A Virtual Play for Teens

By Stacey Lane
Copyright © 2020, Stacey Lane

Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that a royalty must be paid for every
live, pre-recorded, virtual, or online performance, whether or not admission is charged.
All inquiries regarding rights—including but not limited to amateur, professional, radio
broadcast, internet, television, cable, motion picture, live streaming, public reading, and
translation into a foreign language—should be addressed to Pioneer Drama Service, Inc.,
PO Box 4267, Englewood, CO 80155.
No live, pre-recorded, virtual, or online performance, broadcast, reading, or
presentation of any kind, in whole or in part, may be given without permission from
Pioneer Drama Service, Inc.
These rights are fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America
and of all countries covered by the Universal Copyright Convention or with which the United
States has reciprocal copyright relations, including Canada, Mexico, Australia, and all
nations of the United Kingdom.

ONE SCRIPT OR E-SCRIPT PER CAST MEMBER MUST BE PURCHASED

FOR PRODUCTION RIGHTS.
PHOTOCOPYING, REPRODUCING, EMAILING, OR DISTRIBUTING ALL OR ANY PART OF
THIS BOOK WITHOUT PERMISSION IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN BY LAW.

On all paper and digital programs, printing, and advertising, the following information
must appear:
1. The full title: Insomniac Cybersociety
2. Writing credit: By Stacey Lane
3. Publication notice: “Produced by special arrangement with Pioneer Drama
Service, Denver, Colorado”
 ABOUT VIRTUAL THEATRE
Virtual theatre is a new and exciting art form that is just beginning to
evolve and reveal its potential. Just a short time ago, no one would
have conceived of trying to perform a scene, let alone an entire play,
with every actor isolated in their own home. And yet, it’s happening…
with surprisingly positive results.
This play is written specifically for the characters to be communicating
electronically, without face-to-face dialogue, yet still interacting with
each other in real time. This unique quality creates the ideal scenario to
perform them on Zoom, Google Hangouts, or a similar digital platform.
Even though the audience will be watching the performance on a screen,
this is still a theatrical play, not a screen play for a movie. Cinematic
elements such as camera angles, shifts in lighting, elaborate sets, and
close-ups on an actor’s facial expressions are beyond most people’s
skills. Yet these productions are like movies in that the camera
becomes a tool that helps us create our characters. As actors, we
need to learn to play to that, even as we sit in front of our laptops.
By necessity, blocking is quite limited in virtual theatre, elevating body
language—facial expressions, gestures, posture, and body positions—
to a heightened level of importance. For instance, facing the camera
directly is the strongest body position, but this should never be a static
pose. You can create a more nuanced performance by adopting other
positions, such as a one-quarter front position, facing partially left or
right. If two actors face one another in full profile on the screen, it will
create the sense that they are sharing the scene. For even more dramatic
effect, a three-quarter back position so that only your shoulder and one
side of your head is visible can suggest weakness, hurt, or anger.
Clearly, virtual theatre is far more than storytelling on camera, and
there’s a world of acting still to be done to add depth and meaning to
the words you’re speaking, even without a traditional stage.

Want more tips and suggestions? Pioneer Drama is proud to offer you a
complimentary copy of A How-To Guide for Virtual Theatre. Download it
now for free at www.pioneerdrama.com/pdf/VT_HowTo.pdf

ii
 Dedicated to Yvette Moore, a true friend who is willing to do
whatever it takes to make the show go on.

INSOMNIAC CYBERSOCIETY
A Virtual Play for Teens
By STACEY LANE

CAST OF CHARACTERS
(In Order of Speaking)
# of lines
AURORA....................................................................20
POPPY.....................................................................123
SHUTEYE...................................................................27
PAT...........................................................................63
TICK-TOCK.................................................................29
NIGHT OWL................................................................43
SANDMAN.................................................................22
PJ.............................................................................35
ALICE IN WONDERLAND..............................................33
MONSTROSITY...........................................................11
TRYPTOPHAN.............................................................27
THIRD SHIFT..............................................................23
WITCHING HOUR........................................................15
VOICE (audio only)......................................................11
BUNNY SLIPPERS.......................................................34
NINJA OF THE NIGHT..................................................26
* All roles can be played by teenagers of any gender.

SETTING
Time: A series of late nights in the present.
Place: Cyberspace. Specifically, a private online chat room.

SET DESCRIPTION
ALL characters appear in their individual bedrooms or some other
private meeting space.

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 INSOMNIAC CYBERSOCIETY
Scene One
1 CAMERAS ON: AURORA, POPPY, TICK-TOCK, PAT, PJ, and SHUTEYE
are in the chat room, wearing pajamas.
AURORA: I had the toilet paper sticking out of my pants for like three
periods before my history teacher told me. Not exactly a great start
5 to my freshman year. (ALL explode into giggles.)
POPPY: That’s sad.
SHUTEYE: Okay, who’s next?
PAT: Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!
POPPY: No one has to play if they don’t want to.
10 PAT: I wouldn’t have said “Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!” if I didn’t want to play.
SHUTEYE: We get it. You don’t have to have a turn, Poppy.
AURORA: (Makes chicken noises.) Bock. Bock. Bock.
POPPY: This has nothing to do with me. I just don’t want any of my
guests to feel uncomfortable.
15 TICK-TOCK: We don’t feel uncomfortable. We just feel for the first time
all night that we are doing something mildly interesting.
SHUTEYE: Pat, go.
PAT: Does it have to be something you’ve never told anyone before?
SHUTEYE: That depends on if you usually go around sharing your most
20 embarrassing moment ever.
PAT: Oh, I do. I thrive on public humiliation.
TICK-TOCK: That’s healthy.
PAT: So, picture if you will… a freezer full of dissected fetal pigs—
POPPY: Disgusting!
25 PAT: —and a quarterback with something to prove. Spoiler alert. I am
not the quarterback in this scenario.
NIGHT OWL: (CAMERA ON.) I have never been so happy to see anyone
in my whole life. I missed you so much.
SHUTEYE: Which one of us?
30 NIGHT OWL: All of you.
POPPY: What happened?
NIGHT OWL: It was horrible. I fell asleep during an advanced
algebra test.
PAT: So?
35 NIGHT OWL: I mean I finished the test. Then while I was waiting for
everyone else to finish, I drifted off for a minute. Just a minute. But
you haven’t heard the worst part.
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1 SHUTEYE: Go on.
NIGHT OWL: I guess I snored. So Jake Benson, this popular guy,
yelled “Earthquake!” I jumped up and screamed, and everybody
laughed at me.
5 AURORA: So embarrassing.
PAT: It’s supposed to be my turn to be embarrassed.
NIGHT OWL: My teacher called my parents, and my mom and dad are
furious. Still.
SHUTEYE: The aftermath after math class.
10 PAT: I fall asleep in class, like, every day. It’s normal.
TICK-TOCK: I don’t think that’s normal.
POPPY: Well, it’s not unheard of.
SHUTEYE: None of us here are normal. If we were, we wouldn’t be here.
POPPY: It’s not your fault.
15 NIGHT OWL: I know. I suffer from DSPS.
PAT: Dizzy sock puppet shenanigans?
NIGHT OWL: No. Delayed sleep phase syndrome.
PAT: Now you’re just making stuff up.
NIGHT OWL: No, I’m not. It’s a real thing. Hormonal changes in puberty
20 affect the body’s circadian rhythm.
AURORA: Circadias? Like those totally gross bugs that buzz in the trees?
TICK-TOCK: No. Those are cicadas, you twit.
POPPY: Well, it sounds like you’ve had a bad day, but now you are
with friends.
25 NIGHT OWL: No, this didn’t happen today. This was a week ago. I
got grounded.
PAT: Harsh!
AURORA: Your parents took away your phone?
NIGHT OWL: And laptop and iPad and TV. Zero communication with
30 the outside world.
PAT: For falling asleep one time? They grounded you for how long?
NIGHT OWL: A week. That’s why I haven’t been here for a week. Wait!
Did you not notice I wasn’t here?
PAT: Well, I wasn’t here every night.
35 TICK-TOCK: Stop bragging.
NIGHT OWL: I just laid around with nothing to do. It was total agony.
Every minute felt like an eternity and a half. It was the worst week
of my life.
AURORA: Melodramatic much?

