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A PLAYSCRIPTS TITLE
Short Play, Drama / 5w, 8m, 5 any gender (youth)
Mandy Conner
Texas, 1935. The Dust Bowl batters the Texas Panhandle and the Loftin family and their farm is hit hard. As the family struggle with loss – both personal and financial – matriarch Edith must find a way forward.
When the 1935 Dust Bowl batters the Texas Panhandle with drought, dirt and devastation, the Loftin family is hit especially hard. Matriarch Edith already works a night job at the post office to help feed the household of ten, while her husband struggles to run their farm with an injured leg and an oldest son whose behaviour grows increasingly erratic. Once the dust storms hit, not only do the Loftins suffer a devastating loss among their own, they also face the loss of their farm. Though Edith is sent reeling, she must find a way to move forward somehow. But where is hope to be found? A moment in American history sets the stage for this personal, immediate drama about finding purpose amid overwhelming disaster.
dirt received its premiere at Connally High School in Waco, Texas, in March 2020. The production was directed by its author Mandy Conner.
The Loftin Family
EDITH – 35, mother, hard and soft at the same time. LLOYD ALVIS – 45, father, has a permanently injured leg from being run over by a horse cart. DEBBIE – 14, daughter. UNEX (full name Timothy) – 15, son. FRANK – 18, son.ALVIS – 20, Lloyd’s son from his first marriage, suffers from schizophrenia. GARY RAY (nicknamed Rayboy) – 12, artistic and asthmatic, the baby of the family. MIKE (full name Michael Lee) – 16.
CUFFY – 68, Lloyd’s father.WINNIE – 41, Lloyd’s sister.PREACHERDOOCHIE – 36, Edith’s best and dearest friend. RED CROSS WOMAN ENSEMBLE – As many as needed, or can be doubled as Cuffy, Winnie, Preacher, and Doochie.
The ensemble is integral in setting the mood of this show and aiding in transitions between scenes with their hums, voices, and movement.
The Dust Bowl, Texas. 1935.
Mandy Conner has been teaching in the Central Texas area for over 25 years. She began her love for theatre while attending McLennan Community College and Texas Tech University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in English. She has earned 14 trips to the UIL Regional One-A ...