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Cavalier

A Full-Length Play
By Jim Dalglish

A blizzard, a pregnancy, and an emotionally fragile high school quarterback take a small North Dakota town by storm.

"It was like something wild came over me and made me strong, and brave, and invincible. I was wild and couldn't be stopped... not by anyone."   - Billy

Characters

Medora - Owner of Medora’s Diner; mid forties. 
Luther - Retired doctor; early sixties.
Billy - Farm boy who works at diner; seventeen.
Stick - Young man with too much time on his hands.
Jack - Football and wrestling coach; mid thirties.
Diane - Jack’s wife; mid thirties.
Becky - Cheerleader; seventeen.
Pete - Billy’s father; early forties.

Setting

Medora’s Diner – an old-fashioned diner/bowling alley.  The diner is located one-and-a-half miles from Cavalier, a small town on the plains of North Dakota.

Time

Act I:  February, 1980 – Valentine’s Day
Act II: Late Summer, six months after the close of Act I.

Length

1 hr.; 45 mins.

Type

Nostalgic comedy/drama set on the Northern Plains in 1980.

Themes

Vanishing rural life in America; homosexuality / gay issues; child abuse; mental illness.

Acting Class Scenes

Dialog (Billy and Jack) pp. 49 - 57
Dialog (Billy and Becky) pp. 69 - 7 

Script Completed

First Draft (3-Act Version): 2001
Final Draft (2-Act Version):  200

Production History

First Draft Reading: Theatrefest, Newburyport, Massachusetts, 5/18/01
First Draft Reading: Provincetown Theatre Company Playwright’s Festival, Massachusetts, 3/23/01-3/30/01

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