Together with my grade 10 students, we put on a production on teenage anxiety called Success for an audience of fellow students and staff members as part of a Theatre course I am teaching at UWC Changshu China. The economic boom initiated in the 1980s by Deng Xiaoping came hand in hand with an environment of intense competition starting from the school benches. As in many other countries today, students’ mental and physical health as well as their social development are impacted by pervading worries related to their future, by constant academic and peer pressure, and by fraught romantic, collegial, or filial relationships. Referred to in English as “involution,” the Chinese term for the social phenomena brought on by the effects of competition is nèijuǎn [内卷], a compound word that describes the action of rolling inwards or folding inside oneself. After years of teaching at the school, I attempted to give voice to some of the students’ feelings, in preparation for the next unit when they would write their own scripts. I wrote eight original scenes and adapted two other ones, one from Karen Tei Yamashita’s short story collection Sensei and Sensibility and the other from a David Yoon novel called Frankly in Love, both of which treat the theme of high academic expectations that “Tiger” parents have of their children.
Consisting of ten scenes in total and thirty-four characters for that many student roles, the show lays out in direct language and simple actions a constellation of daily occurrences gravitating around large-scale historical and political realities. It highlighted the mistreatment inflicted upon young people by the corporatized culture of work and education, aiming to suggest that what may seem small prefigures grave future dangers. One kid tries to articulate their repressed fears and desires to a parent, and vice versa; another literally runs through the full day of a micromanaged, packed schedule; another two try to figure out what kind of inter-student physical contact their boarding school’s inconclusive student handbook allows. Realistic scenes alternate with more stylized ones, where students play psychomachia-like conflicting inner voices or take on the role of an anthropomorphized timetable. Similarly, heavier dramatic scenes mingle with comedic ones driven by the delusions of the “Marvel hero” called Superstudent.
As playwright, I employed strategies of de-dramatization in the explosion of plot within minute occurrences that require swift transitions and thus cannot accommodate elaborate sets, props, and costumes. We staged the show in an outdoor amphitheater, a location intentionally open to accidental spectators. Freed from the labor of set design and construction, the performers dedicated more time to staging and coordinating actions in a quick-moving variety show that compensated for the lack of visual spectacle or impressive tech with the attention-grabbing swiftness of constantly changing characters, situations, imagined environments, atmospheres, and moods.
I wrote Success in a way that accommodated the students’ wide range of ease with live performance and starkly different levels of aptitude with the English language. In its (dramatically and historically) unspectacularized and modest form, the show invited in amateur performers, some of whom had never acted before. The many different types of characters necessitating varying degrees of physical and vocal expression gave students choice in who to perform, in what style, with how many lines, allowing them to pick roles that suited their tastes, abilities, and desires either for taking on a challenge or for feeling safe. As a dramaturg, I worked to welcome in a diversity of students and empower them each as valued and essential contributors. I employed the dramaturgy of a segmented narrative with many characters as an opportunity to facilitate non-hierarchical working methods, where students took on responsibility for small and manageable parts of the final product. As a first performance at the start of the year in a new school (housing students grades 10 to 12 only), the production built the foundation for fruitful collaborations. It also inspired them to trust in their own powers and articulate their points of view. For the next unit, all students wrote original scenes, and they voted on which ones to subsequently stage.
Below you can find the performance scripts.
Success
Adapted from Karen Tei Yamashita’s short story “Monterey Park,” in Sensei and Sensibility (Minneapolis: Coffee House Press, 2020).
Fanny and Mariko – teenagers, best friends
Ms. Wu – Mariko’s mom
Fanny: Mariko’s my best friend.
Mariko: Fanny’s my best friend.
Fanny: But it wasn’t always so. I used to hate Mariko.
Ms. Wu: Mariko, you’re starting German lessons next week.
Mariko: But I already speak French!
Fanny: Mariko spoke perfect Chinese and English, and was pretty good at Japanese and French.
Mariko: Oui! Ma mère est conne.
Fanny: She also took lessons in tennis, violin, piano and ballet. Mariko is rich.
Mariko: My mother is the continuation of a long line of tough Chinese mothers. Chinese mother after Chinese mother succeeded molding the soft clay of their offspring into the best and brightest professionals of their generation.
Fanny: Failure is of course out of the question. Being second best is also not an option.
Mariko: I don’t like ballet. I’m not good at ballet, mom, can I please quit it? I’m the worse in the class, and it makes me feel stupid.