2
1 NIGHT OWL: No, it really was. Lights out at nine-thirty. No exceptions.
I tried to read a book with a flashlight, but it gave me a migraine.
POPPY: Well, I’m glad you are back with us now, with people
that understand.
5 NIGHT OWL: People who didn’t even realize I went missing.
AURORA: You usually aren’t this talkative.
NIGHT OWL: That’s because I’ve been in solitary confinement for
a week!
SANDMAN: (CAMERA ON.) Hey, party people! What’s up?
10 SHUTEYE: Same old, same old.
NIGHT OWL: Except I was gone for a whole week, and no one even noticed.
PJ: I noticed.
SHUTEYE: Hey, I didn’t even notice that PJ was here ’til just now. How
long have you been here?
15 PJ: Since before you came.
SHUTEYE: Oh. So, see? Don’t feel bad.
PAT: Or maybe that just means PJ should feel bad too.
AURORA: I knew you weren’t here, but I just thought you were in a
better place.
20 NIGHT OWL: You thought I was dead?
AURORA: No, I thought you were in a deep sleep.
TICK-TOCK: Or that you decided to quit.
NIGHT OWL: So, not a single one of you was worried that I might
be dead?
25 SHUTEYE: Well, clearly you are not dead.
NIGHT OWL: But if I actually were dead, you’d have no way of ever knowing.
SHUTEYE: You are not dead nor were you ever dead.
NIGHT OWL: You know that now!
AURORA: Now seems like as good a time as any to depart, dears. All this
30 talk of dying is exhausting, and I need my beauty sleep. Goodnight.
PJ: Bye, Aurora.
PAT: Later. (AURORA’S CAMERA OFF.)
SANDMAN: So, if you weren’t dead, then where were you?
NIGHT OWL: Grounded.
35 SANDMAN: Grounded? What are you, like five?
NIGHT OWL: No, I’m thirteen.
POPPY: Stop. Against the rules.
SANDMAN: Aww, I thought you seemed young.

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1 NIGHT OWL: I am in high school. I really am. I promise you I am. I just
skipped second grade. You aren’t going to kick me out, are you,
Poppy? Please, please don’t!
POPPY: No, I like you. And you need us.
5 NIGHT OWL: I know. I truly don’t know what I’d do without you. Some
nights I felt like I was completely losing my mind, that my sanity
was dangling by a single thread.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: (CAMERA ON.) Sorry I’m late.
PAT: Late? The night is young.
10 SHUTEYE: Never apologize for being late.
TICK-TOCK: Or for not being here at all.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: I was having the most wonderful dream.
PAT: And you were there, and you were there, and you were there.
TICK-TOCK: That’s Dorothy. Not Alice.
15 SANDMAN: Alice in Wonderland! Thank my lucky stars. You have
arrived just in the nick of time. Night Owl dropped off the face of
the earth and almost died and none of us noticed or cared because
we were so consumed with our own encroaching madness.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: What?!
20 SHUTEYE: Night Owl did not almost die. Night Owl was just not here
for a week.
NIGHT OWL: It was a very long week.
SANDMAN: Geesh! I was being sarcastic.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Usually when somebody is not here for a
25 while, we are very happy for them.
TICK-TOCK: And jealous of them.
MONSTROSITY: (AUDIO ON, but CAMERA REMAINS OFF.) Honey, what
are you doing in there?
POPPY: (Looks and calls OFF.) Nothing, Mom.
30 MONSTROSITY: Do you know what time it is? Why aren’t you asleep?
SANDMAN: It’s the same time for you, too. So why aren’t you asleep?
POPPY: Shhh!
MONSTROSITY: Who said that?
POPPY: (Calls OFF.) No one.
35 MONSTROSITY: That didn’t sound like Hayden. What—?
POPPY: No, Hayden’s been sound asleep for hours. Trust me.
MONSTROSITY: Then is there someone else in there with you?
PAT: Busted.
POPPY: No. No, of course not.

