The PlayFinder™

THE STORY: Told in ten scenes, the play begins in the dark, as Jasper confesses his feelings of isolation to the audience. But he becomes unnerved in the dark and calls for lights. In the first scene, Jasper is stuck between floors on an elevator with a claustrophobic man, who goes quickly and hilariously over the edge. At work, a sleazy coworker gives him farcical advice on how to pick up women, and that night Jasper goes to a bookstore and tries to pick up a pretty clerk, Holly. He strikes out badly, but is picked up by another woman, who takes him home…where she lives with her boyfriend. A ride on the subway turns into a comic free-for-all as he and other riders enthusiastically give advice to a lost tourist. Jasper crosses paths with Holly again at a party and gamely starts a conversation, hoping she won’t recognize him, but she does and teases him flirtatiously. On their first date, Jasper and Holly go to a cozy restaurant for quiet conversation, but the couple seated on one side of them erupts in a battle of the sexes, while the couple on the other side engages in passionate verbal foreplay. Later, Jasper walks Holly home and their conversation seems mundane, but their fantasies about each other are anything but. A chance encounter with a homeless man forces Jasper to gain some perspective on his life. Back at work, Jasper snaps when a friend tells him Holly is dating someone else. He loses his cool, kicks a chair, breaks his foot, and gets fired. Feeling suddenly liberated, he hobbles to Holly’s bookstore and asks her if she is seeing someone else. She isn’t. They kiss—and leave immediately for the hospital. In the end, Jasper briefly talks to the audience again, understanding he must accept life’s uncertainties, which aren’t all bad, and make the best of things.