WHEN IT IS WHEN IT ISN'T

"When It Is, When It Isn't" was produced in Sacramento August and September 1996. During it's brief run, it was the best reviewed show in town, beating out famous authors and theaters with far more resources. It is an intense, but very easy to produce four character show.

All the action takes place in a simple cabin set and the adjoining porch. The casting requires two males, one mid-30s the other mid-40s. And two females, one mid-20s the other mid-30s.

NOTES: In thinking about common work place sexual harassment, my guess was employees would tolerate certain behavior from people at work that they never put up with in their private lives.

So I thought, what would happen if co-workers were stuck together overnight in what began as a social situation. Soon my four characters were on their way to a big employee retreat when their car breaks down. They were supposed to only be stuck in the car together for a short while.

The female workers original plan was that they wouldn't have to spend much time over the weekend with anyone that made them feel uncomfortable. For example, the secretaries would all be banning together and sleeping in the same rooms.

The annual retreat is sponsored by the high end real estate firm the characters work for. The goal of the weekend was for employees to bond and be honest with each other. But the retreat always simply became a wild party.

Over the years cheating at "truth or dare" had become a tradition. But this time the game becomes intimate and brings out dormant feelings and exposes truths that aren't fun to face.

Although there are adult themes and the play contains strong social messages about how society treats certain people, the show is laced with humor. The sexual jokes are plentiful but there are no four letter words and no content stronger than you'd see on an episode of network TV.

I have rewritten it a little bit and would love to see it produced again.

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