CAST LIST:

SCENE I
TEACHER: Carly T
STUDENT: Catherine
SCENE II
MOTHER: Carly B
DAUGHTER: Catherine
SCENE III
BOB: Carly T
PAUL: Carly B
YOUNG BOB: Catherine
YOUNG PAUL: Aviah
SCENE IV
TINA: Carly B
ADELE: Catherine
EMA: Carly T
OFFICER: Aviah
SCENE V:
TEACHER: Carly T
STUDENT: Catherine

SCENE I
VOICEOVER: "Thats one of the great things about music. You can sing a song to
85,000 people and theyll sing it back for 85,000 different reasons."

TEACHER: Welcome to day one of our Inspiration Essay Oral Presentations. Whod like
to read their essay first? [Pause] Anyone? [Pause]
STUDENT: [raising hand tentatively] Ill do it, I guess.
TEACHER: Excellent. Okay, gather your things, and come to the front of the class.
[student gets up and goes to the front of the stage, hesitating]
TEACHER: Well?
STUDENT: For my oral presentation, Id like to talk about music. Music is
SCENE II (song: a bon jovi song)

(Scene opens up as a flashback of the main character as a little girl)

*young girl walks around her living room and closely listens to Dead or Alive
by Bon Jovi playing in the background on her parents cassette while having a
house party*
*random people mill about having little conversations*
Mom: *walks up to daughter and crouches down to speak to her* Hey honey are
you having fun? Why dont you go outside and play with your sisters.
Girl: Mama, what song are you playing in that little box?
Mom: Its Bon Jovi song. Why, you like him?
Girl: How do you even ride a steel horse? That doesnt sound like a very nice
pony, like a robot pony!
Mom: *lightly laughs* No, it doesnt even mean a horse at all, its another way
to say an electric guitar.
Girl: So Bon Jovi likes to ride guitars?
Mom: Well, no, you see its just a metaphor. He doesnt ride the guitar, he plays
it.

Girl: Why do you like him mama?

Mom: Well ,they were so popular back when daddy and I were young. Their
music made people happy and, yes, cheesy as it sounds, it made them forget
about their own lives even if just for a second. These days Im not even sure if
theyre together making music anymore, but the memories make me remember
good times. Someday youre gonna have a band, or, multiple that make you feel
the way that I did back then.
Girl: Why is it so important?
Mom: Its not so much important to everyone as it is a personal thing. They
were big back when all I did was go to school and spend time with my friends.
It was carefree, and a great time in my life. Hopefully youll have times like
that.

SCENE III
(play from 0:30 - 1:16: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btTbG0UZfXE)
The set is a room with a couch. A few Cowsills records are lying around. BOB walks on,
his guitar around his neck. He sets it down and looks around. His brother PAUL walks in
behind him, with a hat that says "GRIMM". The brothers greet each other happily,
before turning to the audience.
BOB: Would you believe me if I told you that when we were only a little older than you
kids, we already had a large following, three hit records and had been on the Ed
Sullivan showtwice?
PAUL playfully hangs on to BOB.

PAUL: Life was pretty crazy for us growing up as one of the many talented Cowsill
children. Im Paul Cowsill, and at one point in my life, my family and I were the biggest
thing in America.

BOB, gently pushing PAUL off: There were seven of us kids in total. With the help of our
parents, we traveled around in a bus and sang to sold out audiences every night.
PAUL, very excitedly: It was a hoot and the most fun Ive ever had! We were even the
inspiration behind the TV show, the Partridge Family.

BOB, goes and takes a seat in a chair: Recently, a couple of ninth graders called my
brother and me up to talk about our careers for a school project. To tell you the truth, I
was really surprised. We hadnt really realized that our songs from fifty years ago still
connected to people. But, every bit of music is relevant to somebody, so we agreed.

At this point, YOUNG BOB and YOUNG PAUL come out and sit down with a Beatles
record. They listen to it and talk.

BOB: We told the kids many things. As a musician, I cant even begin to tell you how
satisfying it is to sing your songs out to an audience who will sing it right back to you.
When we were kids, my brothers and I absolutely worshipped the Beatles. They
inspired us and gave us a lot of joy growing up.

YOUNG BOB and YOUNG PAUL grab the guitar and tambourine and silently talk
amongst themselves, while writing words on a piece of paper.
PAUL: Having the ability to do that with your own music is one of the most rewarding
experiences anyone could ever have. Theres absolutely nothing like a hit record.

BOB, a little more serious: For my siblings and I, music was one of the only things we
had that got us through some pretty hard times. Our home life wasnt the easiest, but
thats another story. Music was our only reminder that there was still some good in the
world.
YOUNG BOB and YOUNG PAUL mime playing the instruments, and then take a bow
as if they have finished a performance

PAUL, pacing around: When we played together, we could forget all of our troubles and
just enjoy life in the moment. We enjoyed the smiles that we put on faces.
BOB: I guess what we're trying to say is that for us, music is something that is a big and
crucial part of our lives. Its important for my family and we couldnt imagine life without
it.

