Members of the New Play Exchange can download the play for free.
Faces
A ten minute horror/tragedy for 5-30 students
A High School drama class discovers a box of masks that transform them into cruel bullies that ostracize and torment a newcomer.
Valencia High School drama students, under the guidance of Sarah Anne Sumpolec,
workshop an early draft of the play, April, 2026.
Faces was written as part of a larger vignette play of spooky horror stories for teens. I wanted something that was adaptable to a large cast, but still had to work with a minimum cast size of five. I was thinking of bullying, of how groups can coalesce around identifying an "outsider" and punishing them for being different - a very clear theme in the politics of today, but also an perpetual element to face in growing up, and I sturck upon the idea of a story told almost exclusively in mime; a mask and movement piece. It's far outside my comfort zone, and I loved exploring it!
In the play, a newcomer to a class of drama students waiting for their teacher to arrive finds a box of mysterious masks...but when they try one on, they transform into something alien and scary. Soon all the students are wearing their own masks, seeking conformity, seeking a group identity that turns toxic until it reaches the ultimate conclusion with the outsider dead. It's a dark, scary piece with a haunting, poignant moment at the end of the play. I think it will prompt discussion, and in the larger vignette play, it's the story that ends Act One.
This one is available for production from the playwright, or can be downloaded from the New Play Exchange.