PLAYS
The German Lesson
A Play in Two Acts by William Fowkes
Why worry when life is spectacular?
SETTING: The Hudson living room in New Rochelle, New York.
TIME: February 2003
SYNOPSIS:
Why worry when life is spectacular? Trevor Hudson is a public relations man with a special talent for putting the best face on things. At the moment, all he wants from life is to be left in peace to study his German lesson, but he keeps being interrupted by people who pour their heart out to him and become infuriated when he minimizes their problems. Despite his calm exterior, it soon becomes clear that his life is spinning out of control and that his German lesson is part of a plan to free him from his past.
The German Lesson
The German Lesson
A Play in Two Acts by William Fowkes
Why worry when life is spectacular?
Presented at the 2010 Great Plains Theatre Conference Playlabs in Omaha, NE on June 2010.
Runner-up for the 2008 Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwrighting Excellence, Coldwater, Michigan
First reading held at the Dramatists Guild in New York, April 2008
Available for first production and publication
CAST BREAKDOWN: A Cast of 6
Actor # 1
Trevor Hudson. Works in PR. Married with daughter. Likeable and easy to please, but secretive. Age 48.
Actor # 2
Jerry Hobart. Jerry’s neighbor and best friend. Married. A friendly guy. Age 50.
Louie Allemano. Married. Cocky. Funny. A ladies’ man. Age ’40s.
Actor # 3
Chuck Blazer. College student. Athletic. A bit goofy. Age 19.
Ira Klopnick. Struggling songwriter. Single. Frustrated and insecure.
Actor # 4
Margaret Allen. Single. Shy. Age ’50s.
Dr. Vivian Sedler. Therapist. Speaks with an accent. Age 75.
Actor # 5
Sarah Schwalbe. Married. Articulate. Well-mannered. Age ’40s.
German Instructor (voiceover)
Actor # 6
Beth Hudson. Trevor’s wife. Smart. Angry, but rightly so. Age ’40s.
SCENES
Act One
Scene 1. A Saturday afternoon. Trevor Hudson, Jerry Hobart.
Scene 2. Later that afternoon. Trevor, Chuck Blazer.
Scene 3. Evening, 3 days later. Trevor, Sarah, Ira, Louie, Margaret.
Act Two
Scene 1. The next Saturday afternoon. Trevor, Beth Hudson.
Scene 2. Two months earlier. Trevor, Dr. Vivian Sedler.
Scene 3. 10 weeks later (that is, two weeks after the beginning of the play). Trevor, Beth, Jerry, Chuck.
“...lovingly crafted, anchored by [a] compassionate rendering of Trevor as the play’s winning but fraught protagonist.”
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