4
1 SANDMAN: Must have been the TV.
POPPY: (To SANDMAN.) Shut up.
MONSTROSITY: Excuse me, young lady? Did you just tell me to
shut up?
5 POPPY: (Calls OFF.) No, of course not, Mommy dearest.
MONSTROSITY: You know you are not allowed to have your TV or
computer on past ten p.m.
POPPY: I don’t. Goodnight.
MONSTROSITY: You’re up to something. I’m coming in.
10 PAT: Uh-oh.
POPPY: No! You can’t come in. This is my room. This is my private sanctuary!
MONSTROSITY: I am your mother, and there is nowhere that you can
be that I can’t be.
POPPY: Hide! (ALL but SANDMAN turn CAMERAS OFF or BLACK OUT
15 their video. [See PRODUCTION NOTES.]) Go. Go. Go.
SANDMAN: No, I want to stay and watch the show. (MONSTROSITY turns
CAMERA ON to reveal a hideous beast. [See PRODUCTION NOTES.])
POPPY: Oh, my gosh. What’s wrong with you?
MONSTROSITY: Pardon me. What did you say to me?
20 POPPY: Why do you look like that?
MONSTROSITY: Why do I look like what?! (Roars.)
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: (Pops back ON, now wearing a blue dress
with a white full apron and a black bow in her hair. OTHERS peek
or pop back ON intermittently.) Curiouser and curiouser. Be it
25 the jabberwocky?
AURORA: (Turns CAMERA ON, now wearing a pink ball gown and a
crown.) No, ’tis the dragon come to slay my prince.
TICK-TOCK: When the dragon comes, you’re supposed to already be
asleep, Beauty. (AURORA drops her head and begins to snore.)
30 POPPY: No, it’s just my mom.
PAT: Not the Momster!
SHUTEYE: No wonder Poppy is scared of you!
SANDMAN: An absolute pleasure to meet you, Poppy’s mother. I’m
leaving now. (CAMERA OFF.)
35 SHUTEYE: Me too. (CAMERA OFF.)
POPPY: You are going to leave me all alone?
PJ: I wish I could help you, Poppy, but I’m not here anymore. I left
hours ago, but no one noticed. (CAMERA OFF.)

5
1 ALICE IN WONDERLAND: The White Rabbit will know just what
to do. (ALICE IN WONDERLAND, AURORA, and TICK-TOCK turn
CAMERAS OFF.)
PAT: This is getting too weird—even by my standards. And I got me
5 some pretty weird standards. See ya later, alligator. (MONSTROSITY
roars as PAT turns CAMERA OFF.)
POPPY: Wait! Come back, please.
NIGHT OWL: (Pops up from hiding, now wearing an owl mask and wings.)
I’m not going anywhere. Not ever again. (MONSTROSITY roars and
10 lunges. NIGHT OWL’S screen shakes. NIGHT OWL collapses, leaving
a vacant screen.)
POPPY: Nooo! (MONSTROSITY roars and turns CAMERA OFF. POPPY
puts her head down and sobs. NIGHT OWL sits up. The owl mask
and wings are gone.)
15 NIGHT OWL: Poppy? Earth to Poppy. You still here?
POPPY: (Sits back up.) What happened?
NIGHT OWL: Everybody else went to bed, but I wanted to stay and
make sure you weren’t dead.
POPPY: That’s sweet. I’m not. But I think I was asleep.
20 NIGHT OWL: Well, that’s good, right?
POPPY: Actually, it was pretty terrible. I was having a nightmare.
NIGHT OWL: Oh. Well, maybe it will help to talk about it. What
happened in your dream?
POPPY: Believe me, you don’t want to know. (POPPY and NIGHT OWL
25 turn CAMERAS OFF. SOUND EFFECT: MULTIPLE ALARM CLOCKS.)
End of Scene One
Scene Two
CAMERAS ON: TRYPTOPHAN, POPPY, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, PAT,
THIRD SHIFT, NIGHT OWL, PJ, and TICK-TOCK are all present, wearing
sleep clothes.
TRYPTOPHAN: So, I went for a walk. The crisp air really cleared my
30 head. I came back finally feeling ready for a good night’s sleep.
POPPY: Just like Charles Dickens.
TRYPTOPHAN: But unlike Dickens, when I got home there was a cop
car in my driveway. My parents called the police when they saw I
wasn’t in bed.
35 PAT: Whoa. Bet they gave you the dickens.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Well, they must love you an awful lot.
TRYPTOPHAN: Or trust me an awful little.

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1 NIGHT OWL: If I left the house in the middle of the night, my dad would
ground me for forever. Lock the door and throw away the key. You
won’t believe what he did when he caught me doing homework at
two in the morning.
5 POPPY: What’d he do? (Startled, NIGHT OWL turns CAMERA OFF.)
PAT: Okay… then don’t tell us.
THIRD SHIFT: Man, I can’t wait for the time when my sleepless nights
don’t have to be confined to my prison of a bedroom! When I can
go out. Have fun. Find real live people who are still awake. Maybe
10 even people who are awake on purpose.
PAT: Oh. So, we’re not real to you?
THIRD SHIFT: Nope. Never met you in person. Never gonna. Not real.
PAT: Harsh.
TICK-TOCK: Well, it’s been real. It’s been fun. But it has not been real
15 fun. I’m off.
PJ: ’Night.
PAT: See you later.
THIRD SHIFT: ’Til tomorrow.
PAT: No. I meant in like twenty minutes.
20 TICK-TOCK: Not if I can help it, jerk.
PAT: We’re rooting for you, buddy. (TICK-TOCK turns CAMERA OFF.)
WITCHING HOUR: (CAMERA ON.) The Witching Hour has arrived.
THIRD SHIFT: How did it get so late?
VOICE: (Audio only. [See PRODUCTION NOTES.]) New recruit alert! New
25 recruit alert!
BUNNY SLIPPERS: (CAMERA ON. The screen name reads “New
Recruit.”) Hi. So how do I join your group?
POPPY: First you must answer some questions.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: Sure. Fire away.
30 POPPY: Are you in high school?
BUNNY SLIPPERS: Yep. I’m a junior at George Washington in
Alexandria, Virginia.
POPPY: What is wrong with you? Do you know nothing about
internet safety?
35 BUNNY SLIPPERS: Sorry. I thought I was answering your question.
POPPY: No personal information. Now prove that you’re an insomniac.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: Um, it’s three-thirty in the morning. Isn’t that
proof enough?
POPPY: That’s against the rules.

