Atypical Boy

by Laurie Brooks

Comedy ~ Drama / In a fantastical world (not entirely unlike our own) where "conformity is compulsory," Boy cannot conform. Others make a desperate attempt to fix him, but neither they nor he can change his nature. Labeled a monster by the experts, Boy is shunned until, heartbroken and alone, he disappears into a world of monsters. There, Boy struggles with Hugo, ruled by his monster side, and is drawn to Girl, who is still in touch with her true feelings. A metaphor for invisible disabilities and disenfranchised youth, this play asks the Will Boy hold on to his humanity and accept himself, or will he become a monster? A cautionary tale that presents a comic anti-model of behavior, this entertaining fable for all times and all ages tells about the beauty and danger of being different in a world where conformity is valued and individuality is feared. Preshow audience interaction with the ensemble sets the tone for this highly original play, and a unique interactive experience called "The Forum" is built into the running time of the play to actively involve the audience in exploring the timely issues of belonging, conforming and individuality. ( 2 to 3m., 1 to 3w., 1 to 4 or more either gender)

63 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2012

About the author

Laurie Brooks is an award-winning playwright and YA fiction author.

Awards and grants include TCG's National Theatre Artists Residency Program, AT&T Firststage award, three Distinguished Play Awards and the Charlotte Chorpenning Cup from AATE, NY Foundation for the Arts, and Irish Arts Council Commissioning Grant (with Graffiti Theatre Company, Cork, Ireland).

Brooks' Lies and Deceptions Quartet for young adults includes The Wrestling Season, commissioned by The Coterie Theatre, Kansas City, MO, featured at The Kennedy Center's One Theatre World, printed in the Playscript Series, November 2000, American Theatre magazine, and winner of "Best of" awards in Seattle, Kansas City and Dallas.

Additional award-winning plays include Deadly Weapons, The Tangled Web, Everyday Heroes.

Selkie, Devon's Hurt, The Match Girl's Gift, Franklin's Apprentice, The Lost Ones and Brave No World, commissioned and premiered at The Kennedy Center in 2006.

Brooks has worked extensively in Ireland and has been Professor and Playwright in Residence at New York University. She has served as playwright in residence for the HYPE Institute at the ALLEY Theatre in Houston and has been guest lecturer at University of Missouri Kansas City (2005), The University of Texas at Austin (2006), and as Artist in Residence at Arizona State University in 2007-08. Her article, "Put A Little Boal in Your Theatre: A New Model for Talkbacks" appeared in American Theatre magazine and she was a featured artist at the 2007 TCG National Conference at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis.

Brooks' book for young adults, Selkie Girl, is available in fine bookstores from Knopf—in hardcover and also as an ebook!