English Oral Training II     Spring 2003
Play outlines

     Below follow the play outlines submitted by the students in our class. Please read through each one carefully, noting the ones you like best. You will be asked to vote for your five favorite ones. It may be useful to print them out, then to rate all the play ideas in descending order, 1 through 18 (at present 2 outlines are still missing).

(1) Emily, a talented girl, lives with her father and two little sisters in a small town. She dances very well, so being a famous dancer and performing on the stage has been her dream since she was a little girl. She practices all day, trying her best to improve her dancing skill, and hoping to make her dream come true. Her father works very hard in order to earn enough money to pay for her dancing class tuition. One year later she enters a well-known dancing college. Just as everything seems to be going smoothly, her father suddenly dies of an accident. Therefore, in order to make a living, Emily has to work and cannot continue attending dancing school - she must give up her dream. Emily struggles day and night.... No matter how much she loves dance, she finally she still decides to earn such money and take good care of her two little sisters. This is a story talking about a girl who has a beautiful dream but is forced to give it up and face the cruel reality.

(2) For some time, I have been concerned about cultural transcendence and generality. I often observe the similarities and dissimilarities between my peers and me. I find that we, who grew up in the 70s, regardless of whether we are from the city or country, share some of the same growing up experiences, such as attending cram school, working hard for the Joint High School or College Entrance Exam, playing video games and computers, etc. Even some day when we get married, we do almost the same things. It is fascinating to look back on our childhood experience and to imagine our future. Hence, I'd like to work up a play that focuses on the growing up experience that most of us are familiar with. I'd like to entitle my play as "That's How We Grew Up". I have to confess this idea comes form several plays and feature films that I have read and watched, but I would try to make it uniquely my own.
     The play I propose is a three-scene play, with each scene taking at most five minutes. The first scene takes place one summer night before the JCEE when Jenny sits at her desk to prepare for the exam and her tutor sits beside her to teach her English. The second scene is about divorce. Joseph and Cathy decide to get divorced; the scene will center on how they tell their child. The third scene is a break-up scene, in which Bill and Joan decide to break up after their four-year relationship. If the idea is adopted, I would work out the details with my group.

(3) This is a story of 4 girls who are good friends in senior high school. Wherever they go, whatever they do, they are always together. Everyone knows they are very close. Before their graduation from high school, they make a big plan to go travelling together for one week just after their graduation ceremony. However, during that week, quarrels happen one after one among them. Each of them gradually finds that there are certain problems among them. From these quarrels, they find that they have tolerated one another for a long time, but were not really aware of it before. They finally realize that they are all too confident of their friendship which is in fact very weak. On the seventh day, they decide to finish their trip and they go their separate ways. And they never meet again.

(4) Once upon a time in China there was a geomancer who was very much noted in his times. One day he was out looking for the 寶穴. All of a sudden, he found a sword which read that there would be a catastrophe that would destroy everything. The only way to survive the deadly disaster was to find the 3 Demon Balls and to smash them. The geomancer decides to find the Balls and goes on his way. The 1st Ball is in a volcano that is very rare in China; the volcano is hard to get to because there is a fire-breathing dragon guarding the gate. The geomancer plans to cut off the tongue of the dragon because this is where his soul is. The geomancer decides to trade his own tongue with that of the dragon. He lies to the dragon, saying, "My soul is also in my tongue. If you can trade yours with me, you will have eternal life because my soul is eternal." The dragon agrees, and the geomancer gets the 1st Ball. The 2nd Ball is in the extremely deep ocean and is guarded by a big turtle which has the power to cause tidal waves. The geomancer makes up his mind and rows to the turtle. The turtle gives him a riddle. If the geomancer can answer, the turtle will let him pass. But it is too difficult. The geomancer gets the turtle drunk and tries to get the answer. Finally he gets the 2nd Ball. But unfortunately he finds out that he himself is the 3rd Ball, so he sacrifices himself in the end.

