About the Play:

Buddies has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Female/Male Scenes.

Buddies is a one-act drama by Mary Gallagher. A sharply drawn study of the lives and loves of six joyously uninhibited college students, which delves beneath their surface exuberance to reveal the fears and longings which trouble them. Buddies is an account of a group of middle-class Midwestern college students moving into young adulthood.

Buddies is set in the cluttered living room (and front porch) of an old frame house near the campus of a small, all-male Middle Western college in 1967. It is a late summer night when marijuana and Vietnam are just beginning to cast a long shadow over the young people of Middle America, and the occupants of the house, three laid-back male students are filling in their time with beer and rock music while waiting for classes to begin. They are visited by several young local ladies of their acquaintance, and while the resulting repartee is lively and often hilarious, deeper concerns are soon revealed. One of the girls, shy and a bit awkward, is unable to convey her feelings to one of the boys – who is equally clumsy in sensing her attraction. And another girl, a sexual tease fresh from an overseas jaunt, threatens to disrupt things further by flirting indiscriminately. Ultimately Buddies is touching and revealing examination of the nature and vulnerability of friendship, and sad-funny conflicts which, regardless of time or place, are an unavoidable part of the process of moving into young adulthood.

Buddies was first presented by New York's Ensemble Studio Theatre, as part of its noted One-Act Play Marathon. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and is regularly performed in college theatre productions as a showcase of student talent.

Cast: 3 female, 3 male

What people say:

"…what makes Miss Gallagher's writing particularly impressive is not her warm and touching account of her lonely, would-be lovers, but her ability to capture the camaraderie, conflicts and humor of all her play's buddies, male and female." — New York Times

"Mary Gallagher's Buddies is a choice one act." — WQXR

About the Playwright:

Mary Gallagher is an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, actress, director and teacher. She currently teaches playwriting and screenwriting at New York University/Tisch School of the Arts. She has written screenplays for Paramount, MGM, HBO, NBC, CBS, Lifetime and Showtime.