7
1 BUNNY SLIPPERS: What is?
POPPY: Saying what time it is.
TRYPTOPHAN: If there is one thing a group of insomniacs doesn’t
need to be reminded of, it’s the time.
5 BUNNY SLIPPERS: Then how am I supposed to prove I’m an insomniac?
Is that even something somebody would want to lie about?
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: What if you are not who you say you are?
WITCHING HOUR: No one is ever who they say they are.
TRYPTOPHAN: Some are lying to you. Others are lying to themselves.
10 POPPY: Just tell us what it feels like to be an insomniac.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: Okay… It feels like I am the only person in the
whole world who is still awake. I know that’s not true, but it might
as well be when I’m alone in the dark with no one to talk to and I
can’t even leave my room. I feel like my racing mind is betraying
15 my exhausted body. And I already know that tomorrow is ruined,
because I am going to feel sick and sleepy. I’ll barely make it
through school. Then despite my best efforts to stay awake and
get back on track, I’ll collapse for a nap as soon as school is done.
Then I can’t sleep again that night. It’s a vicious cycle, and I’ve
20 done everything in my power to break it. But I don’t know… I just
feel like I’m drowning.
THIRD SHIFT: Works for me. (POPPY hits a button on the computer.)
VOICE: Accepted.
POPPY: Congratulations, and welcome to the Insomniac Cybersociety.
25 You’re in good company. History’s most brilliant minds and
greatest artists have been celebrated insomniacs—Vincent Van
Gogh, Marilyn Monroe, Abraham Lincoln, Judy Garland.
PAT: Well, none of them are actually here tonight.
TRYPTOPHAN: Because they are dead.
30 WITCHING HOUR: Suicides.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Lincoln did not commit suicide.
WITCHING HOUR: It still didn’t end well for him.
POPPY: Thomas Edison.
PAT: Groucho Marx.
35 POPPY: Ben Franklin.
WITCHING HOUR: Margaret Thatcher, Napoleon, Nixon, Stalin.
THIRD SHIFT: Dang! My mom’s in the kitchen. I got to go.
PAT: Later.
PJ: Bye, Third Shift. (THIRD SHIFT turns CAMERA OFF.)
40 POPPY: So, now you have to come up with a screen name.

8
1 ALICE IN WONDERLAND: And it can’t be your real name.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: Does it have to be something about sleeping?
WITCHING HOUR: Or the lack thereof.
POPPY: It can be anything you want.
5 BUNNY SLIPPERS: Dreamy.
POPPY: Not that.
PJ: We already have a Dreamy.
PAT: I haven’t seen Dreamy in forever.
TRYPTOPHAN: Did she quit?
10 ALICE IN WONDERLAND: I miss Dreamy.
WITCHING HOUR: She said she was going to take sleeping pills. Then
she was never heard from again.
PAT: Night Owl, you don’t have anything to add? You’re not worried
that Dreamy might be dead?
15 PJ: Night Owl disappeared. Left without saying goodbye. (SHUTEYE
turns CAMERA ON.)
TRYPTOPHAN: What was Dreamy taking? The FDA has not approved
any prescription sleep aids for minors.
WITCHING HOUR: I don’t know if it was prescription.
20 BUNNY SLIPPERS: Maybe it was melatonin. Has anyone tried that?
It’s herbal and over-the-counter. I heard it doesn’t have all the
side effects.
TRYPTOPHAN: But it gives you crazy, vivid dreams.
POPPY: Against the rules. This is not a place to cure your insomnia.
25 Not even a place to share ideas about how to.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: I thought that was the whole point.
POPPY: There are a million websites about curing insomnia—written
by healthcare professionals, not tired teens. If that’s what you’re
looking for, go there.
30 ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Poppy has legal concerns about giving out
medical advice.
SHUTEYE: No, I think it’s so none of us will ever go to sleep and leave
her alone.
TRYPTOPHAN: I thought you went to bed, Shuteye.
35 SHUTEYE: Yeh, I’m back. I tried. I failed. I don’t want to talk about it.
TRYPTOPHAN: Okay.
POPPY: Back to screen names. You can’t pick Dreamy, in case Dreamy
comes back.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: Then how about PJ?

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1 SHUTEYE: We also already have a PJ. It was unoriginal the first time,
and it’s unoriginal now.
PJ: Hey!
TRYPTOPHAN: How can something be unoriginal the first time?
5 SHUTEYE: Sorry, PJ. Didn’t realize you were here.
PJ: I usually am.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: Then how about Bunny Slippers?
POPPY: Accepted.
SHUTEYE: But still uninspiring.
10 POPPY: Now onto rules. No cussing.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: What?!
PAT: Censorship be darned to heck.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: That sucks.
POPPY: Please don’t say “sucks.”
15 BUNNY SLIPPERS: Well, so much for a place where we can be
ourselves, where we can talk like we actually talk.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Poppy’s mom is super strict, okay?
BUNNY SLIPPERS: Sounds like Poppy is, too.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Her mom’s got all these parental blocks and
20 stuff set up. Poppy doesn’t want to risk it. She doesn’t want her
mom to shut down the Insomniac Cybersociety. It’s all she’s got.
POPPY: Hey, I’m not doing this for me. I’m doing it for all of you.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: But don’t worry. We find creative ways to
express ourselves without curse words.
25 PAT: For example, if you are mad you can say, “Well, don’t that beat
the socks off a centipede!”
TRYPTOPHAN: What?
PAT: My grandpa used to say that.
WITCHING HOUR: No one’s grandpa has ever said that.
30 PAT: I think it was something like that. Give me a break. It’s blankety
blank o’clock in the morning.
POPPY: Most importantly, members must never meet in real life.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: What are the chances of that ever happening? We
probably aren’t even in the same state.
35 PAT: Or maybe I’m standing right behind you. Boo!
POPPY: You also can’t meet online outside of this group. No texts,
e-mails. Nothing.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: Why?

