A comic-dramatic scene for two male actors from Fools Rush Inn
Two longtime friends reminisce about a drunken New Year’s Eve from their youth and discover that growing older might not be quite as terrible as they once imagined.
A scene about friendship, aging, and the stubborn refusal to surrender one’s sense of humor.
WHEN DID WE GET OLD?
A comic-dramatic scene from FOOLS RUSH INN
By Warren H. Gore
Characters: WAYNE and BIG JOHN
(Beat.)
WAYNE
When did we get old?
BIG JOHN
We ain’t old, Wayne. We’re just… older.
(Long Beat.)
WAYNE
Remember that New Year’s Eve party you had Senior Year?
BIG JOHN
(Laughing) Part of it.
WAYNE
I remember how cold it was. But, for some reason, we were standing out in your front yard, lookin’ at the stars…
BIG JOHN
Yeah. My parents were at a dance at the Base. This was when they still had those dances… Pearls, champagne, tuxedos…
WAYNE
We were a little drunk–
BIG JOHN
–More than a little–
WAYNE
–And we were lookin’ up at the stars… The Big Dipper reached right down and touched the cornfield across from your house. We were tryin’ to count the stars in the dipper, but every time we opened our mouths to speak, our breaths steamed up the sky, and all we could see was a frosty fog… So we stopped tryin’. And you remember what we did?
BIG JOHN
Not really.
WAYNE
We got real quiet. After a few minutes I said, “Do you realize in 20 years we’ll be in our 30’s and our lives will be almost over?” An’ you remember what you said?
BIG JOHN
Nope.
WAYNE
“I ain’t EVER gettin’ old!” And then you pissed on the gladiolas.
(THEY laugh.)
BIG JOHN
(after a moment) What was the point of that story?
WAYNE
I dunno. (Beat.) Just… maybe it’s okay to get old.
BIG JOHN
If there was a gladiola, I’d piss on it!
(THEY laugh.)
An excerpt from FOOLS RUSH INN by Warren H. Gore. Available for auditions, scene study, and classroom use. For the complete play, please contact the playwright.