Ms. Wu: Try harder. Once you’ll get good at it, you’ll feel better.
Fanny: When we first met in high school, Mariko was a mean brat. (To Mariko) Hello! 我是范妮！我是你的室友！
Mariko: Why can’t you speak English?
Fanny: Aaaa, sorry, me… um, I … wants only … be friends…?
Mariko (laughs hard): Your English is so bad!
Ms. Wu: What do you expect? How can you compare your education with hers?
Mariko: I’m sorry that I was such a dick to you when we first met.
Fanny: I forgive you. Mariko is actually nice. We spent a lot of time together. Ms. Wu would phone often.
Ms. Wu: Where are you?
Mariko: I’m with Fanny by the lake.
Ms. Wu: What for?
Mariko: To talk. I wanted to see the sun set. To hear the sound of waves.
Ms. Wu: Waves?
Mariko:
Ms. Wu:
Mariko: It’s for bio class. Scientific research. We took water samples.
Ms. Wu: Where are you?
Mariko: Out. Brooklyn Bar.
Ms. Wu: You’re too young to drink!
Mariko: I’m not drinking. We’re just listening to the music.
Ms. Wu: What kind of music?
Mariko: The Doors.
Ms. Wu:
Fanny: From Suzuki violin to The Doors? It had come to this?
Ms. Wu: [loud and long, but indecipherable]
Mariko: What if it makes me happy? Don’t I get to be happy sometimes?
Ms. Wu: The right to happiness is an American idea.
Mariko: [loud and long, but indecipherable]
Ms. Wu: Is that so?
Mariko: I think I’m depressed.
Ms. Wu: Depression is a psychological disorder that only exists in the West.
Mariko: …
Fanny: Mariko excelled at tennis and fencing, went on to win accolades as a concert pianist, got into Harvard, then MIT, did postgraduate astrophysics research in France and Germany, spoke five other languages.
Mariko: I wanted to see the sun set.
96th Percentile
Adapted from David Yoon’s Frankly in Love (New York: Putnam, 2019)
Alex
Mom
Dad
Hanna
Alex is studying vocabulary lists.
Alex: In my DP1 year, I took the PSAT, a practice run of the SAT, which is widely used to gauge whether an early human is fit for entrance into an institution of higher learning.
(pause)
Come Score Day, I discovered I got a total of 1400 points out of a possible 1520, the 96th percentile. This earned me plenty of robust, spontaneous high fives from my friends (friends give high fives), but to me they sounded like palms—ptt ptt ptt—slapping the sealed door of a crypt.
(pause)
The target was 1500. When I told Mom-n-Dad, they stared at me with pity and disbelief, like I was a little dead sparrow in the park. And Mom actually said this, for real:
Mom: Don’t worry, we still love you.
Alex: Mom has said the words I love you exactly two times in my life. Once for the 1400 …
Mom: We still love you.
Alex: … and another time after her mother’s funeral.
Mom hugs Alex.
Mom: I love you.
Alex: Dad has said the words I love you exactly zero times in my life.
Dad: Why did you score so low? I’m getting you a tutor.
Alex: As a leading indicator, a bellwether, augury, harbinger, and many other words from the PSAT vocabulary study guide, a score of 1500 would mean I would probably kick the real SAT’s ass high enough to gain the attention of The Harvard, which is the Number One Top School in Whole of United States, according to Mom-n-Dad.
Mom and Dad nod enthusiastically.
Dad: Top school!
Alex: A 1400 means I’ll probably only ess-ay-tee high enough to get into the University of California at Berkeley, which in Mom-n-Dad’s mind is a sad consolation prize compared with The Harvard.
Mom and Dad shake their heads.
Mom: Not the best.
Alex: And sometimes, just for a nanosecond, their brainlock actually has me thinking: Berkeley sucks.
Mom and Dad nod enthusiastically.
Alex: My big sister, Hanna, coined the term brainlock, which is like a headlock but for your mind.
Hanna: I live in Boston near the other Berkeley, the Berklee College of Music.
Alex: Berklee is my real dream school. But Mom-n-Dad have already nixed that notion.
Dad: Music?! Who’s going to hire you? How are you going to make money? How will you support a family?
Mom: What will you eat?!
