The P.E. Teacher
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.357 Magnum
- 2019, Hollins College, Roanoke, VA.
- Published in Black Eye and Other Short Plays.
Dana Willets, an African American lesbian, has just been hired to teach P.E. classes at Rosa Parks Middle School. She is replacing another lesbian teacher who resigned suddenly in mid-term under mysterious circumstances. Dana’s attempts to discover the reason for this resignation are frustrated by the vice principal, who lectures her on the need to be a team player.
Dana recognizes the English teacher Anne, who is white, as a former lover from college, and as she presses her for information about the P.E. teacher, Anne becomes increasingly nervous and uncommunicative. An African American girl is assaulted in the halls by male students, and the school nurse, guidance counselor, and vice principal engage in a cover‑up of the incident, focusing their attention on the attitude of the victim.
As information about the P.E. teacher’s resignation begins to surface, Anne is scapegoated for her recent breakdown, and a gun that was concealed in the sofa of the lounge resurfaces in the violent resolution of the drama.
Five women, one man, two girls
Thirty minutes
Single set