Homecoming

By Leeann Minogue

Jerry Wilson has always planned to pass his family farm on to the next generation. When Jerry's broken leg spurs he and his wife Marlene to retire sooner than expected, the couple moves to a new home in nearby Stony Valley and their son Greg comes home from the city to take over the farm. But Jerry and Marlene soon find out that retirement is not always as idyllic as it looks in the commercials: Marlene is not sure how to fill her days, and ends up working with her old enemy Norma to plan the upcoming Stony Valley Centennial Homecoming celebrations. And after a lifetime farming, Jerry has difficulty letting his son make the decisions. Tension builds between father and son until Greg finally hits the breaking point, and packs his bags. Now, Jerry is a proud and stubborn farmer whose land has been in the Wilson family for generations. He’s not about to admit to the community, his wife, or even himself that Greg won't be taking over the farm after all. At first, lying to Marlene about Greg's whereabouts just seemed easier than telling the truth. But one lie leads to another, and soon Jerry is driving through Stony Valley with a dummy dressed as Greg riding in his passenger sea: How long can Jerry keep his secret from his wife and the rest of the town? Especially when Norma and Marlene decide to hold the Homecoming barbeque at the Wilson farm, and five hundred people are expected for the party?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scirocco Drama
• Release date: Oct 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781990737305

Leeann Minogue

Leeann Minogue lives with her husband and son on a grain farm in southeast Saskatchewan. Homecoming, her second play, premiered at the Station Arts Centre in Rosthern in the summer of 2009 and has since been produced in three rural Saskatchewan communities. Leeann's first play, Dry Streak (Scirocco, 2006), has been staged by the Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon, the Station Arts Centre, the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario, and in seventeen amateur dinner theatres across rural Saskatchewan. Dry Streak was nominated for a Saskatchewan Book award in 2006.

Book preview

Cover: Homecoming, written by Leeann Minogue, published under Scirocco Drama, by J. Gordon Shillingford, shows a woman standing with the help of clutches, in the yellow dandelion fields, observing a house located in the center of it. She is wearing a loose pink garb with her head covered in a cloth.

HOME COMING

LEEANN MINOGUE

Homecoming

first published 2010 by

Scirocco Drama

An imprint of J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing Inc.

© 2010 Leeann Minogue

Scirocco Drama Editor: Glenda MacFarlane

Cover design by Terry Gallagher/Doowah Design Inc.

Author photo by Brad Barlow

Printed and bound in Canada on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Manitoba Arts Council, The Canada Council for the Arts and the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) for our publishing program.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, for any reason, by any means, without the permission of the publisher. This play is fully protected under the copyright laws of Canada and all other countries of the Copyright Union and is subject to royalty. Changes to the text are expressly forbidden without written consent of the author. Rights to produce, film, record in whole or in part, in any medium or in any language, by any group amateur or professional, are retained by the author.

Production inquiries should be addressed to:

Leeann Minogue

Box 56

Griffin, SK S0C 1G0

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Minogue, Leeann, 1970-

Homecoming / Leeann Minogue.

A play.

ISBN 978-1-897289-49-5

I. Title.

PS8626.I56H64 2010        C811’.6        C2010-901724-2

J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing

P.O. Box 86, RPO Corydon Avenue, Winnipeg, MB Canada R3M 3S3

Contents

Acknowledgements

Leeann Minogue

Production History

Characters

Setting

A Note About the Text

Act One

Act Two

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Contents

Acknowledgements

Leeann Minogue

Production History

Characters

Setting

A Note About the Text

Act One

Act Two

Guide

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Contents

Acknowledgments

Leeann Minogue

Production History

Characters

Setting

A Note About the Text

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Acknowledgements

This play would not exist without Stephen Heatley. Stephen not only directed this show at the Station Arts Centre in Rosthern, he also helped to get this play on stage, he gave advice about rewrites, he facilitated a workshop in his own home in the early stages of development, and he talked me down from the metaphorical ledge at that point in the process when I was ready to give up writing altogether.

I am also grateful for: the cast of the Rosthern production who faced a new draft every day of rehearsals; helpful friends who took time to read and comment on drafts of the play; family and friends who went to see the show; my parents, who let me stay with them during rehearsals and are my biggest fans; and, of course, Brad and Matthew who make it possible.

Leeann Minogue

Leeann Minogue lives on a grain farm in south-eastern Saskatchewan with her husband Brad and their three-year old son Matthew. Homecoming is her second full-length play. Dry Streak (Scirocco Drama, 2006), her first play, was nominated for a Saskatchewan Book Award in 2006 and has been produced at the Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon, the Station Arts Centre in Rosthern, and the Grand Theatre in London, Ontario as well as 17 community dinner theatres across Saskatchewan.

Besides writing plays Leeann spends time with Matthew, helps out on the farm, writes articles for agricultural publications and continues to look for creative new ways to avoid housework.

Production History

Homecoming premiered at the Station Arts Centre in Rosthern, Saskatchewan in July, 2009 with the following cast:

MARLENE Wilson .......................................... Sharon Bakker

NORMA Janson .................................................Cynthia Dyck

GREG Wilson .........................................................Matt Josdal

JERRY Wilson .............................................................. Rob Roy

SUSAN Bryant .............................................Tara Schoonbaert

Directed by Stephen Heatley

Assistant Director: Brian Cochrane

Set Design by Hans Becker

Costume Design by Theresa Germain

Technical Work by Craig Langlois

Lighting Design by Lauchlin Johnston

Stage Manager: Diana Domm

Theatre Chairperson: Kathy Thiessen

Characters

Jerry Wilson .....................................retiring farmer, early 60s

Marlene Wilson .................................... Jerry’s wife, early 60s

Greg Wilson ................................ 35, Jerry and Marlene’s son

Susan Bryant .................... 31, Jerry and Marlene’s daughter

Norma Janson ............................................. friend of Marlene

Setting

This play is set on the Wilson farm in June of 2005. The Wilson family farm is a grain farm, a few miles south of Stony Valley, Saskatchewan.

There are two locations:

* Jerry’s shop: This is the space where Jerry keeps his tools and some small farm machinery. He spends a lot of time working in his shop, summer and winter. It could be represented by a simple workspace with a few tools. Part of the shop is offstage—characters can enter the shop from the door, or from the rest of the shop. On most farms, the shop would be a short walk from the house.

* The Wilson farmhouse: Jerry built this house 37 years ago (in 1968), when he and Marlene were first married. On stage, there is a living room and a dining room table. There is a phone in the living room. There are exits to the kitchen, to the outside, and to the ‘rest of the house’ (bedrooms and bathrooms).

Action moves between the two locations. The stage should be set to allow for quick scene changes between the two locations.

A Note About the Text

The use of the / symbol in the script indicates that the speaker is interrupted by the next line.

Act One

Scene 1

Wednesday, June 1, 2005.

Jerry’s shop.

JERRY is alone, puttering in his shop, fixing an alternator from a truck or tractor on his workbench. It’s a complicated job that requires a lot of concentration. He has a large cast or brace on his leg and walks using crutches. He’s