Alex: Hanna is the oldest. Hanna did everything right. Mom-n-Dad told her to study hard, so she got straight 7s. They told her to go to The Harvard, so she did, and graduated with honors.
Hanna: I moved on to Harvard Law School, and graduated with a leap big enough to catapult me above assistants my same age at Eastern Edge Consulting downtown, which specializes in negotiating ridiculous patents for billion-dollar tech companies. I’m even dabbling in venture capital now from my home office atop Beacon Hill.
Alex: Weekdays, she wears very expensive pantsuits; weekends, sensible (but still very expensive) dresses. Someone should put her on the cover of a business travel magazine or something.
Hanna: But then I did one thing wrong.
Alex: She fell in love. Falling in love isn’t bad by itself. But when it’s with a black boy, it’s big enough to cancel out everything she did right her whole life.
Mom and Dad shake their heads vigorously.
Hanna: This boy gave me a ring, which Mom-n-Dad have not seen and might never.
Alex: I miss her but I understand why she won’t come home. I miss you, big sister.
Hanna: I miss you little brother/sister.
Alex: I wish you would talk to Mom-n-Dad.
Hanna: I wish we could talk.
Alex: Why can’t we just… talk with our parents? Why don’t they understand?
Mom (sad): We love you very much.
Dad (sad): You don’t understand.
Alex: I want to, but I can’t. I’m trying to do everything right, but I don’t even know anymore what’s right.
A Score
A, B, C, D – students
A: When I heard that I got into UWC, I couldn’t believe it! I heard the school is …a bit different, you know, and I couldn’t wait for September to come so I can finally get to Changshu. I can’t wait to make friends! I really do hope people will like me…I hope they do! I mean I’m nice, I’m friendly. Oh, I love to cook …not just to eat haha (puts on an apron), and I can make my favorites for my friends: dumplings, waffles, mocha cakes, cookies… Yes, I do have a sweet tooth.
A beep. A checks their phone.
A: Obviously, I’m not the only one who’s excited. My Wechat is buzzing with new groups and friend requests from the people in my class… The incoming class of UWC CSC studeeents!! Woot wooooot, yeeeeeaaaah let’s gooooo!
B: Hey! Whooo, yeaaah, UWC!!!!
A: Oh, hey! (to audience) Maybe this can be my first friend, eeeek! (to B) My name is Arlie, what’s yours?
B: I’m Brit. How’s it going?
A: I’m so excited! I/
B: What’s your TOEFL score?
A: Oh, hahaha, my TOEFL score…it’s 100.
B: Cool, see ya in August, can’t wait!
A: Umm. Bye. (to audience). OK, well, it’s hard to make friends over Wechat. But once we get to campus we can actually talk. Oh, I love taking long walks, preferably around trees or some sort of greenery, and just look around, watch the birds and listen to the buzz of some little flying thing. I just like to walk in the sun (as if remembering something, puts on a sun hat)—gotta remember to protect yourself in the summer though! Ok great. So walk and look and think – I love it, it calms me down. And I imagine that if you walk with a friend you’d talk about life, and dreams, and…and crushes, haha, and you’d really get to know a person, right?
C: Hi.
A: Hiii!!
C: What’s up, I’m Charles. UWC baby!!
A: Woot! Hey, do you like to take walks?
C: Sure.
A makes inaudible victory or score dance/ gesture to the audience.
A: Would you/
C: What’s your TOEFL score?
A: 100.
C: Not too bad. Bye!
A: Bye. I do care about school too, I mean who doesn’t. Math is not really my forte, and I frankly kinda suck at physics, but when I study hard, I manage. My favorites though… I do actually enjoy reading, so Chinese and English are kinda easy for me. This is a bit embarrassing, but I also write these things (eagerly pulls out a large notebook), they’re like fantasy stories, but also a bit autobiographical. So I don’t really know how to call them. But I love writing them, and when I walk, I like to think of new strange adventures to write about. I’ve been too ashamed to admit to anyone I do such a weird thing, let alone show themto anyone, oh my god, I’d be livid if my parents found them. But I think it would be nice if I would have someone to show them to…
A flips though the notebook.
D: What’s that?
A: Oh, it’s something that I/
D: It’s all words. Is this your TOEFL practice? What’s your TOEFL score?
A: My name is Arlie.
With a graceful gesture, D flicks the hat off Arlie’s head.
D: What’s your TOEFL score, Arlie?
A: 100.
D: Hello, 100.