10
1 SHUTEYE: Because Mistress Moderator Poppy has to be in control.
She needs us to need her. She doesn’t want us to be able to
contact each other without her permission, without her rules.
POPPY: Or maybe I don’t want axe murderers to come to your house
5 and kill you in your sleep.
PAT: Good thing we never sleep.
SANDMAN: (CAMERA ON.) Hey, sleepyheads.
PJ: Hey, Sandman.
SANDMAN: What’d I miss?
10 ALICE IN WONDERLAND: We just got a new member. Isn’t it exciting?!
SANDMAN: Another troubled soul who can’t sleep at night! Gee, that
is exciting.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: I’m not troubled.
SANDMAN: Of course, you are. We all are. We are sleep-deprived
15 because we have deep emotional issues.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: That’s not necessarily true.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: Insomnia is a medical condition.
SHUTEYE: So is having emotional issues.
TRYPTOPHAN: Insomnia is a symptom, not a disorder. Meaning
20 something else is causing it.
SANDMAN: See, I told you. Caused by deep emotional issues.
PAT: The later it gets, the grouchier we get. Careful or we’re going to
scare away the newbie.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Oh, we don’t want to do that.
25 BUNNY SLIPPERS: I’m not scared.
POPPY: Good, because you’ve finally found a place where there will
always be friends who are here for you. Always, no matter what—no
matter what day it is, no matter how late it is. (ALL turn CAMERAS
OFF. SOUND EFFECT: MULTIPLE ALARM CLOCKS.)
End of Scene Two
Scene Three
30 POPPY and PJ turn CAMERAS ON.
PJ: So… where is everybody?
POPPY: Somewhere else.
PJ: Yep. Slow night.
POPPY: Well, on the weekends a lot of us are actually allowed to stay
35 up late.
PJ: But not you?
POPPY: Not me. Church in the morning. You?
11
1 PJ: I don’t know if it’s so much not allowed as it’s nothing else to do.
Or more accurately no one to do anything with.
POPPY: Oh, sorry.
PJ: It’s okay. My parents say I bring it on myself. Poppy, why do you
5 really think we can’t sleep at night?
POPPY: Because we have so much pent-up creativity that we can’t
quiet our minds.
PJ: Oh, good. I thought it was because we are unhappy. (CAMERAS
OFF. SOUND EFFECT: MULTIPLE ALARM CLOCKS.)
End of Scene Three
Scene Four
10 BUNNY SLIPPERS (screen name changed accordingly), POPPY, ALICE
IN WONDERLAND, PAT, PJ, THIRD SHIFT, TRYPTOPHAN, and WITCHING
HOUR turn CAMERAS ON. ALICE IN WONDERLAND, PAT, PJ, THIRD
SHIFT, and TRYPTOPHAN each have their right foot up, making small
circles. POPPY and WITCHING HOUR watch skeptically.
15 ALICE IN WONDERLAND: (Giggles.) Why are we doing this?
WITCHING HOUR: I’m not doing it.
TRYPTOPHAN: I’ve done it before.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: Okay, so everybody’s right foot is moving in
clockwise circles, right?
20 THIRD SHIFT: Yep.
PJ: Yep.
WITCHING HOUR: Nope.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: Now, with your right hand—it’s got to be your right
hand—draw the number six in the air. (They do.)
25 ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Wow.
THIRD SHIFT: Cool.
PJ: Neat.
PAT: I don’t get it.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: Your foot automatically switched directions.
30 PAT: No, it didn’t.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: Yes, it did. It has to. Do it again.
PAT: (Tries again.) Oh, whoa! Weird.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: Just try to get it to go the other way. You can’t.
Your body triumphs over your mind.
35 VOICE: New recruit alert. New recruit alert.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: How exciting!
AURORA: (CAMERA ON.) Hi.
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1 ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Aurora, you’re just in time. We’re getting
another new member.
AURORA: Fun.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: (CAMERA ON to reveal a skull-and-crossbones
5 drawing. The screen name reads “New Recruit.”) Yo! Yo! Yo! Whaz
up? I’m looking to get into all kinds of craziness tonight. I’m talking
illegal stuff, stuff you’d be ashamed to tell yo’ mama about. (POPPY
slams a button on the computer.)
VOICE: Access denied. (CAMERA OFF NINJA OF THE NIGHT.)
10 TRYPTOPHAN: What was that all about?
PAT: Cuckoo! Cuckoo!
AURORA: There’s no way that guy was for real.
THIRD SHIFT: No one talks like that.
VOICE: New recruit alert. New recruit alert.
15 PJ: Again?
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: (CAMERA ON to reveal a picture of an old wizard
with a long, white beard. The screen name reads “New Recruit.”)
Good evening, my fine, upstanding fellows. May I join you in your
wholesome online revelries?
20 PAT: Even weirder.
POPPY: Maybe. But first you must pass a test.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: Of course, of course. I’d expect nothing less.
POPPY: First question. Are you a teenager?
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: No. But I like teenagers. (POPPY slams a button
25 on the computer.)
VOICE: Access denied. (CAMERA OFF NINJA OF THE NIGHT.)
AURORA: What a creep.
THIRD SHIFT: The crazies are out tonight.
WITCHING HOUR: Must be the full moon.
30 TRYPTOPHAN: No, I think that was just a pervert. Not a werewolf.
PAT: It could be both.
VOICE: New recruit alert. New recruit alert.
THIRD SHIFT: You have got to be kidding me.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: (CAMERA ON to reveal a picture of cheerleading
35 pom-poms. The screen name reads “New Recruit.”) Like, OMG,
hi. I’m, like, totally a teenager. LOL. (POPPY slams a button on
the computer.)
VOICE: Access denied. (CAMERA OFF NINJA OF THE NIGHT.)
POPPY: Oh, my gosh. I will never let in someone who says “OMG.”

13
1 BUNNY SLIPPERS: Oh, I thought it was because it was clearly the
same person.
POPPY: Well, that too.
VOICE: New recruit alert. New recruit alert. (ALL turn CAMERAS OFF.
5 SOUND EFFECT: MULTIPLE ALARM CLOCKS.)
End of Scene Four
Scene Five
POPPY turns CAMERA ON.
POPPY: You have got to be kidding me. No one is here?! Every single
one of you is sleeping right now?! That’s impossible. And you call
yourselves insomniacs?! You don’t deserve that title. Hello? I’m
10 here. I’m still awake. I’m going to be awake all night, all alone.
I’m always awake. I may never sleep again. I feel completely
abandoned. I hope you are having horrible nightmares. Or I hope
you sleep so soundly that you pee your beds. I hate you. I really,
really hate you right now.
15 VOICE: New recruit alert. New recruit alert.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: (CAMERA ON. NINJA OF THE NIGHT wears a
hockey mask and holds a hockey stick. The screen name reads
“New Recruit.”) I’m here to join your team. That’s my goal.
POPPY: Sure. Why not? (Pushes a button on the computer.)
20 VOICE: Accepted.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: Really? That was way too easy.
POPPY: Welcome to the Insomniac Cybersociety. A place where teens
suffering from insomnia will never have to face it alone.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: So, what do you do here?
25 POPPY: Wait for morning.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: Well, that doesn’t sound like much fun.
POPPY: It’s not. (POPPY and NINJA OF THE NIGHT turn CAMERAS OFF.
SOUND EFFECT: MULTIPLE ALARM CLOCKS.)
End of Scene Five
Scene Six
POPPY, PAT, PJ, TRYPTOPHAN, TICK-TOCK, THIRD SHIFT, and NINJA
30 OF THE NIGHT (screen name changed accordingly) turn CAMERAS
ON. NINJA OF THE NIGHT now wears a detective hat, trench coat, and
Groucho glasses and holds a pad of paper and pencil. NINJA OF THE
NIGHT struggles to stay awake.
TICK-TOCK: (Holds up wrist, covering a wristwatch with the other hand.)
35 That’s it. I’m going to do it.

