A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

FUBAR

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  2w, 3m, 1boy(s)

Karl Gajdusek

"A writer for Showtime's Dead Like Me, Gajdusek has a TV scripter's flair for snappy dialogue, but he also has a much rarer talent for deep characterization and empathy, even when dealing with his most contemptible characters." — Variety

FUBAR

Request license
Get the Script
  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 3m, 1boy(s)
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary
Mary and David, camped out amidst the boxes her abused mother left behind, are unpacking a small San Francisco apartment. Outside, people self-actualize like crazy, riding the bubble. When Mary herself is the victim of an unprovoked act of violence, it leads the pair down different paths of addiction and realization: one to the violence itself, one to the abuse of cat tranquilizers. Meanwhile, Richard is a benevolent drug dealer working on his book while Sylvia wants to use the internet to double her life. Drugs are consumed, David is tempted, Mary's anger rises, and a gun is found among the house's boxed possessions, as the mood spirals into delirium. FUBAR is the story of four people trying to recognize the people they are becoming in a time that's totally F.U.B.A.R. (F*cked up Beyond All Recognition).
History
FUBAR received its world premiere at Theater of Note in Los Angles, California, on April 24, 2009. The play was directed by Larissa Kokernot. The play was subsequently presented by Project  Y Theater Company at 59E59 in New York City on June 17, 2009, with the same director.
Keywords
Performing Groups
MARY - Mid-thirties. Doctor. Carries the silence of someone who grew up in another’s shadow. Her mother recently took her own life, so the shadow’s gone. But Mary is still quiet.
DAVID - Early thirties. Mary’s husband. Exec at a nameless internet firm. Had a big exciting kick-ass plan about how this was all supposed to work. This plan should be starting any day now.
RICHARD - Mid-thirties. Charismatic, intelligent, drug-dealer. David’s old friend.
SYLVIA - Late twenties. Beautiful San Francisco denizen. Outgoing and adventurous. Trying to have the biggest life possible.
D.C. - Late thirties. Boxer, retired. Old school. Lives in a different San Francisco from the others.

Although race is not specified here, a production should take
into consideration the diversity of San Francisco and the opportunities
of a diverse cast. Some of the characters in the play partake of intricate mixes of recreational
drugs. The effect is in some ways the polar opposite of the
slurred or spaced-out mannerism associated with being drunk or stoned.
Best played very unaffected, or in careful, educated changes of manner.

  • Time Period Contemporary
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • Drugs
    • Intense Adult Themes
    • Strong Language

Media

"A writer for Showtime's Dead Like Me, Gajdusek has a TV scripter's flair for snappy dialogue, but he also has a much rarer talent for deep characterization and empathy, even when dealing with his most contemptible characters. — Variety

"The dot-com bubble — well, its splintered psyches — are the subject of the feverish FUBAR, an engrossing evocation of a time (the turn of the millennium) and a place (San Francisco, awash in Web money, pharmaceutical acronyms and online sexual encounters)....the play rings true in feeling if not in plausibility...Mr. Gajdusek has a gift for the humorous moment...the production pulses like an all-night Ecstasy-fueled rave...FUBAR, leaves you with a decent buzz." — The New York Times

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

Scripts

Available Formats:
Get the Script

Add-Ons

Take a look below at how you can enhance your show!

Authors

Author

Karl Gajdusek

Community

Now Playing

Community Experiences