D writes “100” on Arlie’s forehead. B spray paints “100” on Arlie’s apron. C tears through the notebook, and scribbles “100” in red on its covers.
B: Hello, 100.
C: Hello, 100.
A: Hi.
Hard Study
Leslie, M, N, P – students
Leslie walks into the library, super-duper geared-up and ready to study. He meticulously prepares his study station, laying out math books, computer, tablet, phone, calculator, water bottle, different types of snacks, etc.
M: Hey Leslie.
L: Hey.
M: Bruce and I are gonna go watch a movie, wanna come?
L: Nah, man, I have a math test tomorrow morning. I didn’t do great in the last one, so I gotta ace this one, or my dad is gonna freak out on me. I’m gonna study all day, all night if I have to.
M: Such a good student! (pats L on the back, then proudly) I pulled an all nighter on Monday to study for the bio exam too. I drank like, four bubble teas and stayed up till it was light outside, hahaha! You can’t study, socialize AND sleep at UWC hahahaha… am I right?
They laugh loudly and high five.
L: Hahahah, so true, man. How’d you do in the exam?
M: What exam?
L: The bio, dude.
M suddenly stops laughing.
M: Oh. Fine. So-so. I hope I’ll pass. (Beat. Smiles again) I overslept though and missed my 8:30 English class hahahahaha.
L: Oh my god, I already overslept TWICE this semester hahahah.
M: Dude, I overslept four times already hahahaha.
L: Aren’t you on a contract or something?
M suddenly stops laughing.
M: Yeah, well, I’m trying my best. OK, man, gotta go watch The Avengers. Good luck studying!
L: Thanks, bye.
L buckles down, opens a book, takes some notes. Phone buzzes. L glances at it but keeps studying. Phone buzzes again. L glances at it and smiles, but keeps studying. Phone buzzes. L looks at it, laughs, picks it up and starts texting. At intervals, he interjects with a chuckle or quick remarks: ”you’re so stupid haha,” “omg,” “what?!” “haha amazing,” “no way dude” etc.
N: Hey, Leslie. Aren’t you coming to GIF?
L quickly puts the phone upside down on the desk.
L: Hi. No, I can’t, I gotta study, I have a test.
N: Gotacha, well, I gotta run, I’m already five minutes late.
L: Nah, chill, take your time. It never starts on time anyways.
N: Hahahaha, right.
L gets back to the book, opens his calculator. Looks puzzled and annoyed.
L: I don’t get this, how are you supposed to do this shit? Man, this teacher sucks.
Turns to his laptop. While typing, under his breath:
How do you use nSolve on GDC calculator…
Scrolls through internet, sighs, moans, plops his head on the table, then returns to laptop, scrolls some more, suddenly gets more alert…
Wow, these sneakers are so cool. (Scroll) Ohh, these ones too. Hmm, they’re a bit pricey but what the hell, why not. It’ll be my prize for getting a 7 in math. Or my consolation for not getting a 7 hahaha. Add to cart. (Scroll) Ugh, don’t like these ones. (Scroll) Mmm, neon ones. I do have a pair and I love them. They’re kinda dirty now though, so new ones would be cool. Add to cart.
P: Yo, Leslie! Buying shoes again, huh lol.
L: Guilty as charged, what can I say haha.
P (looking into the laptop): Damn, those are nice!
L: Right?
P: OK, let’s go, move your ass, we gotta go.
L: Go where?
P: We have that zhi xing, dude.
L: Ah, yeah, but no, I’m skipping today, I gotta study for a stupid math test.
P: Ugh, boo. I pity you. I’ll try to survive without you though.
L: Lol.
L is back to the laptop, focusing intently. Sounds of a video game.
N: Leslieee! Let’s go to dinner!
L: Nah, I’m good, I’ll order some later. I gotta study.
N: OK, study hard, you got this!
L is furiously playing video games, stuffing his face with chips and candy.
Broken
Olivia – student
X, Y, Z
O sits straight in a chair. X, Y, and Z surround her.
X (points to the audience): If you don’t smile, they won’t like you.
O instantly smiles, mechanically.
Y: If you’re not polite, they won’t like you.
Z: If you’re not pretty, they won’t like you.
Y (yells): Comb your hair!
O frantically combs her hair. Then smiles again.
X: If you don’t do what he says, he won’t love you.
Y: If you don’t give him what he wants, he won’t love you.