14
1 PAT: (Covers eyes.) Nooo!
TRYPTOPHAN: Don’t do it, Tick-Tock.
POPPY: You’ll regret it.
TRYPTOPHAN: It won’t help.
5 TICK-TOCK: I’m doing it.
PAT: I won’t let you.
TICK-TOCK: You can’t stop me. (Looks at the watch. POPPY, PAT,
PJ, and TRYPTOPHAN shield their eyes.) Dang. Even worse than
I thought.
10 PJ: Earlier or later?
POPPY: Don’t answer that.
TRYPTOPHAN: Either way is bad. If it’s later, then that means that the
chance to get enough sleep to function is long gone. If it’s earlier,
then it feels like the night is never going to end.
15 THIRD SHIFT: It’s daytime in Australia right now.
PJ: We should all move to Australia. Maybe it’d cure us.
PAT: (In a bad Australian accent.) How do you know that I’m not in
Australia right now, mate?
THIRD SHIFT: Because then you wouldn’t be an insomniac.
20 PAT: How do you know I am really an insomniac? Hold on a second.
Crikey! (Lurches OFF, as if being dragged off by something.) I’m
being attacked by a koala bear! But don’t worry. A kangaroo riding
a dingo just saved me! (PAT comes back ON.)
TICK-TOCK: You are ignorant.
25 THIRD SHIFT: We could move to Vegas, the city that never sleeps.
TICK-TOCK: That’s New York.
THIRD SHIFT: Either would be fine with me. In my town, nothing stays
open past nine p.m. I hate it here.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: (Perks up, grabs a pen, and holds the pad of
30 paper at the ready.) Do you mean you want to run away from home?
THIRD SHIFT: No. Of course not. I just meant that I think I’m going to
apply to colleges in big cities.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: Oh.
THIRD SHIFT: I’m totally okay with being awake all night and asleep all
35 day. I just need to find a place where everyone else is okay with it.
TRYPTOPHAN: The human body is not okay with it. We have an
internal clock.
PAT: Well, ours obviously need to be rewound.

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RIGHTS MUST BE PURCHASED BEFORE REPRODUCING THIS SCRIPT
1 NIGHT OWL: (CAMERA ON, in front of a different background than
before.) Okay, I’ve got maybe thirty seconds before Taylor’s mom
comes back.
PAT: Who is Taylor’s mom?
5 TRYPTOPHAN: Who is Taylor?
NIGHT OWL: My friend. I’m spending the night.
PJ: On a school night?
NIGHT OWL: My parents had to go out of town for a family emergency.
My uncle had another major breakdown. Dad told Taylor’s mom
10 that I am not allowed to get online. At all. For any reason.
PAT: You’re grounded again?
NIGHT OWL: But I just had to come and say goodbye.
PJ: Goodbye? Why?
POPPY: What happened?
15 NIGHT OWL: My dad found out about our group. (NINJA OF THE NIGHT
perks up with sudden interest.)
THIRD SHIFT: Oh, no.
POPPY: How?
NIGHT OWL: He walked into my room and saw me.
20 PJ: Uh-oh.
NIGHT OWL: He says you are harmful and dangerous.
PJ: Us?
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: Really? How interesting. (Jots down notes.)
NIGHT OWL: Dad says you are probably all serial killers or con artists.
25 PAT: Probably.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: I see. (Scribbles more notes.)
NIGHT OWL: Mom says you aren’t helping me deal with my insomnia.
She says you’re just giving me a reason to stay up.
PJ: Oh.
30 NIGHT OWL: Mom took every single electronic device out of my
bedroom. She even took out my desk and my books. She said my
bedroom is for sleeping only. I have to study in the den now. I’m
not even allowed to go in my own room until bedtime. Mom put me
in therapy. She says she’s sure I can be cured. Dad and I think I’m
35 a lost cause.
PJ: I’m sure that’s not true.
PAT: Which part?
NIGHT OWL: I have to go. I will miss you more than you will ever
know. I’m so grateful for the time we’ve spent together, comforting

16
1 each other when no one else would. Goodbye forever, my friends.
(CAMERA OFF.)
PJ: We’ll miss you, too.
POPPY: It’s no use. Owl’s gone.
5 PJ: Poor Owl.
TICK-TOCK: Wow. Night Owl’s parents are total jerks.
TRYPTOPHAN: They are doing the by-the-book stimulus control cure
for insomnia. In theory, it’s highly effective.
TICK-TOCK: But in reality, lying in a pitch-black room unable to sleep
10 will drive you completely insane.
PJ: That could happen to any of us. We could get caught.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: So, would you say your parents wouldn’t approve
of you being here?
THIRD SHIFT: Of course not. We’re supposed to be asleep.
15 PAT: Not talking to strangers on the internet. (NINJA OF THE NIGHT
scribbles furiously with smug satisfaction.)
TRYPTOPHAN: Every coping mechanism that we’ve perfected over our
many sleepless years can be taken away from us by well-rested
adults who think they know better than we do.
20 POPPY: I’m sure Owl will find a way back to us. It just may take
some time.
TICK-TOCK: Wouldn’t you rather have Owl be cured? (ALICE IN
WONDERLAND and BUNNY SLIPPERS turn CAMERAS ON.)
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Hello.
25 BUNNY SLIPPERS: Good evening, my new friends. I just found this
incredible website about lucid dreaming, if anyone’s interested.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Lucid dreaming is so fascinating.
POPPY: Where did you just come from?
BUNNY SLIPPERS: My bed.
30 POPPY: Then how’d you two both get here at the exact same time?
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: I don’t know. Coincidence?
POPPY: You know it is against the rules for members to ever meet
outside this group.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: We didn’t.
35 ALICE IN WONDERLAND: You and I met online outside the group.
POPPY: But that was before there was a group. Alice, we have got to
be careful. Don’t you see how easily it could all fall apart?
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: What is with you tonight?
PJ: She’s upset. We just lost a friend.