(5) My idea is to adapt Book 22 of Iliad, the death of Hector. The plot could be simplified a lot, but we should express the backgrond clearly. We could put an emphasis on Hector's negotiations with Achilles.
The summary:
     Hector now stands as the only Trojan left outside Troy. Priam, overlooking the battlefield from the Trojan ramparts, begs him to come inside, but Hector, having given the overconfident order for the Trojans to camp outside their gates the night before, now feels too ashamed to join them in their retreat. When Achilles finally returns from chasing Apollo, Hector confronts him. At first, the mighty Trojan considers trying to negotiate with Achilles, but he soon realizes the hopelessness of his cause and flees. He runs around the city three times, with Achilles at his heels. Zeus considers saving Hector, but Athena persuades him that the mortal's time has come. Zeus places Hector's and Achilles' respective fates on a golden scale, and, indeed, Hector's sinks to the ground. During Hector's fourth circle around the city walls, Athena appears before him, disguised as his ally Deiphobus, and convinces him that together they can take Achilles. Hector stops running and turns to face his opponent. He and Achilles exchange spear throws, but neither scores a hit. Hector turns to Deiphobus to ask him for a lance; when he finds his friend gone, he realizes that the gods have betrayed him. In a desperate bid for glory, he charges Achilles. However, he still wears Achilles' old armor-stolen from Patroclus's dead body-and Achilles knows the armor's weak points intimately. With a perfectly timed thrust he puts his spear through Hector's throat. Near death, Hector pleads with Achilles to return his body to the Trojans for burial, but Achilles resolves to let the dogs and scavenger birds maul the Trojan hero.

(6) When the prince married Sleepy Beauty, they were expected to live happily ever after. But in reality, they end up quarrelling about responsibilities of who should do the house chores, who should take care of the child, and who should be the breadwinner for the family. Long before they reach a consensus, they face another serious problem which puts their relationship in crisis. The husband has an extramarital affair with another girl, who is a younger, more charming and vigorous than his wife. Just as the couple's relationship is about to fall apart, something happens to save their marriage. The husband receives news that his child is dying from an accident when he is making love with the girl. The husband feels deep regret and returns to comfort his wife. As they console each other, they become more concerned about each other's welfare, and they begin to love each other again. They finally learn a new lesson - that every marriage has its frustrations and difficulties to be faced.

(7) David works in a post office selling stamps. At home David does nothing but watch TV. His wife Teresa is a housewife who cares only about the trifles of daily life. Their lives are boring and there is no romantic feeling between them. Their son Michael, a junior high school student, does not like to study, but only reads Chinese chivalrous novels all the time. One day Michael decides to leave his home and go to the mountains in order to find someone to teach him kungfu. His parents are worried about him, but the police cannot find him, so David decides to leave his job for a while to look for Michael with Teresa. They visit a lot of Buddhist and Taoist temples in the mountains but still cannot find their son. In one temple, however, they meet an old monk who became a monk since after his wife died. They also meet a thief who has escaped from jail; he became a thief because he could find warmth in his family. David and Teresa talk with them and listen to their stories. They recall the romantic feelings they had for each other and regret that they did not really care that much about their son. When they went back home and prepared to continue looking for Michael, they found he was already home, and then the family began to live together happily.

(8) Tay is a constable. He has recently received a duty from his leader, Mr.Lington, requiring him to disguise himself as a death-row convict so as to test a new invention which is to replace the death penalty. It is an implantation put into the death prisoner's head. First, the prisoner is marked as a dangerous person. He may have to live in a remote place because whenever he approaches anyone, the implant makes a loud noise to warn people.Then if the prisoner has any intention to harm others or commit a crime, the implant will take away his nerve and cause him a painful headache.Tay is misunderstood by his parents and his girlfriend because he can not tell them this secret. Nobody likes him and he can hardly get any food to eat for no one will sell him food. As Tay cannot hold a knife, he tries to drink to satisfy his hunger. Later, Tay is found dead in the hillside hut where he lived. He has proven that this new penalty method is more cruel than the death penalty, as it has tormented him into the desire to die rather than to survive.

(9) Characters: Jim: a senior high school student Helen: Jim's younger sister; Lily, Mike: Jim's classmates
One morning during winter vacation on the way to the park
Lily, Mike: Hi, Jim. How was your Chinese New Year? Is she your sister?
Jim: It was fine. I went to Lukang with my family. This is my younger sister, Helen. Helen, they are my classmates, Lily and Mike.
Lily, Mike: nice to meet you, Helen.
Helen: nice to meet you, too.
Lily: Lukang? It must have been packed with people. Did you see the Lantern Festival in the Matsu temple?
Helen: Yes, we did. It was crowded. They held the Lantern Festival in the Pilgrims Hotel. The lanterns were exquisite.
Mike: I have heard that there's a lot of good food in Lukang. Did you find any?
Lily: You are really a gluttonous guy.
They all laugh.
Jim: Yes, we bought a lot of things, included sweets, and some specialty goods. We almost spent half a day on shopping.
Helen: I also bought a pair of clogs and a silk skirt. After that we still went to Hua-tan to visit the flower gardens. Flowers are cheap there.
Jim: How long will you talk about your clothing and flowers? By the way, we bought a lot of delicious food. How about coming to my house to try it? After that we could go see a movie.
Lily, Mike, Helen: Great, let's go.

