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Sandra Hosking, M.F.A. |
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Playwright, journalist, teacher |
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Jigsaw Synopsis |
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Productions/Awards –
Spokane Civic Theatre in Spokane, WA March 2001 Critics’ choice for “Best New Script” and “Best Play” (honorable mention), Spokane June 2001 Finalist in Jane Chambers Playwriting Contest – Student Category June 2001 Shoreline-LFP Arts Council, Washington (reading) October 2002
Setting – Place: Maple Valley, far away from New York. Time: Present.
Technical Requirements – One interior set: A living room. Minor locales: A hospital room, a library, a bus station. Violin music, either live or recorded. Four jigsaw puzzles—two with sky and one with kittens—in various stages of completion.
Running Time - 120 minutes
Characters - 4 women; 2 men
Cecilia “Sissy” - A nurse, 30s. Antoinette “Toni” - Sissy’s younger handicapped sister, early 20s. Alan - Sissy’s longtime boyfriend, 30s. A mechanic. Mark - 20s, Toni’s boyfriend. Gail - The mother of the two girls, 50s. Mrs. Bitters - Sissy’s patient, 60s. Undergoing treatment for cancer.
Summary –
The earliest jigsaw puzzles were maps mounted on wood and were used to teach children geography. Cecilia “Sissy” dissects the events and relationships of her life over a period of months via a series of monologues and short scenes—all the while completing puzzles on stage. The puzzle is the one thing in her life that Sissy can completely control. One missing piece sets her on a tirade. Sissy has cared for her younger sister Toni, who is in a wheelchair, since their mother left when they were school-age children. Their father died of cancer several years later. Now, Toni announces she plans to move out on her own and begins dating Mark, a pizza delivery driver. Mark is her first boyfriend, and Sissy questions his motives for wanting a relationship with a handicapped person. Sissy’s longtime boyfriend Alan wants to marry her, but she resists. He expresses his disapproval of her overprotectiveness of Toni. Rather than be caught in the middle of the two sisters, he decides he will go on an extended trip. Meanwhile, Sissy seeks solace from a patient named Mrs. Bitters who is undergoing treatment for cancer. Gail, the girls’ mother, returns after roughly 12 years. Toni wants to bond with her mother who supports her need for independence. Sissy wants her mother to leave because she feels Gail is taking her place as the female role model in her sister’s life. And, she is skeptical as to why her mother comes back after so many years. Violin music, which represents Toni’s unbound soul, sets the tone for the action inside and between certain moments. By the end of the play, the pieces of Sissy’s life fall into place, though the picture they create isn’t necessarily perfect. The question is: Can Sissy accept it? |
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Phone: (509) 953-9928 |
