What I Want to Say But Never Will

by Alan Haehnel

If you could say anything you wanted, without any consequences or judgment, just what would you say? Based on student responses from around the country, What I Want to Say But Never Will explores this simple but intimate question, offering a glimpse into teenagers' most private thoughts. Told through monologues and anecdotes from the playwright himself, these confessions range from a hilarious rant on an art teacher's bad breath to a touching piece of advice from a brother leaving for the Navy.

51 pages, Paperback

First published May 28, 2010

Reviews

[Corinne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The play "What I want to Say But Never Will" by Alan Haehnel is a series of monologues and skits of confessions that are never going to be told to the persons they are aimed at. Such content is personal and emotional, but gives real insight into people's inner thoughts that can be easily connected to the concept of identity. Middle school students can connect instantly to this need to express pent up emotions, and having a window into other's more private thoughts can helps them see they're not alone, identity crisis or otherwise. It can reveal how they think of their own identity and how it is tied to others.
This type of play can lend well to varied classroom instruction, both in performance and in looking at the script itself. In terms of Spandel writing traits, Word Choice would work well for an activity concerning the hard copy script to see how structure effects the voice and tone. Not only this, but if performance if taken into consideration, Sentence Fluency could be examined as well.
Gallagher writing prompts that would best fit with this media would be reflective and expressive activity, such as "Cleanse My Guilt" or Family Portrait would be the easiest and more creatively-inclined route in order for students to explore possible connections between themselves and the play.

[Monica · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some really amazing things in this play that seem a very genuine expression of the thoughts & feelings of high school students. At first I didnt know what to make of the author inserting himself into the play, but even that grew on me. But, unfortunately, he also inserts dialogue between himself & the characters that just never quite gets beyond contrived group therapy discussion. I like his mission with it - asking the question, well if you never say these things, how do you know what the response will be? Hmmmm...on the fence about whether or not I would produce this: great message, not-so-great in its delivery.

[Megan Shydlinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful, thought provoking play about the struggles of being a teenager. It reveals amazing truths directly from the mouths of real kids. A wonderful play for any high school to put on.