Twenty-Six Minutes

Flash forward to my freshman year of college. This is when I started my monologue journal: a sacred document where, when I am inspired by anything at all, I begin writing a monologue. I began to accumulate so many, each of them so different than the next.

Sophomore year, I enrolled in a playwriting class. We learned the structure of a play, how to create characters, etc., and the final project was a 25 page one act. To say I was overwhelmed was an understatement. I went back to my handy-dandy monologue journal for inspiration, and this is when I found a pattern within my journal. I found that most of my monologues were inspired by objects: their meanings, their effect on people, the ways they are used, and so on. My favorite example and the object I was drawn to the most was flowers. Then, “Twenty-Six Minutes” was born. And, once again, I was enthralled with my new idea the second I started writing.

The plot of “Twenty-Six Minutes” is a simple one: two people with bouquets of flowers stuck in a train station with an hour delay; nothing else to do but to get to know each other. While learning about each other, Ellie and Jackson reveal what their flowers are for: Jackson is going to propose to his girlfriend and Ellie is going to visit her late boyfriend’s grave. Ellie’s deep-rooted love for her lover, Sam, helps Jackson realize that he isn’t in love with his girlfriend, Dani, and he decides to call off the engagement. Ellie changes his life… in twenty-six minutes. To the right, you can see my Note from the Writer, which describes my intentions for this piece.