!

The!Blame!Game.!
Written!by!Laura!Donaldson!and!Ursula!McGinn.!

First!produced!in!Dublin!by!Ursula!McGinn!and!Laura!Donaldson!at!the!
Dublin!Youth!Theatre,!Members!One!Act!Festival!,!August!27th!2013.!

Characters)

A!–teenage!girl!.!B!Iteenage!boy.!CIteenage!girl.!D!–teenage!boy.!

For!performance!rights!please!contact!!Youth!Theatre!Ireland,!7!North!
Great!Georges!St.!D.1!info@youththeatre.ie!!tel:!018781301!
A, B, C and D are all standing on stage. There are four chairs behind them. There are several
anti-bullying posters hanging on the walls and around the space. Door stage left with
principal sign hanging. The characters look bored, angry and fed up, and it appears as if
they are being lectured. Suddenly they all begin to shout over one another. Repeat following
sequence twice.

A: why am I here?

Do you honestly think I have something to do with this?

I've only been here a year!

Nothings that simple!

You're making a big deal out of nothing.

This kind-of stuff happens all the time, why is he so special?

People just have to move on.

B: Ah sir, what do you have me in for?

Nothing's that simple.

Could he not just have a laugh?

If that’s how he feel, could he not just grow thicker skin?

I guess it’s his word against ours.

No harm was done.

They are over reacting!

C: What was I supposed to do?

If it wasn't him it would be someone else.

Don't look at me like that, it's not my fault.

I did what anyone else would do.

So you're saying you'd march right up to them and say ''cut it out''?

Nothing's that simple.

I didn't do anything wrong.

D: This doesn't change anything.

Do you really think I would be bothered?

Is questioning me really gonna make a difference?

I'm not surprised you think I’m responsible.

It's nice to see you have finally faced up to the problem.

Why not?

Nothing's that simple!

School bell rings, all students stop talking. It is clear they are frustrated. Students break
apart and take their seats. B and D go for the same seat, B takes the chair. They are seated
left to right – B,D,C,A.

Silence. Students look at each other with disguised interest.

A: it happened in maths class, last week.

B: it was a Tuesday.

A: It was a Wednesday, before lunch.

C: Second class after lunch.

A: The class was a bit crazy, as always, but its ordinary maths like, so we're fine. And then
out of nowhere, this guy, his name's Skunk...

B: Skunk.

C: Skunk.

D: Skunk.

A:..He just broke the projector - That's what Sarah told me anyways. No one knows why he
broke it. I guess that's why we're here right? But it's not like we did anything. I literally did
nothing.

B: Nada.

C: Zip.

D: Zero.

A: I was told he's called Skunk because when he goes out he gets so pissed, he can't handle it
-like drunk as a skunk.
C: It's because one time someone farted in class, and he was blamed. It wasn't him though, I
know because I was sitting beside him.

D: I think it's because his face looks like a skunk's.

B: Well, he just really stinks. Like after training he just wouldn't shower, it was kind of
weird...but it didn't seem to bother him.

A: I know him from maths class, he seems quiet, but I've heard he's quite a handful.

D: I never really spoke to him, like we're in the same maths class though, but we stick to
ourselves.

C: When we were younger we used to be close enough, pretty good friends...but we kind of
just started to drift apart.

B: We played basketball together, until he quit, last year I think it was. He was a pretty good
player actually, showed me a few tricks....I'm not really sure why he left the team...

C :( defensively) I'm not sure why we aren’t friends anymore - but people change, nothing
wrong with that, right?

A: Some of the girls say that Skunk's been slagged a bit more than other people but the lads
think he should just grow a pair.

B: It's just a bit of craic like, the lads just joke around, we like to have a good time, it gets us
through the day.

A: Boys will be boys.

C: I don't think we have a problem with bullying in this school.

A: Bullying is an urban myth, it's a bit dated.

B: We all just buzz off each other, just innocent banter.

D: Misinterpreted banter, if you don't get it, it’s your fault.

C: Bullying was kind of a thing in Primary school, I guess, but not now.

A: Kids will be kids.

