About the Play:

Our Place is a one-act comedic drama by Terry Wayne Gabbard. The unassuming location of a dock extending out onto a small lake serves as the backdrop for five different stories. The motivations for each character's visit to the dock are different, but through humour and tragedy, they all discover the true meaning of Our Place – both comedic and tragic. Particularly suitable for schools and play contests.

Our Place is comprised of five unrelated scenes featuring different characters who visit the same wooden dock that extends out onto a lake. On a cool autumn night, Jake (17) arrives with Holly (17) at a secluded spot. The couple feels an immediate connection to this place as if it were put there just for them. Things seem perfect until Anne (17) and her date, Lyle (17), arrive. On another day, early in the morning, Beth (50's) has plans to spend the day with her dad, Robert (80's) who is suffering from Alzheimer's, at their favourite fishing place. She has high hopes for catching some sunshine, a few fish, and her dad's fading memories. The third story involves Al (40's), who arrives at the dock with his family and has high expectations for their family canoe trip. The only problem is that his wife Brenda (40's) would rather stay inside, his son Nicky (13) has a chip on his shoulder, and his daughter Sherry (8) likes to see life on the darker side. In the fourth story, Cory and Liberty (20's) are having a picnic lunch out by the lake, but a realization about tuna-fish sandwiches sends a shockwave through their relationship and brings about questions of who they are and what lies ahead for them. In the fifth story, Stanley (16) escapes the hardships of his life to blow off some steam on the dock when his younger sister Sidney (8) arrives. All he wants is for her to go away, but she insists on staying with him. The entire ensemble gathers on the dock together for the final scene. In a poetic epilogue, they all learn what it means to experience joy and sorrow, love and heartbreak, and ultimately, life and death.

Our Place was first performed in 2014 at the North Carolina Theatre Festival where it was named Best New Play. The 40-minute play is now massively popular with schools because, like Almost, Maine by John Cariani, it can accommodate a large cast with a multitude of ages represented, but doesn't require that cast to all appear onstage together until the end. This allows for maximum participation while making rehearsals significantly less taxing than your average show.

Cast: 7 female, 7 male

What people say:

"Our Place offers roles of varying difficulty levels, and, because it's separate vignettes, it lends itself to a flexible rehearsal schedule." — Lacy Browne, Wilson Area High School

"We performed Our Place by Terry Gabbard for the South Mississippi High School Dramafestival. We were awarded the Distinguished Play award and will be advancing to the Mississippi Theatre Association State Festival in Jan. 2021. The adjudicators appreciated the depth of the characters and the opportunity for many students to have the spotlight during the show. The set is minimal and easily do-able on a tight budget." — Olivia Dunwoody, Biloxi High School Tribe Theatre Productions

"The script for Our Place is beautiful. The author left room for performers to create interesting and unique characters. The play has it all: comedy, introspection, and heart-break (real and imagined). Each rehearsal was fun when working on this play." — Melanie Whiting, Lubbock Christian School

About the Playwright:

Terry Wayne Gabbard has been a public school theatre teacher since 2003, and has worked at both middle and high schools in Florida and North Carolina. He holds a bachelor's degree in theatre education from the University of Florida and a master's in school leadership from Queens University of Charlotte. Originally from Gainesville, Florida, he currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he is a member of the fine arts department at Ardrey Kell High School.