The Condor Egg

In this scene, a young girl is driven by artistic passion to do something new and unique - initially to raise a baby condor. Her brother tries to explain that she's staring at an unfertilized chicken egg, but she refuses to give up her dream and uses every ounce of perseverance and creativity to ensure that her condor will come into the world despite everyone's expectations for the mundane.

About the Playwright

Jeff Dunne is a playwright living near Baltimore, but his plays have been produced across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Both his full-length plays and shorter one-act scripts have won numerous festivals and competitions with professional and amateur theaters, and several works have been either written for or adapted to film. Jeff's focus in writing is to encourage people to see life from new perspectives, to open their minds to alternate interpretations and possibilities with respect to things that they might otherwise take for granted. When not writing, Jeff enjoys acting (not nearly enough) and chocolate (far too much), and runs a Not-For-Profit organization that works to improve our world through a better understanding of the nature of self and consciousness. He is also a researcher in physics, engineering, and data science at the Johns Hopkins University.

Excerpt from the scene

CHARACTERS:

JOSEY - A young girl, enthusiastic and full of creativity, passion, and drive.
EVAN - Josey's older brother, kind, practical, and not really much into art.

TIME: Modern day

SETTING: A kitchen or living room. JOSEY is sitting at a table, intently staring at an egg. She has a camera on the table near her, and a backpack close by on the floor.

(After a few moments, JOSEY gets up, moves her chair to a different side of the table, sits down, and intensely stares tat the egg from this new direction. She whistles to it.)

JOSEY:
Come on. You can do it

(She drums her fingers on the table, starting near the egg and moving back towards her. She suddenly thinks she hears something, and quickly grabs the camera and points it at the egg, ready to document the hell out of it. Nothing happens. As she pulls the notebook over to her and starts to notate this non-event, EVAN enters.)

EVAN:
Hey, Josey. The Anderson twins asked if we wanted what are you doing?

JOSEY:
What does it look like?

EVAN:
It looks like you're sketching an egg. Is this for the art-

(Indignant, JOSEY shows him a page of written notes.)

JOSEY:
Does this look like a sketch?

EVAN:
Whoa, Jos wound a little tight, are we?

JOSEY:
Sorry. It's been a very frustrating day.

EVAN:
Sorry to hear. So I guess this isn't for the art show. What are you-

JOSEY:
It is for the show. I wanted to do this sequence of photos showing the first moments of a baby condor, and then through its life. You know, first steps, first food-

EVAN:
A condor? Like (he flaps his arms in a slow, dramatic gesture)?

JOSEY:
Well, I'm not talking about birth control, you moron.

(EVAN stops for a moment, then shakes his head.)

EVAN:
Where'd you get a condor egg?

JOSEY:
From the fridge.

EVAN:
Those are chicken eggs.

JOSEY:
You don't know that.

EVAN:
I really do.

JOSEY:
You just think you do. I saw a picture online, and this looks just like it.

EVAN:
Lemme see.

(With a sigh of frustration, she puts down the notebook, and then says to the egg)

JOSEY:
Don't you dare

(JOSEY takes out her phone, navigates to an image, and then shows it to EVAN. He looks at it, then swipes through another few images.)

EVAN:
I admit that one picture looks a little like it-

JOSEY:
Same rough surface, and-

EVAN:
But did you see this next picture? With the dude holding it? It's the size of his whole hand.

(Reaching for the egg)

This one is only-

JOSEY:
Don't you dare touch that egg!

EVAN:
Wwwwhy?

JOSEY:
I've been with it for nineteen hours now, and if it hatches and imprints on you at the last minute, I'm gonna kill you.

EVAN:
Josey Josephine It's not a condor egg.

JOSEY:
It could be.

EVAN:
It's half the size of-

JOSEY:
So it's a dwarf condor. That's fine. It'll make the art even better. The story of a lone, midget condor as she struggles to overcome challenges and takes to the skies and