The December People’s Choice Award goes to…

The people have spoken… The December’s People’s Choice Award goes to Bridgette Dutta Portman for her play An Emblem of Christmas, presented as a staged reading at Monday Night PlayGround on December 16th live at the David Brower Center and simulcast via Vimeo Livestream. Congratulations, Bridgette!

Courtesy of Bridgette, we’re pleased to share the first two pages from the award-winning script. Enjoy!

AN EMBLEM OF CHRISTMAS
by
Bridgette Dutta Portman

CHARACTERS 3 actors play the following roles:

LEX, she/her, 20s-30s, a struggling screenwriter who writes for Emblem corporation. Originally
from a small town in Colorado, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams.

NICK, he/him, 20s-30s. Lex’s high school sweetheart. Doubled with:

SAM, the head writer at Emblem.

EVIE, she/her, 20s-30s, another screenwriter at Emblem. Sweet and romantic. Doubled with:

FAITH, Nick’s best friend.
Casting note: Please cast in a way that reflects the diversity of our world. NICK is probably white, as he’s a spoof on the typical male lead in a Hallmark movie. The other characters can be
any race/ethnicity.

PLACE
A café in a small town / A writers room in LA

TIME
Present day. A few weeks before Christmas.

At rise: LEX sits at a table in a café, an untouched cup of coffee beside her. She fretfully scrolls through her phone. Enter NICK. He sees her, does a double-take, and
approaches.

NICK
Alexa?

LEX
Nick? Oh, my God. It’s been…

NICK
Forever. Or at least since senior prom. Feels like forever, huh?

LEX
Kinda does.

NICK
How long are you in town?

Beat.

LEX
I’m honestly not sure.

NICK
Oh. I thought…when you moved to LA—

LEX
That I was gonna make it big as a screenwriter? So did I.

NICK
What happened, if you don’t mind my asking?

LEX
Long, puke-tastic story.

NICK
I’ve got a few minutes before I have to be at work.

LEX
You sure?

NICK
Yeah. I’d really love to catch up.

Join us for the next Monday Night PlayGround on January 27th! For more info, click here!