Tara Meddaugh

 FROG BAND-AID
A monologue from the full-length play, Free Space

Amelia’s excitement over her new connection with Ricky is diminished when she realizes she may end up hurting him, as she once hurt a frog she stepped on and directed toward a road. She vows she will act wiser with Ricky than the frog, but the domineering talking bingo chip she keeps in her pocket dashes her hope; it threatens Ricky and demands that she focus only on planning their special Bingo Event. Amelia defends her budding relationship with Ricky, but when the bingo chip begins to leave her alone, she concedes, saying she will put her friendship with Ricky on hold and work on the Bingo Night posters with the chip.

ABOUT THE PLAY, Free Space:
Amelia spends her days under the watchful eye of her mother, doing the same nothing she has done for years. Yet when Bingo arrives at her local community center, a talking Bingo chip convinces Amelia that forming her own game is the way out of this life and away from her controlling mother. However, as her mother begins acting like her newly arrived sister, and the chip becomes increasingly dominating, Amelia discovers her new life is nothing as she imagined. To get the full play, visit here.

SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE MONOLOGUE, Frog Band-Aid:
Amelia is thrilled when the boy she connects with, Ricky, gives her a tour of the cannery where he works. During the tour, she mentions she wishes to run her own life-changing Bingo Game, but has not been able to find a space to hold the event. Ricky offers to host the bingo game at the cannery warehouse. They are excited as they begin to make plans together for the game, as well as to visit a pet shop together. After Amelia leaves the cannery, she speaks to the mysterious Bingo Chip in her pocket which has become increasingly demanding.

MONOLOGUE DETAILS
Cast: Female (or male)
Age range: teen-adult
Genre: Dark Comedy/Drama/Absurd
Running time: Approximately 3 minutes
Setting: Outside, path walking to her home

EXCERPT below:

__________________________________ 

AMELIA

(to a bingo chip)

He wants to show me an albino frog!  I—

(pause)

Oh, you’re right.  I guess I don’t know how to act in a place like a pet shop.  With Ricky.  And around all those frogs.  I wouldn’t want to hurt them, but sometimes I do things I don’t mean to.  And Ricky said that’s not my fault. 

(pause) 

But I did step on a frog once and—I think I broke his paw.  Or his leg.  But I didn’t kill him, and I even took off the Band-Aid I had on my own knee and put it on the frog’s little leg.  I wish it’d had a picture on it.  Maybe a picture of a mouse.  Or a ‘possum.  He would have looked cute with a ‘possum Band-Aid on him.  But it was just a brown one.  Plain.  So then I sort of—pointed him toward the road and gave him a little push, to help him get started on his way…And I knew even as I pushed him, I was directing him toward that road.  And I don’t know why I did that, because I knew he was going to get hit by a car.  Maybe I wanted to see if the Band-Aid would save him, if he’d escape from under a car…But he didn’t…maybe he escaped from something else though… 

(looks down at chip) 

No, I wouldn’t!  I wouldn’t do that at the pet shop!  I don’t want to push any more frogs in that direction.  I’ll just go with Ricky and he can help me— END OF EXCERPT MONOLOGUE
Click below to get the entire monologue, Frog Band-Aid. To learn more about Amelia and Free Space, from which this monologue comes, click here.

For the complete full-length play, Free Space, from which the monologue, Frog Band-Aid comes, click below: