evening at the college fair

One of the things I get to do in my life as a woman is be a mom.  Currently, I am mom to three teenagers.  Several weeks ago, I took my high school junior to a college fair.  Then I came home and wrote a play about our evening.

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Act I: Before dinner



Mom: Matt, we're going to a college fair tonight.

Matt: Mom, you have got to stop forcing me to do stuff! (scowl)

Mom: Maybe you'll get some ideas about what the possibilities are. And I'll buy you a soda on the way home.

Matt: I don't know what I want to do. I have no idea what I want to do or what kind of school I want to go to. Since you're making such a big deal out of it, I'll go, but we have to leave by 7:15.

Act II: At the College Fair

Mom: Fine. You come with me and we'll pick things up from as many tables as we can.

Matt: Fine. But I'm not interested in any of these places. I don't want to have to talk to anyone. There are too many people at that table. It's too crowded. And there's hardly anyone at that table. Must be a stupid school.

Mom: Just come with me. I'll do all the talking and will try not to refer to you at all.

Matt: You've already been to, like, 10 tables. Can we go yet?

Mom: You pick three more schools and get the information, and then we'll leave and get the soda I bribed you with to come tonight.

Matt: Can't you pick them? I don't know where I want to go. And I don't know where I don't want to go, either, so I don't know why you're telling me to pick stuff from a place I don't want to go. What a dumb idea.


Act III: Later, on the way home

Matt: I think I'd like to major in computer sciences, not in the digital arts stuff like they have at Parkside but definitely something like what Mr. M------- does. I think maybe Stout or Michigan Tech. What kind of grades do I need? Do you think I'll do okay on my ACT? Hey, I already have some AP credits, don't I? I don't want to be somewhere with huge classes, but I don't want classes so small that all the teachers think they know me. I want a little bit of anonymity. Hey, I get all that stuff in your bag, right? I figured, hey, Mom's picking it up, so I won't be wasteful and get my own copy. Do you think we could get stuff like this from more schools?

Mom: Thanks for going along.

Matt: Mom, stop talking. I'm trying to tell you what I want to do with my life.


The End





Reviewer's comments: Definitely a thumb's up. The plot took forever to get going, but the hero of the story showed definite growth by the end of the play and I think we may have a good sequel. The Mom character becomes less relevant as the play progresses, but she's written wonderfully and is beautifully played.