Z: If you don’t laugh at his jokes, he won’t love you.
X: If you don’t agree with him, he won’t love you.
Y: If you don’t lose weight, he won’t love you.
O winces, closes her eyes.
Z: He doesn’t love you.
Z takes the brush and starts gently combing her hair.
X: You’re ugly.
Y: You’re stupid.
O opens her eyes. Smiles again as Z keeps combing. Suddenly snatches the brush and throws it away. X, Y, Z frown.
Z: If you don’t get good grades, they won’t love you.
X: If you’re not a good girl, they won’t love you.
Y: If you’re not obedient, they won’t love you.
O covers her face and cries silently. X, Y, Z smile.
X: If you don’t get a 7, you’re dumb.
Y: If you don’t get a 7, she won’t write you a recommendation.
Z: If you don’t get a 7, you won’t be at the top.
X: If you’re not at the top, you won’t get into a good college.
Y: If you don’t get into a good college, you won’t get a good job.
Z: If you don’t get a good job, you won’t have money.
X: If you don’t have money, you’re a failure.
O tries to run away, but X, Y, Z pin her down and hold her down as O struggles. They yell.
Y: You’re a loser!
Z: You’re a nobody!
X: You’ll never amount to anything.
Y: Nobody cares about you!
X, Y, Z don’t need to pin her down anymore. O is sobbing on the floor.
X (calmly): What’s the point to all of this.
Y: Fuck everything.
Z: Fuck it all.
X: Stop caring.
Z: Don’t resist.
X: You can’t win.
Y gently lifts O’s face and wipes her tears.
Y: You can’t change anything.
X, Y, Z, help O back to the chair.
X: Go numb.
Y: Go blank.
O is catatonic.
Z (to the audience): This is how we break you.
Waste
Riley
UWC admissions interviewer
College admissions interviewer
Job interviewer
Therapist
Doctor
UWC admissions interviews Riley, who sits with a camera around their neck.
UWC: So why do you want to join UWC?
Riley: Because it’s a school that cares beyond the usual academic stuff. I want to be in a school where we talk about climate change. Our global economy is destroying the environment. Every day, 150 animal species go extinct. Forests are burning, fish are literally cooking in ocean waters. We’re inflicting irreparable damage. I want to do something about that. I want to fight for the environment.
UWC: How do you plan on doing that?
R: When I grow up, I will join a movement that gets people to imagine other ways of being in the world. We need to dismantle capitalism, this whole system of cancerous growth, genocidal resource exploitation, mindless consumption, and ginormous waste. We need to support local communities fighting to protect and preserve their lands. We need to shift our mindsets from chasing innovation and new products with built-in obsolescence to caring for and preserving what already exists. We need to care less about money, and more about life.
UWC: Great. But what are you doing about it right now?
R: I do some journalism and photo journalism. I carry this camera wherever I go, it’s always on me. I love to take pictures of nature and animals, of course, but I don’t do just this National Geographic feel-good stuff. I also go to factories and poor neighborhoods. I interview people. I go to waste sites and places filled with trash. My most liked photos are of my hometown in heavy smog, like Changhsu often gets too. I have a few thousand followers on Instagram. My blog too, Waste Our Future, get a few hits every day. It’s not much, but I try to do what I can.
UWC: Alright, Riley, I think you’re a great fit for UWC. We hope you’ll like it here.
UWC and R shake hands.
R: Oh awesome, thank you!
UWC: We care about the environment too, but we also really care about our school stats because we’re a business who relies on parents paying tuition to get their children into top American schools. So we need our students to get high marks in the IB. (UWC gives R many IB subject textbooks). Don’t worry, getting top marks in the IB will get you into a top university which will get you a good job and the opportunity to pursue your dreams.
R: Umm, ok. (R has to take off the camera in order to carry all the books). I guess that makes sense. I’ll focus on studying now. Once I finish school, though, I can really do what I care about.
UWC: Great!
UWC and R pose for a graduation photo. A picture is snapped. Then R sits for college interview.
College: We want more from our students than a perfect IB score – which you have, congratulations.
R: Thanks.
College: So what are your selling points?
R: I want to major in economics. What I really want to do is fight to reverse the corporatization of land, people, and resources, but I think that first I should learn a bit more about how things are run, learn from the inside, work for World Bank for a few years maybe. Once I do that, then I can really do what I care about.
