About
the Play:
Indian Summer has become
a favourite of acting teachers for Female/Male Scenes.
Indian Summer is a full-length comedic drama by Gregory
S. Moss. Sent to stay with his step-grandfather in a Rhode Island
beach town for a summer, Daniel collides with Izzy, a feisty local.
In a spirited duelling of minds that plays off the typical "rom-com"
tropes, Indian Summer explores what connection is, romantic
and otherwise.
Indian Summer is a sweet
teenage romance, which
centers around two young men and one young woman dealing with sexual
desire and class loyalty. Abandoned by his wayward mom, Daniel, an
intellectually precocious but socially awkward 16-year-old, is
consigned to spend the summer with his widowed grandfather George in
a Rhode Island beach town, where the locals don't look kindly on city
kids. But his hapless vacation turns around when he meets a local
17-year-old girl, Izzy: tough-acting, back-sassing, beguiling, and
taken. This feisty romantic comedy follows a passing fling that could
last a lifetime – as impossible and charmed as an Indian
Summer.
Looking for a female/male duet
scene for class? For students unaccustomed to reading plays, the
playwright's style incorporates irregular punctuation and spelling to
indicate intentional inflection and rhythm and the use of full
capitals to emphasize words. The double slash lines indicate
characters interrupting each other, reminding us of real people in
everyday conversation. These textual notes are an excellent lesson
for actors as they think of text as an improvisation with words – a
beautiful way for actors to approach acting.
Indian Summer premiered
in 2016 at Playwrights
Horizons' Mainstage Theater off-Broadway in New York City and
won the 2016 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. Since
then the play has
been produced at
professional theatres and
performed
in college theatres as a showcase of student talent.
Cast: 1 female, 3 male
What people say:
"…warm and gently
breezy…[with] touchingly tentative coming-of-age dialogue…Although
Moss dips his toe into the dark and vast waters of the ocean, he
doesn't let it linger there for long. He's more interested in what
the tide brings in, however briefly, before washing it away along
with who knows what else." — Time Out NY
"…delectable…Playwright
Moss…mixes his plot strands and sifts his sands in a thoroughly
winning manner. Indian Summer is at once
charming and evocative, tender and funny; it even wets its toes in
the mystical." — The Huffington Post
"…lovely writing…a sweet
bit of romantic nostalgia." — BroadwayWorld.com
"…a complex…meditation on
lost opportunities brought about by fear-based decisions…Moss has
some important insights about the nature of relationships, the
injustice of circumstance, and the cruelty of time…." —
TheaterMania.com
About the Playwright:
Gregory S. Moss is an American playwright, educator, and
performer. He is an Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance at the
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and Head of the MFA Dramatic
Writing Program. His work has been presented by Soho Rep,
Steppenwolf, the A.R.T., La Comédie-Française, EST-LA, Clubbed
Thumb, Capital T Theatre and South Coast Rep, among others.