B: My dad told me 'If someone hits you, you hit them back'. And I do.

D: Bullies will be bullies.

Silence. (Passing of notes – A takes a piece of paper out of her pocket, she begins to write a
note with obvious pleasure, she passes it to C who’s reaction is not as pleased, D then take
the note but does not look at it, B takes the note, looks at it, smirks and throws it away. )
Silence.
A: I'm not really sure why Skunk, but I guess he's a little...weird.

C/B/D: Weird (same time as A).

D: (awkwardly) Do you think skunk was being bullied?

A/B/C: No.

Pause.

D: I think Skunk broke the projector because he was angry...

A: Alone.

C: Hurt.

B: Weak.

D:..And wanted to try and prove he was strong. He was angry because the jokes just went too
far.

A: It's all fun and games till someone gets hurt...

B: Then it's hilarious...Why can't some people take a joke?

D: It's not funny.

C: I'm not laughing.

All characters start laughing.

Silence.

B: So we were in maths, and the teacher hadn't come yet and everyone was just talking and
having a laugh, and then out of nowhere, Skunk turns around and breaks the projector. It was
so random; he must have just been having a bad day. We all didn't know what to say and then
the teacher came in and gave out and now we are here, I’ve no idea why.

C: I guess people have been bothering Skunk for a while, the lads in particular. It started with
the fart and then people took up any excuse after that to make fun of him. It didn't seem to
really bother him that much, like he never mentioned it to me, but it's not like we were that
close.

A: (turning into C) I'll be there for you.

D: But little by little all the things people did and said must have crept up on him. Like when
he puts his hand up in class... (A puts her hand up - dirty looks from rest of cast)

B: or when he tries to correct a teacher...

C: Shut the fuck up!

B:... They did the class a favour, and that they didn't get in trouble was just a bonus.

A: When worksheets go missing he gets the blame...

C/B/D: SKUNK!

C: But I guess you could say he brought it on himself because he's such a know it all...That's
what people say anyway. He was pushed too far and the projector was the final straw I guess,
the camel's back is well and truly broken...but he never told me anything though so I won't
really have much to tell them.

D: Zip.

A: Nada.

B: Zero.

Silence.

A: I've seen allot worse...that's what I'm gonna tell them, back in my old school shit like this
happens everyday, so you have to get used to it or leave.

B: I'm gonna say Skunk's over-reacting, if he can't handle banter now, what's he gonna do in
the big bad world?

D: I'll tell them the truth.

C: It's not my fault.

B: I had nothing to do with it.

A: It wasn't me.

B: Come on, we all know it was banter, there's nothing wrong with a bit of banter.

C: Exclusion, rumours, teasing, name-calling.

B: The name Skunk never really seemed to bother him, not that I asked or nothing.

Pause.

B is called into principal’s office- ‘Next’ called from off-stage. B leaves for principal’s office.
All other eyes follow him as he walks out. They all move over one seat to the left. D sniggers
a little.

D: He thinks he did nothing wrong, everyone seems to feel that way. How can they not see
what’s right in front of us - a joke is only a joke if its two-sided, if it’s not then it begins to
become harassment. One time when we had anti-bullying week, a guest speaker came into
and told us about the acid test- to measure the ‘acidity’ of bullying. This is a test that should
be used to confirm bullying is occurring. You have to ask yourself the following questions...

Light change – A and C sit up straight in their cars with their legs crossed and heads to one
side. In preppy voices they ask...

A: Is the behaviour targeted at a group or an individual?

C: Has this behaviour been happening over a period of time?

A: How frequent is the behaviour and is there a pattern occurring?

C: Is the intention of the behaviour to cause harm/distress/pain to an individual or a group?

Normal again.

D...The last question is where we have a problem; nobody in our school thinks bullying
exists, because people think...

B: (coming out of principal’s office and sitting down.) I told him it was just banter.

D:..And we all just let it slide by.