College: Sounds good, welcome to college, I’m sure you’ll bring a positive contribution to our community.
College and R shake hands, which turns into a graduation photo. Then R sits for a job interview.
Job: Why do you want to work at our firm?
R: To be completely honest, five years ago I never would have applied for this job hahah.
Job: Hahahaha, I know exactly what you mean.
R: Hahah, I despise all of this. We dress in nice clothes but we know we make our money through pain and suffering. HAHAHA
Job: HAHAH.
R: What I really want to do HAHAHA is burn all this shit to the ground.
Job: HAHAHA.
R: But I need to pay off my college loans. Hire me, I’ll work my ass off for a few years.
Job: OK. I’m sure you’ll be an asset to our firm.
Job and R shake hands. A photo is snapped.
R: And after this, I’ll focus on what I really care about.
R sits at a therapy session.
Therapist: If you’re so unhappy, why don’t you make a change in your life?
R: Like what?
T: Well, for example, you don’t find your job very fulfilling. What other sort of job do you think you’d find more rewarding?
R: I can’t quit my job. I still have a few years of mortgage to pay on our house. I have two kids to send through school and college. Do you know how much tuition costs these days?!
T: Sure, a top school can help a kid. But so does a top shape parent, not one who’s miserable and overworked.
R: I can manage for a few years more. Once they’re out of college and on their own two feet, I’ll get back to what I really care about.
R works. A picture is snapped.
Doctor: You need to slow down. The health check results aren’t great.
R: I only have a few years until I retire. Then I’ll slow down. I’ll pick up photography again. Do you know I used to love photography? I’ll travel a bit. I’ll volunteer at a nature conservation fund.
R works. Then Job shakes hands with R.
Job: Congratulations on your retirement! Thank you for you forty years of service! Here’s a watch.
A picture is snapped. R puts back the camera around their neck.
Doctor: It’s stage four lung cancer.
R: But I don’t smoke.
Doctor: Breathing this air is like smoking. I’m sorry. We can’t do much at this stage anymore. We can only try to make you more comfortable.
R snaps a picture.
Super Student
Super student
MC 1
MC 2
MC 1: Laaaaaadies and gentlemeeeeen
MC 2: And the rest of us tooooo!
1: In these dark, trying times in the history of humanity
2: Of IB exams
1: Of TOEFL and SAT scores
2: Of test preps and extra classes
1: Of exam weeks and predicteds
2: Of admission essays and final papers
1: One man has risen
2: One man to brave it all
1: We present to you
2: The one, the only
1 and 2: Super Studeeeeent!!!
1 and 2 whoop and clap, encouraging the audience to do the same. Dressed in superhero costume, Super Student jogs in like a wrestler revving up before a fight. Through the whole scene, Super Student will be continuously, frantically moving, running, doing squats, jumping jacks etc.
Super Student: Yeaaaah! Happy to be here, whooooooo!!! Alright, alright, thank you everyone, now enough. It’s time to work.
SS gets into the pantomime of doing work, doing things, anything really, as long as it’s done in a very high speed, frantic kind of way.
1: Wow, Super Student.
2: You work so hard.
SS: Yep, that’s me! Gotta do some SAT vocab, gotta study for physics exam, gotta write the English paper, gotta do my theater scene, gotta do my online class, gotta do my other online class, gotta
1: Cool, cool, Super Student. But hey, it’s 2AM now and you have a class first block tomorrow. Shouldn’t you go to bed? Teenagers need some good 8 to 10 hours sleep for their brains to rest and develop.
SS: I’m not a teenager, I’m SUPER STUDENT! I don’t need 8 hours of sleep, I can’t afford 8 hours of sleep hahahaha, what a joke!
2: But how do you get all this energy from?
SS: RECHARGE!!
SS suddenly stops moving. Hearing the call, 1 frantically looks for the bubble tea. 1 serves the bubble tea to SS, who takes a few good swigs.
Aaaahhh! Now back to work.
SS starts moving fast again.
2: Ah, I see. But Super Student, don’t you need to eat some actual meals too? Our human organisms need vegetables to stay healthy.
SS: I’m not human, I’m SUPER STUDENT! I don’t need vegetables, I thrive on junk food hahahaha.
SS stuffs their face with chips.
1: I get it Super Student, I really do. You wanna do all of those things. But don’t you think you should take a break and go hang out with some friends outside in the sun? We’re social animals, being with other people makes us happy, being outside, in the sun and fresh air makes us happy.
