A Mini-Play: Standby

3-Act Play in 12 Lines

Jack: “What’s your black cloud, Jill? That sometimes bleak and overcast feeling that consumes your every thought?”

Jill: “Brooding over interpersonal issues with family and friends. And, yours?”

Jack: “A market loss. I play the stocks. It’s largely a physical feeling.”

Jill: “Describe it for me.”

.   .   .

Jack: “A profound sinking in my gut. A weakening and tingling in my legs.”

Jill: “What’s your accompanying mood?”

Jack: “It’s not unlike when you learn a friend or extended family member has died.”

Jill: “What’s it like when you score a market win?”

.   .   .

Jack smiles: “It's like I’m floating on Cloud 9, like I’ll live forever.”

Jill: “What’s your in-between feeling?”

Jack scratches his head: “ … Not unlike when I’m in the standby line at the airline counter.”

.   .   .