by Zanne Hall
In 2010 the
W.A.S.P. were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal from Congress in
recognition of their WWII flying service. Their existence deleted from American
history books, the general public knows little about these courageous women who
ferried warplanes for the U.S. This is
the story of seven women who overcame personal and professional conflict as
well as battling tremendous military and societal prejudice that believed women
did not belong in a man’s world in order to train with the Women Air Service
Pilots in Sweetwater, Texas. Even
though the program lasted only four years its influence encouraged women to
follow untraditional paths.
Characters
JACKIE
WIGHTMAN – 20s. As a Floridian foster child (with a slight
Southern accent) she had a difficult life in her early poor beginnings but
found that a passion for flying gave her life meaning and purpose. She is an ace pilot and seeks military
recognition. She is also a cocky wiseacre
who can be an empathetic person because of her own hard-knock life. A deceased mother, a father who vanished
soon after her brother was born, she hopes to reconnect with her sibling.
DESIREE
PATRICIA POST – 20s. A member of
the wealthy Post Cereals family, she and her husband owned a flight school
before the war. She is a troublemaking
snitch who has connections with the military brass because of her elite
background. She is indifferent to anything but herself and thinks she is an ace
pilot.
TSUN-YAN
(SUNNY) CHUN - 20s. (Chinese) Very
upbeat, funny, always with a wisecrack that hits the point. Very self-assured and comfortable with
herself in any situation. A hot pilot
who was the first woman to fly solo across the U.S. north to south.
TERRY MITCHELL - 20s. The naïve greenhorn of the group. Sweet and shy at first but a plucky,
determined individual with a youthful passion for flying. She comes from a
protective family who sent her away to Ohio State University to study
pharmacy. She discreetly spent the
surplus money they sent her for charm school on flying lessons. During WASP
training she becomes secretly married to a flight surgeon – military suicide if
discovered.
INEZ
(WHISKY) SANCHEZ - 20s.
(Argentinean) A soft-spoken, sensitive, commonsense woman who has an
understanding ear and a shoulder in ready reserve for anyone to cry on, should
they feel the need. She will eventually
become a nun and attempt to combine flying with missionary work.
ALICE (ZIGGY) NEGLEY - 20s. A smart-cracking beautiful former New York Ziegfeld Follies woman who
felt the need to help her country in its time of trouble in a unique way. A producer’s son who
owned his own plane took her on flying trips and she fell madly in love with piloting (but not him).
Tough as nails but a softie inside, she thinks she can take care of herself until she gets into
problems over her head, like an unwanted pregnancy.
BEATRICE
(FRANKIE) WILKENS – 20s. A devotee
of Frank Sinatra. She is a daredevil trickster who has a sporting way about
her. She is a good pilot but takes too
many chances that eventually place her as a pawn in the military’s game of
elimination. She is “washed out” for a
minor infraction and it sends her into an emotional tailspin.
Seven
Female Characters.
A military
male voiceover.
Published by Samuel French and Amazon
http://amzn.to/19p0bcY
AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY TO CHAUYUAN©
by Zanne Hall
CHARACTERS: (Some characters can be doubled
and/or the use of puppets or some other imaginative device can be
utilized.)
Characters speak with a slight Chinese accent, even though they
are speaking Chinese, so that we get a sense that they are talking in a
different language.
HSU - A
young lad around 13 or 14 who lives in the province of Shantung, PRC.
MOTHER - Hsu’s mother.XI-SHI - Hsu’s sister, around 7 years old.
YU-TZU - A funny school friend of Hsu’s. (female) She also appears at the end of the play as a grown woman, though a different character.
ZHENG - A school friend of Hsu’s who is a Communist Party supporter. (male)
LIU-LANG - A good-hearted ghost who Hsu meets and later becomes a god. Adult male.
Any age.
KWAN-YIN - The Chinese Goddess of Mercy.DAOSHI - A daoshi, or monk, who Hsu meets on his Journey.
WONG - A country woman who Hsu meets on his Journey.
GUARD 1 - An army guard in the PRC.
GUARD 2 - An army guard in the PRC.
WOMAN - A woman who Hsu meets on his Journey.
YU-TZU - A new friend Hsu meets at the end of his Journey in Chauyuan.
THE TIME:
The present in the People’s Republic of China in Shantung.
(Author’s note:
It would be good to use incidental Chinese and/or Tibetan music for
atmosphere. Also, the use of imaginary
effects in and around the scenes should evoke a mysterious or dreamlike
quality. For example, different scenes,
like those between HSU and LIU-LANG (Goddess of Mercy) and in particular the
final scene in Chauyuan, would be conducive to imaginative lighting and special
effects evoking an other-worldliness.)
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