Playing Time: 90-100 minutes
Setting: The present
Cast (6+):
2 women 40-50
1 woman about 16
2 men 40-50
1 man about 18
1 Shadow, either gender, may be doubled
Set: 1 interior/exterior set, suitable for black box
CHARACTERS LIZ and CHAS SMALL, a couple who perceive themselves as being much younger than they are. They use extravagant amounts of cosmetics and herbal supplements and wear youthful wigs. Their youthful clothing may be a size too small. LIZ is obedient to and admiring of her husband, CHAS, an ad copy writer who puts an exhausting spin on words.
BETH and CHUCK SMALL, a couple who are LIZ and CHAS’s neighbors and contemporaries. They share LIZ and CHAS’s values.
BETSY and CHARLIE SMALL, LIZ and CHAS’s children, ages 16 and 18 respectively, whom LIZ and CHAS perceive to be babies. THEY wear baby clothes over their appropriate dress and continue with the masquerade in hopes of guiding their parents to a life of fuller awareness. CHARLIE needs a shave.
The SHADOW, may be doubled. The SHADOW is a reflection of LIZ’s perception of the world around her.