Price of Admission

By Christina Hamlett and Jamie Dare

There's nothing wrong with parents wanting their offspring to have the best education money can buy. Unless the price crosses a line which can't be erased.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christina Hamlett
• Release date: May 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393851356

Christina Hamlett

Former actress and theatre director Christina Hamlett is the author of 42 books, 174 stage plays, 5 optioned feature films, and squillions of articles and interviews that appear online and in trade publications worldwide. She is also a script consultant for stage and screen as well as a professional ghostwriter. For further information, visit her website at www.authorhamlett.com

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Cover photo by Dmytro Sidelnikov 123rf

Cover design by Christina Hamlett

This script cannot be produced without written permission from the authors.

For performance rights, please direct inquiries via www.authorhamlett.com

CAST OF CHARACTERS

CASSIDY WESTFIELD - a high school senior

CLAIRE WESTFIELD - Cassidy's mom

BLANCA - the Westfields' middle-aged housekeeper

CONNOR HAYES - Cassidy's boyfriend

DULCE HERNANDEZ - a high school senior

MARU HERNANDEZ - Dulce's mother

ESTELA GARCIA - a middle aged customer and friend of Maru

MRS. WOO - an Asian grandmother

ANTHONY WOO - a high school senior and Mrs. Woo's grandson

VANESSA DRAKE - mother of one of Cassidy's classmates

CARLTON HAGUE - a college admissions director

ALLISON DEVERAUX - an FBI agent

BEN OSBORNE - an FBI agent

SABINA DRAKE - a high school senior

CIRCA AND SETTING: Present-day Los Angeles

SET DESIGN: All action transpires on a single set with three distinct staging areas, the largest being the living room in the center. Each space is illuminated only when a scene is taking place; the rest of the stage is in darkness.

Stage right is the office of the college admissions director and should be set farther downstage to distinguish it. Door stage right. Its upstage wall features framed awards and certificates. There is a desk, desk chair and two visitor chairs.

Stage left is a small taqueria; it, too, is set farther downstage. Its upstage wall contains a festive menu board. There is a counter with two colorful bar stools and a cash register.

The main playing space in the center is the upscale living room of a home in Los Angeles. It contains a love seat, coffee table, wing chairs and an upstage credenza with a large arrangement of flowers in front of a floor-to-ceiling window that looks out on blue skies and palm trees. On either side of the window are arched open doorways. Expensive art adorns the walls.

AT RISE:

CASSIDY and her mother CLAIRE enter, laughing, from the upstage right doorway. They both wear oversized dark glasses and each carries multiple shopping bags from designer boutiques. Both are trim, tan and fashionistas. Exhausted, they plop their bags on the floor and plop themselves onto the furniture as they remove their dark glasses.

CLAIRE

Was there any shop we missed? I swear Rodeo Drive will have to completely restock!

CASSIDY

You're the bestest, bestest mom ever!

CLAIRE

Oh Cassidy honey. You're not just saying that because I bought you three more pairs of Jimmy Choos?

CASSIDY

Well duh. It's not like I didn't really, really need them.

Claire reaches into the nearest bag and pulls out a designer shoe.

CLAIRE

Ulterior motive actually. We do wear the same size. I can wear these to the Langhams' party next weekend.

Cassidy goes to playfully grab it back as BLANCA, the housekeeper, enters from the upstage right doorway.

BLANCA

Excuse me, Senorita