Forgotten Princesses by Nil Digante (USA, 22)

CAST

YOU: An AFAB, trans-masc person in their early 20s
MIRROR IMAGE: YOU’s reflection

​SCENE

A small apartment with a kitchen and a living room.

​TIME

Early morning.

​ACT I

SETTING: We are looking into a kitchen setup on stage left. The stage is mostly dark, obscuring all but this
setup. The kitchen is small, like a college apartment kitchen, and is set up with an old, battered fridge with tons of kitschy magnets and a stove top to the left, and a sink overlooking stage right. The countertop partition makes it easy to have a conversation with the adjacent room in stage right, which remains hidden for the time being.

AT RISE: Spotlight centers on the main lead- YOU. They are cooking eggs on the stove. They poke at the frying pan with a spatula, squinting at the pan. No other lights are on- all we see onstage is the kitchen and YOU.
​

MIRROR IMAGE (O.S.)

                                                  Remember when you wanted to
                                                  ​be a princess?

(YOU looks up towards stage right, which is still shrouded in darkness.)
​

YOU

                                                  Uh yeah?​

An egg CRACKLES and POPS. YOU whips their head back to the pan and quickly flips the eggs over.
​

YOU (CONT’D)
(Distracted)

                                                  ​I was like- five, or
                                                  ​something... why?
​

MIRROR IMAGE (O.S.)

                                                  ​Oh, no reason- your blanket’s
                                                  ​on the couch by the way.
​

YOU

                                                  ​Ah, sorry about that- you can
                                                  ​just shove it to the floor.
​

MIRROR IMAGE (O.S.)

                                                  ​Nah, it’s fine, just wanted
                                                  you to know- it’s not like I
​                                                  don’t have stuff here myself.
​

YOU
(Wryly)

                                                  ​We should really remember to
                                                  stop leaving things there.​
​

MIRROR IMAGE (O.S)

                                                  ​I dunno, I think it gives the
                                                  place some charm.​
​

YOU laughs and turns off the stove. They plate the eggs.
​

YOU

                                                  ​If you say so.​
​

A beat of silence. YOU loads up the toaster with two pieces of bread, then they lean back against the counter, settling to wait.
​

MIRROR IMAGE (O.S)

                                                  ​Why DID you want to be a
                                                  princess anyways?​​
​

YOU shrugs.
​

YOU

                                                  ​Probably because I was
                                                  obsessed with Barbie?​
​​

MIRROR IMAGE scoffs.
​

MIRROR IMAGE (O.S)

                                                  ​Nah, that’s not it. You can’t
                                                  lie to me, you know.​
​​

YOU sighs and shakes their head.
​

YOU

                                                  ​Honestly, I don’t remember
                                                  myself–
​​

MIRROR IMAGE (O.S)
(Forceful, Calm)

                                                  ​Can't. Lie.
​​

The toaster goes off with a cheery PING! YOU makes no move towards it- instead, they look out into the darkness quietly. Finally, they sigh again and smile. They take a plate and start to load it up with the toast.
​

YOU
​(Contemplative, Fond)

                                                  ​Honestly... I think I wanted to
                                                  be important. Or maybe
                                                  something great? And what’s
                                                  greater or more important
                                                  ​than a princess?
​

MIRROR IMAGE snorts.
​

MIRROR IMAGE (O.S)

                                                  ​A queen, duh.​
​

YOU laughs and pops two more pieces of bread into the toaster. They then head over to the fridge and pull out a beat-up looking stick of butter and a jar of red jam.
​

YOU

                                                  ​Mm, maybe.​
​

YOU takes a knife and spreads the jam on one piece of toast.
​

YOU (CONT'D)

                                                  ​But queens don’t get the
                                                  handsome princes, now do
                                                  they?
                                           ​

MIRROR IMAGE (O.S)

                                                  ​Oh? Do you want a prince
                                                  then?
                                           ​

YOU washes the knife in the sink thoroughly before using it to spread butter on a different piece of toast.
​

YOU

                                                  ​I did back then, but you
                                                  already knew that.​
                                           ​

MIRROR IMAGE (O.S)

                                                 That’s not what I asked. Do
                                                  you- as in currently- want a
                                                  prince?  ​
                                       ​

YOU

                                                 Nah.
                                       ​

YOU walks over to the toaster right as it pops off again. They unplug it.
​

YOU (CONT'D)

                                                 Again, you already knew that.
                                       ​

MIRROR IMAGE sighs.
​

MIRROR IMAGE (O.S)

                                                 Yeah, I guess I did. ​
                                       ​

YOU quickly slathers the remaining pieces of toast in jam and butter.
​

YOU
(Mumbling)

                                                 We’re going to need more jam...​​
                                       ​

MIRROR IMAGE (O.S)

                                                 You don’t want to be a
                                                 ​princess anymore.
                                       ​

YOU laughs.
​

YOU

                                                 Nope.​
                                       ​

YOU cleans up the kitchen- brushing crumbs into the sink, putting the jam and butter back in the fridge and shutting the door with their foot. At stage right, colored lights have started to slowly fade in- they are orange and red, like the sunrise. As the lights brighten, we see that the rest of the stage is set up like a living room, with a couch facing the audience, a coffee table in front of it, and two soft chairs on either side of said coffee table. There is a window to the farthest right, and it shows that the sun is rising. There is also a huge, rectangular mirror set behind the couch.

​YOU walks out of the kitchen with the plates and spoons and into the room. Their actions are reflected in the mirror as they put down the breakfasts on the coffee table. Then, they turn and smile towards the mirror and hold out a hand. This action is not reflected by the mirror.
​

YOU

                                                 You hungry?​
                                       ​

MIRROR IMAGE smiles and takes YOU’s hand.
​

MIRROR IMAGE

                                                 Starving.
                                       ​

MIRROR IMAGE steps out of the mirror and walks over to the rightmost chair before sitting down.

YOU sits down as well, and the two start to eat. The lighting on stage changes gradually to gold and pink.
​

MIRROR IMAGE

                                                 Do you still want to be
                                                 ​great?
                                       ​

YOU

                                                 No... no I just want to be
                                                 ​good. But then again, you
                                                 ​already knew that...​
                                   ​

YOU leans forward, smiling. MIRROR IMAGE copies the actions.
​

YOU (CONT'D)

                                                 ... didn’t you?​
                                   ​

MIRROR IMAGE clicks their tongue, and the two relax back into their seat. Then, YOU jumps up.
​

YOU

                                                 Crap! I forgot the juice–
                                   ​

MIRROR IMAGE

                                                 Don’t worry, I got it.​
                                   ​

YOU

                                                 Thanks.​
                                   ​

MIRROR IMAGE

                                                 S’all good. Say- looks like
                                                 we’re gonna have some great
                                                 weather. Good day for going
                                                 out, yeah?         
​                          ​

MIRROR IMAGE pats YOU on the shoulder and exits stage left. The lighting starts to change one last time- from gold and pink to bright sunlight, and the window in the back changes from the sun rising to a blue sky. YOU smiles and leans back into their chair.
​

YOU

                                                 Yeah, it’s gonna be a good
                                                 ​day.
                                   ​

END OF SCENE.
​