Selfie

Christine Quintana

• Publisher: Playwrights Canada Press
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9780369101273
• Topic: Literatur
• Subtopic: Drama

A new year of high school is full of excitement and potential—but three teens didn't expect it to bring such a dark change to their lives. After spending a summer reinventing herself in Paris, Emma is ready for her new life to start, while her best friend Lily is eager for them to reconnect. Lily throws a last-minute party fuelled by alcohol and Instagram, which leads to a long-awaited encounter between Emma and Lily's older brother Chris. But the next day Emma feels that something went terribly wrong. When a doctor's appointment and a visit from police confirm that there was a sexual assault at the party, and the whole school turns against Emma, the three friends grapple with what actually happened between Emma and Chris. This smart and intense play about the complexities of relationships and community opens up a much-needed conversation about the nature of consent.

Scene 1
The Rules

They address the audience. Behind them, large screens illuminate their descriptions.

Lily: Okay

Chris: Okay

Emma: Okay

Lily / Emma / Chris: So

Lily: Let’s say there’s three versions of you

Chris: The one everyone thinks you are

Emma: The one you wished you really were

Lily: And the real you. Whatever that means

Emma: And take any person

Chris: Your sister

Lily: Your best friend

Emma: Your uh . . . friend

Chris: Which version of them do you know?

Lily: Which version of them do they give you?

Emma: And how can you tell?

Lily: Okay, so take the Insta test

Chris: Lily loves the Instagram test

Emma: She says you can tell everything you need to about someone by looking at their pics

Lily: What do they put out there?

Emma: What do they want people to see?

Chris: What do they want to hide?

Lily: Take Emma

Chris: Lily

Emma: Chris

Chris / Emma / Lily: Well

Lily: Emma used to always make a goofy face in pictures

Emma: Chris doesn’t have to take selfies, because there’s always someone taking a photo of him

Chris: I’m pretty sure Lily only posts selfies

Lily: Look! In every pic, she’s trying to hide

Emma: Every photo has a bunch of people in it

Chris: Every photo: duckface. That’s the face she makes when she’s jacking the bathroom mirror for an hour every morning

Lily: But this summer, she suddenly became a babe

Chris: Mom would kill her if she saw this one

Emma: Here he is with a bunch of girls in crop tops. Here he is with the soccer team

Lily: Emma 2.0

Emma: But it feels like something is missing

Chris: The guys on my team love her —

Lily: Is she still the same on the inside?

Emma: Is that who he really is?

Chris: But do they actually know her?

Lily: So that’s Emma

Chris: Lily

Emma: Chris

Lily: And if that’s all you saw, what would you think?

Emma: I don’t know why he always has to put on a show

Lily: I don’t know why she suddenly changed

Chris: I don’t know why it feels like she can’t always be herself

Lily: The thing is, in the end, it doesn’t matter who you really are. What matters is what everyone else gets to see

Chris: Right?

Emma: Right?

Lily: Right.

Scene 2
Instagram #1

Lily snaps a photo of herself wearing a new winter coat, sipping a coffee — it’s autumn, leaves all around. A warm filter.

Lily: Nothing says back to school like new boots and my first pumpkin spice latte of the season. What do you say we spice things up this year? LOL let’s have a great year! #backtoschool #newboots #coffee #yum #pumpkinspice #newbeginnings

Scene 3
Literally Dead

School hallway. Lily waits, texting furiously. Emma enters.

Emma: Hey!

Lily: Emma! Ohmigod, where were you?

Emma: The flight from Paris was seven hours, dude, I had to turn off my phone!

Lily: ’Kay, anyway, thank god you’re home! I almost died.

Emma: What? How?

Lily: I was so bored this summer I literally died, but anyway, welcome home — oh my god do you still speak English? Parlais anglais? Voulez-vous coucher?

Emma: Oh my god stop.

Lily: Is that a baguette in your bag or are you just happy to see me?

Emma: Oh how I missed you, Lily.

Lily: You mis...