A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

Snapshots

Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy  /  3w

"Mercati's piece is about searching for identity and the bumps and detours along the way. Some of it is funny, some chilling, and all of it is searching." - Des Moines Register

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Not Applicable
  • Suggested Use
    • Monologues
    • Scene work
    • Competition or audition material
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Senior, Teen (Age 14 - 18)

Details

Summary

Snapshots is the story of three women from their teens to their middle years, each journeying both together and alone. Interspersed between the scenes are monologues, ranging from the pure comedy of Hollis teaching Bible school from a feminist perspective, to the darkness of Carol and a rape trial, to a bittersweet scene with Sherry and her assorted junk food, as she plots to move to Russia, where they like their women large, and she can stop forcing herself to be what she's not - thin. As she says, "One thing I do know, I'm gonna be buried with a box of Ho-Ho's. I'm not facing eternity alone."

There is the scene with the soccer mom, and the parody, THE KEEPER OF THE SOCKS, and Hollis as the Linda Kay Lady, who adddresses her potential buyers with the fire of an old time preacher: "Do you want to get softer, get smoother, get revived, renewed? Then you have to try the all natural, all night, all right, body purifying wrinkle bustin', hormone recharging Linda Kay gel cream lotion!"

In the final scene, they're faced with a final decision - go on as they have been, or find their own center.

History

Snapshots was first presented at Des Moines Drama Workshop, in Des Moines, Iowa, in January 1996 It was directed by theresa E. Valada Viars.

HOLLIS - Enthusiastic; full of fantasy, and the need to arrive... somewhere. In attitude she is like a yo-yo, launching out in all directions, swinging from one idea to the next as she searches for her center.
SHERRY - Soft, sweet even, anxious to please, and in spite of the bleached bouffant hair, an innocent.
CAROL - Like a sharp stick, highly practical, with a dry wit, and highly authoritative. She tends to the tailored look, which grows progressively severe during the course of the show.

Three women who proceed from their teen's into their 40s. Each role is challenging.

  • Time Period Contemporary, Present Day
  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Additional Features Not Applicable
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • Intense Adult Themes
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

"Mercati's piece is about searching for identity and the bumps and detours along the way. Some of it is funny, some chilling, and all of it is searching." - Des Moines Register

Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)
  • Vocal DemandsN/A (Not a musical)
  • Chorus Size N/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

Add-Ons

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Authors

Cynthia Mercati

Cynthia Mercati has had shows performed in each of the fifty US states, as well as Australia and Canada. Many of her plays are published by Samuel French. As Playwright-in-Residence at the Des Moines, Iowa, Playhouse, Ms. Mercait wrote a show each season for Actors on Tou ...
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