CATHLEEN

A young woman sends her mother off with a small errand, trying to hold catastrophe at bay a moment longer.

0:20Dramatic20s–30sBeginner

The speech43 words · 2 beats

0:00 / 0:20

Off-book

Why wouldn't you give him your blessing and he looking round in the door?

Isn't it sorrow enough is on every one in this house without your sending him out with an unlucky word behind him, and a hard word in his ear?

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Speaking to: Her grieving, foreboding mother.
What just happened: The family fears the last son is about to ride to the sea and be lost.
Objective: To keep the day ordinary against a rising sense of doom.
The turn: Practicality thins as the dread breaks through.
Watch out for: A quiet, grounded piece — the fear lives under the ordinary words.

Full work: Riders to the Sea New to the vocabulary? What’s a beat? →