17
1 ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Someone died?
TICK-TOCK: No. Night Owl’s been banished from the Insomniac Cybersociety.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Banished by who?
THIRD SHIFT: Owl’s dad.
5 BUNNY SLIPPERS: Oh. That’s all?
POPPY: That’s all?! You don’t understand. Owl needs us. Owl can’t
survive without us. All alone. No one to confide in. No friends.
TICK-TOCK: Friends? How can we be friends when we would all much
rather be unconscious than talking to each other?
10 THIRD SHIFT: We’re just late-night replacements for real friends.
POPPY: What good are friends in the real world when they stop
taking your three a.m. phone calls because they don’t think being
incredibly lonely counts as an emergency? They’ll never understand
what it’s like. That’s why what we have here is so much better.
15 TICK-TOCK: We’re not friends. We are just people who all have a
terrible thing in common. (ALL turn CAMERAS OFF. SOUND EFFECT:
MULTIPLE ALARM CLOCKS.)
End of Scene Six
Scene Seven
POPPY turns CAMERA ON.
POPPY: Come on. Let’s get this over with. (AURORA, WITCHING HOUR,
20 SANDMAN, and SHUTEYE turn CAMERAS ON. They wear sheep ears
and snouts.) One. Two.
SANDMAN: Twenty-four.
POPPY: Three.
SANDMAN: Eight hundred ninety-seven and a half.
25 POPPY: Stop that.
SANDMAN: Purple.
POPPY: Now I have to start all over again. Aren’t there supposed to
be more of you? (PJ turns CAMERA ON and wears sheep ears and
a snout.) One.
30 SANDMAN: Mississippi.
POPPY: Two.
SHUTEYE: Macaroni.
POPPY: Three.
WITCHING HOUR: Meaning of life.
35 POPPY: Why aren’t you taking this seriously? (PAT turns CAMERA ON
and wears sheep ears and a snout.) One. (PAT pops in and out of
the screen.) Two. Three. Four.

18
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1 PAT: Don’t forget about me.
POPPY: Didn’t I already count you?
PAT: Nope.
POPPY: I better start over again. I’ve got to make sure you’re all
5 accounted for. I can’t lose anybody.
PJ: Too late.
POPPY: I thought for sure I had some more sheep. (TRYPTOPHAN, TICK-
TOCK, THIRD SHIFT, BUNNY SLIPPERS, and ALICE IN WONDERLAND
turn CAMERAS ON. They wear sheep ears and snouts. ALL but
10 POPPY dart ON and OFF their screens.) If everyone can please just
stay still, this will be much easier.
THIRD SHIFT: I don’t want to conform.
POPPY: I’m sorry. I’m just doing my job.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Why can’t I just be myself?
15 POPPY: We’ve got to get this right. One, two, three— (ALL but POPPY
move their screens chaotically, taunting POPPY, and speaking on
top of one another.)
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: What time is it?
POPPY: One.
20 TICK-TOCK: Nobody likes you.
SANDMAN: You’re going to fail your psychology test.
POPPY: Two.
PJ: Wear the blue shirt tomorrow.
POPPY: Three. Four.
25 AURORA: College applications.
POPPY: Stop moving.
WITCHING HOUR: You’re going to die alone.
POPPY: Please! I can’t—
PAT: Pizza.
30 THIRD SHIFT: Late-night cravings.
POPPY: Four. Five.
TRYPTOPHAN: Hormones.
BUNNY SLIPPERS: Suppressed urges.
POPPY: Six.
35 WITCHING HOUR: Your mother is disappointed in you.
POPPY: Behave! Six.
SANDMAN: You’re going crazy.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: We’re all mad here.

19
1 SHUTEYE: You should be institutionalized.
POPPY: Shut up! (ALL “baa” like sheep and dart about their screens in
a frenzy, their volume and speed increasing.) I said shut up! Can’t
you just be quiet for one second? I can’t concentrate. My head is
5 pounding. I feel like I’m losing my… Just keep your mouths closed.
I mean it. (Shouts.) I’m the one in control here! You will obey me!
(ALL stop “baaing.”) Now stay still or else. (ALL FREEZE.) Good.
Much better. Now, where were we? One, two, three. (NINJA OF
THE NIGHT, now dressed as a wolf, turns CAMERA ON and growls
10 and howls. OTHERS bleat mournfully as they rip off their ears and
snouts and toss them.) No, no! This can’t be happening. It’s my job
to protect you, but I’ve failed you! I’m so, so sorry. (THIRD SHIFT,
WITCHING HOUR, BUNNY SLIPPERS, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, and
NINJA OF THE NIGHT turn CAMERAS OFF. OTHERS sit normally, no
15 longer “sheep.”) Oh, good. You haven’t all left yet. I guess I dozed
off for a second. What’d I miss?
TICK-TOCK: You just woke up? Just now?
POPPY: Yeh, I think so.
TICK-TOCK: Well, hurry back to bed while you still have the momentum.
20 POPPY: No, I’m up now.
AURORA: Just try.
POPPY: I couldn’t. I had this messed-up dream.
PAT: Do tell.
POPPY: No, it’s ridiculous.
25 AURORA: No dream is ever ridiculous. Dreams are the window to
our souls.
TICK-TOCK: You mean eyes.
AURORA: Dreams are the window to our eyes? That doesn’t make sense.
TICK-TOCK: Forget it.
30 TRYPTOPHAN: So what happened in your dream, Poppy?
POPPY: Oh, it was really silly. You were all sheep, and I was trying to
count you.
PJ: Yeah, that’s funny.
PAT: Ooh! Ooh! Please tell me I was the black sheep of the family.
35 SANDMAN: Paging Dr. Freud. Our fearless leader just dreamed we
were all her little lambs.
SHUTEYE: Following our good shepherd. Leading us down the right path.
POPPY: No, it wasn’t like that. You weren’t listening to me.
PAT: Were we… (Like a sheep.) …baaad?
40 TICK-TOCK: Boo.