(10) A special dinner
Characters:
1. Jack: 28 yrs, a junior high school physics teacher
2. Michael: 29 yrs, an engineer working for Acer
3. Paul: 28 yrs, a Ph.D. candidate in biological engineering at Harvard
4. Sophia: 28 yrs, Jack's wife, also Jack's university classmate. They got married when they graduated from Taida. She also teaches physics in a junior high school.
5. Amy: 25 yrs, Michael's fiancee, who loves him very much, but she is heartbroken by Michael's decision and she marries a colleague instead.
6. Patrick: yrs, Amy's colleague who finally becomes her husband.

Plot: Jack, Michael and Paul go to the same university. One night in January, they got together for a hot pot meal. They chatted with one another merrily. They talked about their jobs, their families and their hopes for the future. They envied one another. Jack envied Michael and Paul's single life, Michael's challenging job, and how smoothly Paul's studies were going, and his chance of going abroad for advanced studies. Michael admired Jack's stable life and happy marriage. As for Paul, even though he was quite lucky on his way to advanced studies, he decided to give up his chance to go to Harvard. He wanted to go abroad, not for advanced studies, but to find himself. He wanted to find out the true meaning of life. Tonight, he comes to realize that people are apt to undervalue what they have in hand, and easily think highly of what others have. He even came to the understanding that it's not important which road you choose, but it's very important to know the reason for choosing a certain road. Therefore, once you make a decision, you must face the outcome whether it's good or bad.

(11) Cast
Two thieves, a storyteller and his wife, townspeople
Story: There is a story teller who is very famous. However, he makes up so many stories that the people in his town don't believe anything he says. One day he encounters a witch. The witch gives him a magical ring. When he wears this treasure he can only tell the truth. In a word, he loses his ability to make up lies and, of course, he can't tell any more stories. However, one day two thieves come to his home and steal the ring. The thieves don't know what the ring is and one of them wears it. When the thief comes into the street, he tells everyone he meets that he is a thief. The thief tells somebody that he broke into his home and stole something. People start to doubt these thieves but they don't know how to prove it and arrest them. The storyteller hears about it. And one day, he tells a "true" story of himself in the market about how an "unbelievable" story teller gets a magic ring. People ask his help to arrest the thieves. The story teller and people in town set up a trap together and arrest the thieves. After that, he gives the ring back to the witch because he doesn't need it anymore. He can tell stories again, and the people believe what he says.

(12) Characters:
James; Bob, James' friend; Julian; Brenda, Julian's assistant; Policeman

          This is a play about a boy, James, who dreams of becoming a superstar. One day a he runs into a man, Julian, who is a manager of a film producting company. Julian promises to make James into a superstas within 6 months. Therefore, James joins the training program provided by the company, for which he pays tuition. Julian says that if James is qualified to act in a film within 3 months, the company will give his money back. But finally, James finds that Julian is a conman, and James has been cheated out of a lot of money.

(13) Jason and Rachel have fallen in love. Jason spends most of his time every day together with Rachel. In addition, they are constantly on the phone, from early morning to midnight. Jason's parents don't interfere it although they don't approve of his doings. Not until two incidents occur do problems arise in the Wang family. One is that Rachel goes to Jason's home to celebrate Mrs. Wang's birthday. Rachel, however, feels angry, for she thinks that Mrs. Wang has treated her improperly. The other is that when Rachel goes to see Jason after a car accident, Mr. Wang doesn't talk to her, so she thinks Mr. Wang doesn't like her. The misunderstanding and the arguments lead the Wang family into chaos. Mr. and Mrs. Wang can't accept Rachel and they want Jason to stay away from her. Mr. Wang is a stubborn chauvinist. His wife is an obedient traditional woman, and sometimes very irrational. Jason doesn't want to leave Rachel, so he and Rachel must make every effort to find a solution to their difficult situation. However, Jason can't stand the pressure he feels he is under and can't change his parents' ideas, so they eventually break up.

