Dramatic Scenes for 1 man 1 woman
Dream of the Burning Boy
by David West Read
At the beginning modern drama, Dane a smart if not smart aleck high school student has a discussion about his grade on a paper with his English teacher, steps into the hallway and dies of a brain aneurysm. Larry, the stern and lonely teacher feels guilty, but more so because unbeknownst to ...anybody... Larry is Dane's father, a product of an affair with Dane's mother that they have managed to keep secret all these years.
There are three scenes in the library from this play:
1) Rachel, Dane's sister, confronts Larry about the bizarre favoritism Larry has always shown Dane which eventually causes Larry to confess that Dane is his son.
2) Larry imagines what it would be like if he could relive his final conversation with Dane.
3) Rachel, Dane's sister, and Chelsea, Dane's girlfriend meet in the counselor's office. (Steve, the counselor is not present) While Chelsea has been making a public show of her grief, Rachel has been silently suffering. The girls try to help and empathize with each other but their personalities and their approaches to Dane's death are just too different.
The Glass Menagerie
by Tennessee Williams
This scene does not count as "classical" by competition definition. But it is a classic of modern American theater.
Laura does not live up to her mother's expectations. She is slightly handicapped, has been sick most of her life. But, more importantly, she is too shy to land a husband, her mother's first choice for her, or to go to a school and become a secretary, which is what her mother believes she is doing.
In response to constant pressure from his mother, Laura's brother invites a "gentleman caller" to their home. Ironically, Jim is kind and not unattracted to Laura but ironically he is the boy she had a crush on in high school years ago and he is engaged. He tries to make the best of the situation not fully realizing until the end of the scene that he is assumed to be courting this girl.
Laura shows Jim her collection of glass figurines or menagerie. Jim, half because he is trying to boost Laura's confidence, half because he feels something for this girl, attempts to dance with Laura to music that is playing across the alley. In the process, they knock a glass unicorn off a table and it loses it's horn. A symbol of Laura's attempt to become like everybody else.