SS: I’m not happy, I’m SUPER STUDENT! I don’t need any friends. We all compete against each other, how can we be friends? We compare ourselves with others constantly. We get petty and jealous. We bully each other. We’re mean to each other. So no, thank you. RECHARGE!
1 jumps to serve SS the bubble tea. Then SS starts moving again.
2: What about going to that global issues talk that’s happening now, change the pace a little bit? Hearing another person’s story and experience can broaden your own mind. Learning new things about the world can really put your own life in perspective.
SS: I don’t need to learn, I’m SUPER STUDENT. You know what, you two? If you’re not here to help and support me, just get out of my way!
1: But I… we
SS: I don’t wanna hear it! Shoo! Leave me alone!
SS drives 1 and 2 away. Then SS keeps frantically moving. Until suddenly, SS collapses with a loud thud.
Talk
Parent
Child
Parent does some paperwork. Child draws.
Parent: Did you finish your homework?
Child: No (keeps drawing)
P (sarcastically): Is that your homework?
C: No (keeps drawing).
P (getting irritated): Stop drawing then, and do your homework!
C (keeps drawing): I will, I will! I just want to finish this first.
P (snatching the drawing and crumpling it): Go get your homework, NOW!
C (heartbroken about the drawing): Nooo! Why did you
P: Don’t make me say it again.
C: Why do you always do this? Why are you such a bully?
P: Don’t raise your voice at me!
C: You never let me do what I want! You don’t care about what I want!
P: I care! I feed you, I clothe you, I pour money into your education. I am your parent and you must listen to me. Now enough of this. Go do your school work.
C: I hate my school work. Why do you make me take subjects I don’t like, subjects I’m not good at?
P: You will thank me later when you’ll have a proper job.
C: Why don’t you listen to me?! I don’t want a “proper” job! I don’t want to be you!
P slaps C. They freeze. They both look hurt and stunned. They move downstage and face the audience.
P: I understand you much more than you imagine. You think I wasn’t a child too once? You think I didn’t have dreams too? But I’ve lived and seen and know how the world works. I’ve suffered and lost so many things. I don’t want you to go through that. I want to make it easier for you. It hurts me so when you don’t see me, when you don’t appreciate all the things I do for you, when you don’t see how much I love you.
C: I know you love me. I love you too. I know you’re doing so much to help me, and sometimes I feel so guilty for not seeming grateful for it. But we’re more different than you’d wish. It hurts me to see how much I’m not the child you’d want me to be. I try to please you, I really do, but somehow I always fail. Because I’m me, and I can’t help being me.
P: I can see you’re different, and that’s what scares me the most. Life will knock you down even when you’re tough-skinned and do everything right. I lie awake at night terrified of what life will do to you, you who are so gentle and delicate and so oblivious of how hard things will get.
C: I know it won’t be easy for me. It’s already pretty tough sometimes. And I’m scared too. Sometimes I’m really scared. I’ve already been through some things that gave me an inkling of what I’ll have to put up with. But I’m not that delicate, mom/dad. I’m stronger than you think.
P: You don’t have to fight all the fights. Take a safe path. If you don’t, there will be too many things to struggle with, you’ll be crushed.
C: If I do, I’m afraid I’ll be crushed even more.
P: We need to talk.
C: Yes, we need to talk.
P and C turn heads to look at each other.
Time
Student
Timetable
Students sleeps. It is 7 AM.
T: Beep beep, wake up, beep beep beep beep, wake up wake up beep beep wake up beep beep WAKE UP BEEP BEEP BEEP
Student sleeps.
T: You have now missed breakfast.
Pause.
T (clears their throat, then): Beep beep beep.
Pause. Student doesn’t wake up.
Your first class is about to start. Beep. Beep.
Pause. Student doesn’t wake up.
Your first class has started. Beep. Wake up you fool.
Suddenly student shoots up. S frantically wakes up and runs to class. Their hair is a mess, they look like a mess.
S: So, so, so sorry I’m late!
T: Late again. Take your seat.
S is in class.
T: Come on, move it, move it, go to your next class!
S frantically runs to next class. Sits in class.
T: Cohort meeting in the Theater, go already, run, you’ll be late again.
S frantically runs to the meeting. Sits in the meeting.
T: Time for lunch. Lines are huge, time is short, go go go!