(14) Cady is a lovely and innocent village girl. She is raising a little chestnut brown squirrel called Pink. She has a serious-looking father, a loving mother, and an excellent elder brother, Wilson. Cady likes to help others, and gets along with her classmates quite well. Her mother brings her to school and picks her up, rain or shine, and makes a lunch for every day. Every day before she turned 13, Cady was happy. Wilson is a handsome, smart brother, but a little conceited. His father and mother dote on him. As Cady grows up, she is increasingly proud of Wilson and views him as a role model; however, at the same time she gradually becomes jealous of him, and wants to surpass her brother's achievements. She wants to prove that she can do anything Wilson can do, and do it even better than he does. Ever since Cady entered high school, she has studied very hard. Now she is reducing the times she must serve as class monitor. She does not go out with her friends on holidays, and has become less active. In the meantime, she still shows consideration for her classmates, she still has the support of friends. Fortunately Cady gets into a top university. Cady thought she would be happier once she got into college, but she was wrong. She used to be surrounded by friends, but she must learn to live by herself. Without family or close friends by her side, Cady is forced to become an adult and independent. Lingering over past memories and lost in everyday realites, Cady cannot do anything to help herself.

(15) Main idea: When one is good at what he or she is interested in, everything is fine. But not everyone is so lucky. When one finds that they can never be outstanding in what they are interested in because they are not talented in it, what should they do? Should they follow their passion or face the facts and choose another way? And in a world where people only praise success and neglect hard work, how would a failure feel when he or she reaches the 99% perspiration, lacking the 1% inspiration?
Summary: I-mai, a famous, wealthy business man meets May, a second-class writer, at a party, and they start to realize how a decision made ten years ago has affected them. May doubts if it's right to follow her dream.
Script: On campus, I-mai meets May, who recently participated in a play writing contest, but failed. May is from a poor family and she has been told by her teachers that she will never excel in writing. She is limited in natural talent, which has been shown by her constant failure in contests. In contrast, I-mai has been drawing people's eyes both on line and in contests. May thought interest was more important so she decided to hang on even though she knew she wouldn't perform well. But I-mai chose to join the business world. She thought that more practical.
Ten years later, I-mai was invited to a party held by a famous literary institution because of her many donations. There she runs into May, who was considered a second-rate writer.
      May tells her story: After graduating from college she wrote a column for a newspaper, but then the newspaper shut down due to the economic recession. Her father was retired; her brother ran a company which also went out of business; and her mother had no job, either. The atmosphere at home was horrible. While May looked frantically for a job, her mother became ill. Standing by her mother's bed, May found she thought that her mother deserved what she got. May was an overprotected child. May had always gotten high grades because that was her only job: getting high grades to make her mother smile. But throughout her school life she had few friends because all she did and all she knew was study, study, and study. May eventually lost herself. Writing was the only thing that made her feel she was still alive. It was the only moment in which she felt peace; so she came to believe that God had opened a door for her. She published her first novel, but it was a big failure. But through this experience she met her lover, the publisher, who supported her. He said people should follow their passion even though most people called it a failure; at least you will feel happy when you are doing it. He said so even though shortly after publishing her novel, his publishing business shut down. He said that was because the nation hadn't fully recovered from the recession. Then they got married. I-mai said this was not bad. She always felt sorry for herself. She had a job she didn't like. And that was what she had to face when she woke up every morning. May said she thought so until one day her child said she wished those piles of novel manuscripts could be turned into money to pay off their debts.

(16) Play title: Forgiveness
Cast: Peter, Peter's two classmates, John, John's parents, a clergyman
Story: Today is John's birthday. His mother is cooking a big meal to celebrate for her dear son. John can't wait to see what his father will buy for him, so he opens the door and sees if his father has come back. But he is careless; he forgets to lock the door when he goes back to his room. Suddenly, three robbers wearing masks rush in and attack John and his mother. John's father returns just at this moment, so he is also attacked by the robbers. The robbers take all the money in the house and kill John's parents before leaving. Only John is left alive! At the age of eight, he has lost his parents and become an orphan. After the funeral, he is sent to an orphanage.
Five years later, a man called Peter visits the orphanage and decides to adopt John. At first, John feels nervous living with a stranger. But the stranger treats him very well. So they live with each other happily. One day, John helps Peter clean the house in preparation for the New Year, and he finds an album in Peter's room. Curiously, he looks at every picture in the album. One of the pictures attracts John's attention. It is Peter with two of his classmates. What surprises John is a familiar scar on the arm of one of Peter's classmates. His classmate's scar is the same as the robber's. John is so surprised that he stays in Peter's room all day long. He wants to ask Peter if he is one of the robbers who destroyed his home.
     Then Peter comes back home, and he admits everything. When he was a college student five years ago, he didn't have enough money to pay for his tuition. Two classmates egged him on to rob money with them. Finally, he went with them and unexpectedly killed John's parents. Later, he felt very sorry and wanted to find John. But John had already been sent to an orphanage. After careful consideration, Peter decided to adopt John.
Upon learning the truth, John is upset. On one hand, Peter is his enemy since he killed his parents; but on the other hand, Peter is also his benefactor. So he asks a clergyman for help. The clergy just tells him that the biggest revenge is the thought of forgiveness. After struggling for days, John chooses to forgive Peter at last. They choose to forget the past, and live together happily and full of hope for the future!

