THE PLUM COLORED SWEATER
a dramatic/comedic monologue
by
Tara Meddaugh
Jasmine knows it’s only a sweater, but she just might be obsessively in love with it. She can’t help thinking of it, imagining it, touching it. She feels guilty; she cannot afford it, and it goes against her friend-policy of not buying what another friend already owns (Lilah has the same sweater). Still. She knows the sweater wants her. And she wants the sweater too.
DETAILS:
Genre: Dramatic, comedic
Running time: Approximately 4 minutes
Cast: Female
Age range: teen-20s
Setting: clothing store
Time period: Contemporary
JASMINE
(to Dave)
I want to go shopping. And not just that typical “girl shopping” where you try on seven pairs of skinny jeans and four tank tops in different shades of blue. I don’t need to check to make sure the camel belt looks just right around my…. I don’t need to try on anything—because I know exactly what I want. Right now.
(pause)
I want a new sweater.
(pause)
And I know I already have a bunch of sweaters, and you’re right—they fit fine. They fit well. Beautifully. And I love them. Really—every one. Well, except for the pilled up green one. I should really just get rid it. But the others…I wouldn’t stop wearing them. I just…
(pause)
See, I didn’t even know I wanted a new one. You know me. Practical. I don’t buy what I don’t need. I even saw this same sweater, a few weeks ago, and didn’t think much of it. Lilah was wearing it, and I thought, that’s a cool sweater. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with it. But Lilah has it. It’s hers, and…
(pause)
I know you’re not a girl, but…you know how Eva dropped that blueberry cheesecake on me at Junior Prom? Got that caramel sauce all over my hair and the blueberry stains never did come out of the fabric. Well, that wasn’t because she’s clumsy. It was because I came in a sequin dress, just like her! And my dress wasn’t even the same color!
(pause)
So…I don’t really want to do that to Lilah. Or have her do anything to me. We run in the same dance circle, you know?
(pause)
But this…is…the same sweater. The same cut, the same beautiful purple-plum color, so rich, but light at the same time. That same softness, mixed with a little of something else to make it…rougher? It’s just…it’s a perfect sweater…I would never have even thought of buying a sweater that Lilah already has, but…
(pause)
I think it wants me. I know that sounds weird—it’s just a sweater—but a girl sometimes knows these things.
(pause)
It touched me yesterday…I’m walking through the shop with Eva, going—END OF EXCERPT
Click below for the digital copy of the monologue, The Plum Colored Sweater, by Tara Meddaugh.