you enjoy the excerpt of it that I have provided.