The two brothers come closer to each other and put their arms around each other's
shoulders. YOUNG BOB and YOUNG PAUL do the same.
PAUL: We've grown up a little since our heyday. We're pretty busy these days, me with
my TV show Grimm (Im an extreme landscaper), but there will always be time to sit
back and reminisce on all of the good times. You have to keep doing what you love, so
thats what we're going to do.
SCENE IV (song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MHLGCtUnhM)
A screen appears saying,
Carly T: YEAR: 1989
Carly B: PLACE: A SMALL BASEMENT IN PRAGUE, CZECHOSLOVAKIA
Catherine: WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF THE VELVET REVOLUTION THAT WILL
SOON OVERTURN THE CONFORMIST GOVERNMENT THAT HAS RULED
CZECHOSLOVAKIA FOR YEARS.
[3 women gather together in a tight circle. ADELE has a radio.]
TINA: Were all here then.
ADELE: How is everyone?
EMA: Fine, fine.
TINA: As fine as one can be these days.
ADELE: [turning on radio] Tina, hows your husband?
RADIO: INTRO. WHILE EVERYONE IS TALKING, THE RADIO BROADCASTS NEWS
TINA: Oh, this is interesting. He sent me a letter from prison-

EMA: So ridiculous, arresting someone for offering flowers to the police.

TINA: I know, I know, we all know. It didnt help that he refused to cut his hair short as
well. Anyway, he sent a letter. And in the letter, he said [stands up, takes out piece of
paper, searches for correct section] he said, Please send me my Velvet Underground
Albums.
EMA: The Velvet Underground!
ADELE: My husband and I sang one of their songs at a march last week.
TINA: Oh yes, you mentioned that march.
ADELE: It was broken up by the police. Its a miracle we werent arrested too.
EMA: Shhhh! Its Plastic People of the Universe!
RADIO: PLASTIC PEOPLE OF THE UNIVERSE SONG
[the women are silent for 5-8 seconds while listening to the song]
ADELE: Do you ever think about all the other people sitting in their basements listening
to the same songs? Its almost funny, music being our revolution.
EMA: But just imagine it. [stands up passionately] Thousands of people hearing the
same songs. And those songs giving them hope for the future, hope that one day we will
be free. It seems like such a small thing, but it brings people together just like the
marches and pamphlets. I mean, look at us now. Were here together just to listen to
music. Would any of this have happened without it?
ADELE: (hesitantly) I guess music is a universal language. Everyone can relate to it, no
matter where in the world they are or whats happening in their lives. Maybe thats why
its so powerful, why it can never truly be stopped.
TINA: You know, my husband said something else in his letter. He said that right now, it
seems hopeless. And it seems like things will never get better. Tomorrow may not be
better right now, but eventually it will be. And in the end, he said, its cliche, but rock and
roll will save us all.
EMA: (after a second) Its true. Rock and roll will always be there, wont it?
[the women are silent as the music keeps playing, and they take each others' hands-- all
3 women are standing now]

[banging is heard offstage, and the women stand up in shock.]

[police officers run onstage and grab their arms]
OFFICER: Dont move or we shoot. You are under arrest for broadcasting illegal radio
stations in your household.
[women fight back, but eventually give up as police lead them offstage]
[all three women take keys out of their pockets and begin waving them in the air]
EMA: Rock and roll will save us all!
[music continues to play as a transition]
SCENE V (song: maybe this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcdOLKx2XG8)
TEACHER: Well?
STUDENT: For my oral presentation, Id like to talk about music. Music is the basic
combination of frequencies at different rates in a certain order to create noises that are
pleasing to the human ear. But in reality, it is so much more. Music is one of the oldest
things the world has to offer. Where there is human existence, there is music. Where
there is emotion, there is music. Music unites people; in times of darkness, peril, fear,
when we feel like the world has nothing left for us, there is music. Music can be the
earth beneath bare feet, grounding, steady, and a white ship rocking gently with the
ocean at night, nothing but the sea and and the stars and the sky. Music can be bones
and blood and revolutions, and the beginning of galaxies, and glitter, and gardens, and
the rawness of the human soul- a heart, beating, and hopelessly alive. Music brings
people together when nothing else can; I remember going to concerts, the feeling of
bright lights and roaring crowds and pure starlight, pouring into my heart and out of my
soul. I remember feeling larger than anything else in the universe. Music is timeless:
decades, centuries, generations pass and we sing the same songs again and again
until the end of time. When you think about it, the human race is a miracle. Out of the
countless lifeforms on this planet, the countless organisms simply surviving, humans
actually live. Humans feel. And while there is science, and math, and facts, nothing is
more human than music. There are 7 billion people on this planet, 7 billion human
beings with souls and hearts, 7 billion pairs of ears that hear one song, and sing it for 7
billion different reasons.
SONG

"We are Young" by FUN