A: I was always bullied from primary school until I left my old school last year. I thought I
could handle the name calling and the humiliation, but it soon got too much. When I finally
told my parents, they thought I was exaggerating, they thought I was lying. They put me into
Speech and drama classes so my confidence would grow. When we recited poems we had to
stand up straight with our hands by our side and show as much feeling as possible. The
classes helped, but they weren't enough. Once my parents realised the bullying was getting
worse, they took me out of that school and moved me here. I tried to reinvent myself to make
sure I would never ever be the target again. But I still tense up every time I walk by a large
group of people and even though I've forgotten allot of the mean things people said to me, I
will never forget the way they made me feel....My favourite poem was actually about
bullying, it made me feel better to know I wasn't alone. I still know it off by heart..... (Stands
up to begin reciting a poem with hands by her side and concentration, but decides against
once notices others watching her, she sits back down, embaressed)...I still think about it
sometimes. I wonder if I should have helped Skunk...Some should have been there for him.

C: I'll always be there for you.

B: What does even that mean?

D: Bullying happens everywhere and to everyone. People get sucked in whether they like it
or not. I should have shown him that he wasn't alone.

C: You are never alone.

A: But I was.

B: This is a onetime thing, it never happens normally.

D: I've seen this happen before.

A: I should have helped because I could, because I knew what it's like to be lonely, to feel
isolated and excluded - alone. People just push and push and push until they break you, while
others just look on, pretending they don't see the pain.

D: Everyone will say -

A: Nothing's wrong.

B: We didn't do anything.

C: Everything's okay.

D: And people choose to believe them, to ignore people as the light slowly fades from their
eyes, as they become numb.

C: When the bully leaves the victim bullies themselves

A: They pushed me so far; I wanted to become the bully.

Next four lines said in mocking tone.

B: What doesn't kill makes you stronger.

C: Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

D: A problem shared is a problem halved.

A: If you can't beat them, join them.

D is called into the principal’s office – ‘Next’. All move one seat to the left. Silence.

B: When I was younger I used to love playing with Barbie dolls. Before I was born my mom
hoped I would be a girl so she got very prepared. She couldn't bear to give the dolls away
after I was born so they were kept in the attic until I was old enough to play with them. It
didn't really bother her, but it drove my dad mental. He was and still is super into sports, so
he tried to push me into it too - camp, after club, after team, all day every day. I found I had
to grow to love sport, just so I could spend some quality time with my dad. He wasn't
interested in anything else. When I got a solo in the Christmas concert when I was 10, my dad
couldn't find the time to come and hear me, but when I was a sub for a pathetic school
championship, he left work early to come and watch me sit on my ass on the sidelines. He
really pushed me; he wanted me to be the best just so he could gloat. He loved Skunk; he
thought he was a great player he wanted me to be just like him... At first, I was happy when
Skunk quit the team, but then we lost the final.

C: We'd been friends since we were 7. We were going to be friends forever...but then Skunk
got smarter, and bolder and just pushed the wrong buttons. People started to get annoyed and
showed it. I was scared, I couldn't be friends with someone who was a target, being friends
with him was turning me into a target...so I opted out.
A and B turning in towards C.

A: What movie will we watch this time?

C: Don't mind.

B: Why didn't you come to the party?

C: Homework.

A: Do you not have any credit? You didn't answer my calls?

B: Hello?

A: Are you coming out?

B: What about our pact?

Silence.

D comes out of principal’s office, C is called into office – ’Next’. All others watch her leave.

Bagging – D takes out a school bag from under a chair. With help from A and B the contents
of the bag are removed and the bag is turn inside out. Once everything is put back in the bag,
B write the name ‘Skunk’ on it in chalk. A then takes the and throws it across the room.
Through-out this the characters work quickly and are always on the look-out of being caught.
Once the bag is thrown the regain composure and move up a seat each.

D :( takes his time, relaxes)...I really like cooking and baking and make dinner almost every
night. My parents work all the time and I’m an only child, so if I didn't cook, I wouldn’t eat.
The first time I cooked for myself was when I was six and my parents went to a weekend
work conference. They forgot to call a babysitter so I was left all alone in the house. When
they hadn't arrived home by 6 o’clock, I began to root through the fridge - all we had was
easy singles, ham and eggs. I ended up making a fried egg, ham and cheese sandwich - it was
delicious except I forgot to take the plastic wrapper off the cheese so I got sick. The next day
when my parents arrived home they gave out to me for throwing up on the stairs and for
leaving the kitchen in a mess. It didn't happen again, but my parents never apologised for
forgetting about me. And I never told them how alone and isolated I felt - how Skunk must
feel right now.