S frantically runs. Eats fast.
T: No time to finish eating that, go, run to class!
S frantically runs to class.
T: Next class! Move it, fatso, it’s across campus!
S frantically runs. Sits in class.
T: You have a meeting with your teacher. Did you reply to her on Teams to confirm?
S fearfully shakes their head.
T: Well what are you waiting for? Send a message and run to the meeting!
S frantically sends a message and runs to the meeting. Sits and talks in the meeting.
T: Enough. You’re late for your Zhixing.
S frantically says bye, runs to Zhixing.
T: Why are you always late?
S is at Zhixing.
T: Dinner time!
S eats frantically, but in a completely exhausted manner.
T: Gobble that up and run to your room for your online class.
S stuffs their face, runs to room, does online class.
T: Check time!
S goes to check.
T: Don’t you have some homework?
S does homework. Finishes homework.
T: OK, midnight. Time to go to bed.
S: In a minute.
S plays some music.
T: 1 am. Go to bed.
S: In a minute.
S chats with friends online.
T: 2 am.
S: Yeah yeah.
S plays video games.
T: 4 am. You’re screwed again. Why don’t you go to bed?
S: I want to.
Pause
But if I do, I’ll only wake up and everything starts again.
Relationship
A, B – students
A: Have you ever had sex?
B: No. Have you?
A: Umm. I don’t think so.
Pause
B: Can you have sex on campus?
A: No.
B: Do people have sex on campus?
A: Umm. No. Pause. Yes?
B: What do you mean?
A: Maybe.
Long pause.
What is sex?
B: Sex?
A: Sex. I mean what does “having sex” mean?
B: What’s sex and what’s not sex?
A: Yeah.
B: Well, it’s …. Pause …. I’m not sure.
Long pause. B gets an idea. Gets out the Student Handbook.
“Students are expected to use judgment in their romantic physical contact with each other, and to avoid creating an unpleasant environment for the people around them. Students are prohibited from any sexual activity on campus.”
A: Aha. Pause. What’s “romantic physical contact”?
B: I don’t know…
A: Like, I can touch you?
B: I guess.
A slowly, tentatively touches B with an index finger. B smiles.
A: Cool! So we can touch each other?
B: Yes, I think so.
A and B playfully and innocently poke each other.
A: This is so much fun!
B: Yeah! Suddenly stops. OK. But do you think. We can. Pause. HOLD HANDS?
A gasps. Covers their mouth.
A: I WANT TO!
A and B reach hands towards each other. A suddenly stops.
But won’t we. Pause. Create an unpleasant environment for the people around us?
A and B suddenly look at the audience. They straighten up, become self-conscious.
B (to the audience): Would you mind if we (gestures to A), umm… hold hands?
Waits for the audience to respond. If the audience doesn’t respond:
Would you? (repeat the question until you hear plenty of “yeses” from the audience).
A and B are emotional and look at each other. They reach out their hands and clasp them. They stay like that, overcome with joy, for a little bit.
A: May I hug you?
B: OK.
They hug and get lost in the embrace. Suddenly A opens eyes and freaks out.
A: Wait! DOES THE SCHOOL ALLOW US TO HUG?
B (now freaking out too): What??! Wait, umm, … well…oh GOD! I DON’T KNOW!
A and B (to audience): Are we allowed to hug??!! ARE WE? (repeat as necessary, until you get clear permission from the audience to hug).
A and B are so happy. They hug again, the best, warmest hug you’ve ever seen.
A (still hugging): Hey.
B (still hugging): Yeah?
A (still hugging): Do you think the school allows us to kiss?
B breaks from the hug, looks into A’s eyes.
B: I haven’t seen anyone kiss anyone on campus.
A: Me neither …
B: So kissing counts as sex.
A: That doesn’t sound right.
B: So if it’s allowed, why is no one openly doing it?
A: I don’t know. Cause we’re embarrassed?
B: Why are we embarrassed?
A: Cause… I don’t know… we’re told it’s bad?
B: I don’t think it’s bad.
A: It doesn’t feel bad.
A and B smile to each other. They lean it a bit as if to kiss each other.
B: Wait! Pause. I don’t wanna get expelled.
A: No, I think it’s OK.
B: But I’m afraid. I’m too afraid. I can’t do this. I really like you, but I can’t do this. Please. Just leave me alone.
B walks away. A looks at the audience.
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