20
1 POPPY: I couldn’t save you.
AURORA: I don’t like you dreaming about me. That’s so creepy. I’m
not some smelly sheep.
TRYPTOPHAN: Actually, all dream characters are a manifestation
5 of an aspect of the dreamer’s subconscious. So, Poppy is her
own sheep. (ALL turn CAMERAS OFF. SOUND EFFECT: MULTIPLE
ALARM CLOCKS.)
End of Scene Seven
Scene Eight
POPPY and NINJA OF THE NIGHT turn CAMERAS ON. NINJA OF THE NIGHT
again wears a detective fedora, trench coat, and Groucho glasses.
10 POPPY: Well, I guess we are the last two to stay awake tonight.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: Yep. Someone in my house is keeping me up.
POPPY: I’m sorry.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: Someone who is really loud, really inconsiderate,
and really unobservant.
15 POPPY: That’s awful. (NINJA OF THE NIGHT removes the hat, trench
coat, and glasses and is now just in pajamas.) Hayden! You’re—
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: I’m telling Mom.
POPPY: No! What are you—?
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: I am. I’m telling. I’m telling her about your
20 Insomniac Cybersociety.
POPPY: But how did you—?
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: I infiltrated your group because I thought for
sure you had to be doing something really bad on the internet all
night long. Every night. Like you had an online gambling addiction
25 or were buying prescription drugs from Canada or you fell in love
with some fifty-year-old and were planning to run off to Peru.
POPPY: Gross.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: Instead, I discover that you are just whining
to other moody teens. You are so boring—even when you’re
30 keeping secrets.
POPPY: Please, Hayden, don’t tell. You don’t understand what it’s
like. To be awake all night. All alone. With no one to talk to.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: We share a wall. (Pounds on a wall. POPPY
reacts to the sound.) You wake me up every time you turn on your
35 computer and start blabbing.
POPPY: I’m sorry. I didn’t know that.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: Yeah, I know. You never notice me.

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1 POPPY: I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I just can’t sleep.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: Yes, you can. You fall asleep while on your
laptop all the time.
POPPY: No, I don’t.
5 NINJA OF THE NIGHT: Yes, you do. It falls off your bed, crashes to the
floor, and wakes us both up.
POPPY: I’m sorry. I always have these terrible, miserable nightmares.
I don’t even want to go back to bed after I have one. So I need
someone, anyone, to talk to, to keep me up. That’s why I need my
10 group so badly.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: Why can’t you talk to me?
POPPY: Because I don’t want you to turn into me. Now, go to sleep.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT: (Calls OFF.) Mommm! (NINJA OF THE NIGHT
and POPPY jump up and scramble OFF. Hurried footsteps and doors
15 being throw open can be heard. CAMERAS OFF.)
END OF PLAY

22
 PRODUCTION NOTES

PROPERTIES BROUGHT ON
Scene Five:
Hockey stick (NINJA OF THE NIGHT)
Scene Six:
Notepad, pencil (NINJA OF THE NIGHT)
Watch (TICK-TOCK)
Scene Seven:
Sheep ears and snout (ALL except POPPY, MONSTROSITY, and
NINJA OF THE NIGHT)

SOUND EFFECTS
Alarm clock.

DIGITAL EFFECTS
NINJA OF THE NIGHT originally tries to join the group with onscreen
images or avatars (skull and crossbones, a wizard with a long white
beard, and cheerleading pom-poms). These images can be free digital
stock photos or creations by cast or crew members.

ABOUT BLACKOUTS AND OFFSCREEN ACTION

It’s up to the director to decide if offscreen or “exiting” characters
close their digital window completely or black out their screen with a
piece of tape or a black index card whenever they “log off” or leave.
An audio-only VOICE announces each “new recruit alert” during the
play. It can be voiced by any character currently offscreen, most likely
SHUTEYE, TICK-TOCK, NIGHT OWL, or SANDMAN. Alternatively, it can
be a different offscreen voice. If an offscreen character, convenience
may dictate that actor remain logged on but with no video when not in
the chat room.
MONSTROSITY begins as an offscreen voice intended to represent
Poppy’s mother and calls to POPPY for a bit before coming onscreen.
If POPPY and MONSTROSITY are in separate locations for production,
MONSTROSITY would need to be logged on to the video conference
with audio only until otherwise noted in the script.

COSTUMES
NOTE: All costumes and props can be substituted with whatever is
available, or onscreen images may be used instead.

23
ALL wear pajamas, sweats, loose t-shirts, or other sleep clothes unless
otherwise noted below.
AURORA at one point wears a pink ball gown and crown.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND at one point wears a blue dress with a white
full apron and a black hair bow.
NIGHT OWL as one point wears an owl mask and wings.
MONSTROSITY wears a beastly costume. MONSTROSITY can also be
played by a giant, monstrous puppet.
NINJA OF THE NIGHT wears a hockey mask in Scene Five and a
detective hat, trench coat, and Groucho glasses over pajamas in
Scenes Six and Eight. NINJA OF THE NIGHT wears a wolf costume
in Scene Seven.

FLEXIBLE CASTING and CAST SIZE

All roles are to be played by teenagers of any gender. Pronouns may be
changed accordingly.
WITCHING HOUR, TRYPTOPHAN, or THIRD SHIFT can double as MONSTROSITY.
SHUTEYE, TICK-TOCK, NIGHT OWL, or SANDMAN can provide the VOICE.

24
RIGHTS MUST BE PURCHASED BEFORE REPRODUCING THIS SCRIPT
 ORIGINAL CAST
Insomniac Society opened as a stage play on January 12, 2019,
at Northeast Ohio Area Conference at Riverside High School in
Painesville, Ohio. It was performed by Beaumont School International
Thespian Troupe #6703. The production qualified for the Ohio Thespian
Conference and was performed on March 30, 2019 at Akron Firestone
Community Learning Center in Akron, Ohio. Directed by Kate Williams-
Bernardo and stage managed by Emily Lynch, the cast was as follows:
AURORA �����������������������������������Maureen Penko
POPPY �������������������������������������Macie Bell
SHUTEYE ����������������������������������Cassie Perlatti
PAT ������������������������������������������Grace Willmott
TICK-TOCK ��������������������������������Jessi Kulbago
PJ ��������������������������������������������Jessica Wolenski
NIGHT OWL �������������������������������Jessica Wolenski
SANDMAN ��������������������������������Jessi Kulbago
ALICE IN WONDERLAND �������������Becca Dulaney
MONSTROSITY ��������������������������Cassie Perlatti
TRYPTOPHAN ����������������������������Becca Dulaney
THIRD SHIFT �����������������������������Jessi Kulbago
WITCHING HOUR �����������������������Cassie Perlatti
BUNNY SLIPPERS ����������������������Maureen Penko
NINJA OF THE NIGHT �����������������Grace Willmott

SPECIAL THANKS
Special thanks to Joshua Fardon and Patricia Mario of Tuesdays@9
Chicago, and to Katherine Lamb and Morgan Wenzel of Dandelion Theatre.

25