After speaking D picks up inside-out bag and places it under his chair. C comes out of
principal’s office and sits down. A is called into principal’s office- ‘Next’. Group react again.
Move up a chair.

C:..... My favourite movie is 'Twelve O'clock High’. I watched it for the first time with Skunk
when we were 13. I'd wanted to see it for absolutely ages but couldn't find it anywhere.
Skunk turned up with it one Friday night after searching through all the DVD stores and
charity shops in town. We got a take-away from Royal City - I was so excited! But then the
DVD was scratched and we never got to see the end. That was the start of our Friday night
tradition of takeaway and a war movie. We worked through all the take-aways in town, but
our favourite was the Lotus, my favourite is still the Lotus - I haven't gotten anything from
there recently though.

B: Why did he quit the team? He let us down, he let me down, he let my dad down!

C: I saw he was upset and I didn't do anything...none of us did.

A renters. All eyes follow this. She Shrugs. Sits down.

D: Nobody knows what to do. The teachers don't know even know what to do. They hang up
signs, but posters don't solve problems! If someone doesn't come straight up and admit to a
teacher that bullying is happening, they turn a blind eye, (A, B, C avert their eyes from the
audience) we all do. When someone reports an incident, teachers will say they are helping us,
plastering on their plastic smiling and insisting...

A: (patronising voice..) I'll do everything I can.

B: (patronising voice..) We understand what you are going through.

C: (patronising voice...) We do not tolerate bullying in this school.

D:....but they do, we all do. We just stand- by and watch people lives falling to pieces all
around us, trying to convince ourselves there's nothing we can do.

B: We were just having a laugh.

A: I didn't want it to happen to me again.

C: What was I supposed to do?

D: We can't solve this problem, but we can deal with it.

C: People are going to lecture me, accusing me of just letting my friend take all that shit and
not even try to stop it, but what the hell would they do?. What was I supposed to do?Put
myself in the firing line just on the off chance that a group of people would don't even know
my name would stop picking on my friend. It's supposed to be easy to stand up to bullies- in
movies there's always a teacher who catches the bullies and sides with leading actress and
there is always a happy ending. But here in the real word, teachers do not giving a flying shit
unless someone spells it out for them, making it their duty to take action - not that anything
ever comes of it. Nobody has your back, nobody will catch you when you fall and people will
certainly not follow you as we are all too scared to step over the line and see what happens.

B: I guess the guys took it a bit too far, I should have said something, anything, but I let it
slide and said nothing....but what could I have said? What would make them stop?

D: I'd really like a fried egg, cheese and ham sambo right now, without the wrapper this time
though.

C: Last weekend I found a copy of that movie in an old charity shop. I haven't watched it yet,
I don't want to watch it alone.
B: I wish we could go back to when things were simpler, less complex.

A: Things may never change.

C stands before speaking. Codesending tone is used from now until the end of the piece.

C: Nothing's as sinple as black and white.

A stands before speaking.

A: No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

B stands before speaking.

B: Ignorance is bliss.

D stands before speaking.

D: No pain, no gain.

C: If you can' stand the heat get out of the kitchen.

A: Let the sleeping dogs lie

C: You made your bed now lie in it.

Each character takes a step towards the audience before they say the following lines.

D: Practise what you preach.

B: The best defence is a good offence

A: the pen is mightier then the sword.

B: Fight fire with fire

C: Honesty is the best policy.

B: If you don't succeed try and try and try again.

D: It takes one to know one.

A: It takes two to tango

D: There’s no smoke without fire

C: All’s fair in love and war.

A: Every little helps.

No longer take a step forward.

B: There are two sides to every story.

D: Story of my life.

A: Nada.

B: Zip.

C: Zero.

Blackout – school bell rings.