(17) Death of a Cat
Characters: A high school girl, a zoologist, a linguist, a police officer
Props: A stuffed cat, a letter in an envelope
Summary: The story happens in a street, in front of a 19-storey building. A cat falls from the building to the center of the stage while a high school girl and two men are passing by. The girl screams and faints, and the two men run to examine the cat carcass. One of them, who declares himself a zoologist, claims that according to his observation, the cat should be a street cat, about 3 to 4 years old, and strong and health, though a bit malnourished. Then he tries to turn the cat over, but is stopped by a police officer who has rushed to the spot. The policeman asks the two men several questions about the event, and tries to find out the cause of the cat's death. After a complete inspection, he claims that it must have been an accident, which occurred when the cat was not careful enough when sunbathing on the roof of the 19-storey building. But the zoologist opposes the explanation and says that, according to his professional understanding of cats, cats do not sunbathe in such high places and they are much more careful than people believe, so the cat must have been murdered by someone who threw it from the top of the building. While they are quarreling, the other witness, who has kept quiet from the beginning, finds there is a letter beneath the cat. The policeman tries to read it, and says: "Mew, mew mew, miaow..." (It is written in Cat language.) Fortunately, the man who found it is a linguist who knows Cat language very well. He translates it to the policeman and the zoologist. The letter is the cat's will. It turns out that the cat was neither murdered nor did it die in an accident, but it committed suicide, for "the world is too hard for animals to live in." The girl comes to. She tells them that she saw the cat jump from the building before, but that didn't die after its previous eight attempts. This time, at last, it succeeded. "It must have made up its mind."

(18) Outline : The Santa Claus Contest
Characters: The contest host (or hostess); four finalists: (1) a chicken-hearted, cowardly crying bug; (2) a very arrogant, highly conceited braggart; (3) a big near-sighted guy who sees nothing clearly in spite of his thick glasses; (4) a perfect candidate for the contest; brave, smart and reliable; a reindeer, a mini pig (host's pet), four audience members (for attending part of the play).
Plot: Today (a week before Dec.25) is the worldwide final contest of Santa Claus of 2003. As always, there are many applicants competing, and finally 4 candidates out of 200 million contenders are chosen as the finalists. The finalists must undergo 4 trials: (1) find the correct child; (2) ride the reindeer; (3) move safely on the rooftops; (4) jump into the chimney. And, according to the different personalities of the four candidates, the whole contest is like a comedy show. (See draft in Chinese for details and examples! This play places more emphasis on the actors' actions than on what they say.) Finally, the Santa Claus of 2003 is -- Candidate no. (4)! So he rides on the reindeer and goes on to bring happiness to kids the world over!

1 聖誕老人選拔裁判
2溫吞膽小愛哭的參選人一號
3得意忘形的參選人二號
4大近視眼霧裡看花的參選人三號
5充滿幹勁炯炯有神的參選人四號
其它配角: 麋鹿一隻 裁判的寵物豬一隻 A(BCD)小朋友

