oap60: Chess-Blading by John Watts

Scroll down for the synopsis and cast of characters

Synopsis

An eighteen-year-old Thai-American girl adrift in the uncertainty of a summer between high school graduation and the start of college meets a retired university professor in the park. Eugene is a chess player in search of a game while Vanessa is exploring the exhilaration, speed and freedom that roller-blading affords her. The two activities are expressions of very different views of the world. Generational and cultural differences are defined through a series of flashbacks in which Eugene speaks as his younger self, involved in a platonic romance with a young Thai woman called Sook-Jye when he served in the Peace Corp. Eugene chooses to reject Sook-Jye for the safety of a traditional middle class American existence. As trust develops Eugene and Vanessa confide more of themselves to each other creating a bond that strengthens their individual resolve to deal with life successfully. The play ends with a chess game where Vanessa substitutes her own individual toy figures for ordinary pawns for as she says, "I want to know who each one is. I want to think about it before I sacrifice anybody."

The Cast List

EUGENE:

A retired university professor, a white man, about sixty years old. He has a portable chessboard that he carries with him everywhere. He is a calm man.

(Vanessa and Sook-Jye are played by the same actor.)

VANESSA:

A Thai-American girl about eighteen years old, full of energy and wearing clothes appropriate for roller-blading.

SOOK-JYE:

A twenty-three year old Thai university student, innocent and self-conscious.