Pocket Change by Tomas Alfonso Torres

A Short Stuff Contest Submission

Logline: Money is tight, work is rough, and Angel just ripped his last pair of tearaway stripper pants. When three college students come across a wallet with over $6,000 inside, their morality is pushed to its breaking point, and they must decide what is more worth it: doing the right thing, or making rent?

Content Disclosures: Mentions of drug use, mentions of sex work, theft, and swearing.

Casting/Playwright's note: This script is intended to be cast with a full Latin cast; otherwise, an entire person of color cast if not enough Latine actors are not available. Script is a fast-paced comedic romp. 

pocket change by Tomas Alfonso Torres (2).pdf

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Lineage by Julia Cama

A Short Stuff Contest Submission

Playwright's Note:

"This short play is based off of this song that I love called Lineage. I couldn’t tell you exactly why I decided to listen to it tonight but I found myself wanting to hear it, and I was immediately struck with inspiration. This desire to hear this song also came mere hours after having a long talk with my sister and my mother about body image. I realized in this conversation that my sister and I are half of our mother and she makes up half of each of us. If I would not call half of my mother ugly to her face, how could I say it to all of myself in the mirror? How can I watch my mother complain about her cellulite and varicose veins at 60, when I, at 19, have identical thighs? How could I listen to my sister complain about her eyes and the shape of her face when she resembles my parents in all the best ways that she could? Then it hit me that I, like my sister, like my mother, like my grandmother, am a culmination of generations of love. I am the product of my parents who fell in love and tried so hard to have children; who spent a fortune on treatments on small salaries just for the chance to be able to see themselves in a round, toothless face. I am the product of millions of people in generations before me who got married and started families and loved each other. I am made of love, I come from a long line of lovers and I will continue that line of love for generations to come. So how could I say such a thing as I hate you in the mirror? I don't know but I've been able to and I’m sure I’ll be able to yet. I wrote this about women because the song is about women but I also think that this impacts anyone who might see it. I wrote this with the hope that someone might see it and think about all the features of themselves that they don't like. Instead of looking at them with disgust, maybe we can start to look at them and see the people who came before us who fell in love and passed these features on to us. So when I look at my wide set eyes and my soft nose and my fine hair and my wide hips that are covered in varicose veins and cellulite, and when I think about how my stomach sticks out and how my nails are round, I think about my Abuela and about my Grandma Marilyn and how they had these features. And I think about my father and mother who have fine hair and wide hips and round nails and wide set eyes and I think about how much I love them. I think about how one day I hope that my children will learn to love their features, too. I hope that we can all start to look at ourselves differently because I certainly am."

Lineage by Julia Cama.pdf

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Chemistry Test by MJ Kirsche

A Short Stuff Contest Submission

“Jess and her roommate Erick share an innocent conversation about their lease which evolves into a less innocent discussion once they realize their mutual feelings for one another. An educational piece for the practice of stage intimacy.”

Chemistry Test — MJ Kirsche .pdf

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