1: 各位小朋友,歡迎參觀我們2002年聖誕老公公的選拔會。每年都有好多人來應徵,今年也不例外,我們從200萬人中挑選出了最後4個人來參加最後選拔,讓我們來歡迎她們!!(鼓掌)好! 總共有4個關卡考驗她們,表現最優秀最棒、最了不起的一個人,就可以當選今年的聖誕老公公。讓我們來看她們的表現。
第一關,要把禮物順利的送到小朋友手上,就必須正確,迅速的找出小朋友在哪,所以第一關就是"找找我在哪" 來,第一位出場!! 請你現在找出我們A小朋友在哪裡
2.: (很沒自信 膽怯貌) 嗯…嗯…嗯…是你嗎? 不是….那…是你嗎? 不是!? 那是誰呢?? (開始哭) 嗚…嗚~~我找不到啦>_<~~~嗚嗚~~
1: (拿紙捲敲他頭) 哥哥,找不到也用不著哭成這樣啊!!下去下去! 第二位請出場! 請找出B小朋友!
3: (自大得意貌) 哈!找B?太簡單了吧!!…ㄟ 就是你! (衝上去抱住A小朋友)
1: (敲他頭) 哥哥,你搞什麼飛機啊! B小朋友是女生, 你抱個小男生衝啥? 不合格!!
下一位下一位! 找出C小朋友!
4: (近視太深東看西看看不清楚貌) ㄟ…C小朋友喔…喔喔~~是你吧!? (抱住椅子)
1: (敲他頭) 哥哥,你分不出人和椅子嗎!? 不合格! 下一位! 請找D小朋友!
5: (台風穩健意氣風發的環顧四週後) 嗯….就是你! (準確地找出了D)
1: 太棒了!!合格~~~!! (鼓掌,台下也跟著鼓掌吧) 好, 那接下來第二關…我們都知道聖誕老公公是乘著麋鹿雪橇的嘛,除了要認得路之外,一定也要和麋鹿關係良好; 就讓我們看看誰能讓麋鹿乖乖的聽話走路吧,第一位請出場~~騎麋鹿!!
2: (膽怯貌 騎上麋鹿) 走…走呀! 走嘛! (小心翼翼畏畏縮縮的拍麋鹿 麋鹿一動也不動)怎麼都不動…? 嗚…它不理人家啦~~! (又哭)
1: (敲他頭) 這有什麼好哭的! 成不了氣候! 唉!…下一位!
3: (志得意滿貌 騎上麋鹿) 挖哈哈!! 這種小事難不倒我的! 走呀! 笨麋鹿~~走! (麋鹿一動也不動) 我--叫--你--走! 不理我? 可惡! (用力打麋鹿一下 麋鹿回過頭來斜眼喵他一下 然後狠狠把他甩下去) 哇~~! (摔下去 又被鹿補踹一腳)
1: ……..活該。下一位!
4: (近視深看不清楚貌 騎上寵物豬) 走呀~~小鹿鹿,咦? 都不走~~?
1: (敲他頭) 你這個大近視眼! 那是我的寵物豬啦!! 你竟然把他當成鹿在騎~~嗚嗚

19. The storyline starts in an industrial-oriented city two decades after the war. Felix is a college student majoring in physics. Felix's father, Adrian, was a coal miner who died in an accident. Felix's mother, Ida, is a nurse who used to serve in the army during wartime. Ida hopes Felix can become an engineer to improve industrial technology, but Felix seems to be more interested in fine arts. Felix encounters Erika, who majors in philosophy, at a painting club. Erika's father, Christoph, was a military general who lost his life during the war. Erika's mother, Clementia, teaches music in a senior high school. Felix and Erika fall in love with each other on a vacation tour held by the painting club. They become a couple. Felix goes on to study architecture in graduate school, while Erika goes to graduate school in sociology. Twenty years later, Felix becomes a distinguished architect with artisticoriginality, designing magnificent and exquisite buildings and infrastructure, reshaping the face of the city, while Erika becomes the head of Social Bureau in the municipal administration, promoting the rights and welfare of laborers.
     Other characters may include Felix's and Erika's brothers, sisters, classmates, and colleagues.
     Important subplots include Ida's expectations of Felix, Felix's talents in art, Felix and Erika's first meeting, adoration and attachment, Erika's ambition and career, along with all the frustrations they encounter while pursuing their dreams.

20. Cast: Elma: girl of 17; Judy: Elma's best friend, 17 years old; Barbara: neurotic woman of 42 who lost her only daughter in a robbery; Policeman A; Policeman B
     One day, Elma and Judy go shopping together after school. Elma unexpectedly noticed that a tattered-looking man in a crowd is about to steal a woman's purse. She bursts over toward the man, shouting, and thus saves Barbara's purse. To express her gratitude, Barbara treats Elma and Judy to a meal in a nearby restaurant. During the whole conversation, they notice that Barbara seems very drawn to and fond of Elma because Elma resembles the daughter of Barbara who was killed in a robbery. After this day, Barbara often makes a date with Elma and finally starts to try to control Elma's life. Elma is puzzled by this. Elma asks Judy for help, but then Barbara asks them to steal a baby girl from a hospital as a subsitute for Elma. Judy of course does not agree to this, and tries to discuss it with Barbara. Suddenly two policemen come and capture Barbara. They explain that Barbara has a neurotic disorder and that she has escaped from the hospital.

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