Act 1.
A stunningly attractive book blogger, 40ish, sits typing at a cheap wooden Ikea desk on a laptop. A plate with almost-finished chocolate chip cookies is beside her. The blogger is typing furiously—trying to finish up reading challenge posts before the end of the year. She is also terribly far behind in her book reviews. Although she’s been posting daily for the past week or so, she still has many more posts to write before the year’s end. The tension is beginning to take its toll—resulting in excessive consumption of fattening and sugary foods. And with her child’s upcoming vacation from school and the holidays, who knows how much time she’ll have to write in the upcoming weeks.

JENNERS (sighing): Oh…whatever shall I do? I had to read a play for one of my reading challenges, and I’m just not sure how to review it. I mean, this play was written in the mid-1800s and I barely know anything about that time. I suspect that the play might have been groundbreaking for its time, but it seemed so silly to my modern mind. It probably helps to have some perspective when reading a play like this … rather than just diving in cold.

(Pauses while she eat more cookie.)

How odd that although I am alone in the room and typing, I am still choosing to speak my thoughts out loud. It is as if my every thought must be spoken aloud —as if unseen people are listening to my every word. Someone not used to reading a play may find that offputting and annoying. Boy, I could go for a cold glass of water.

(A maid walks into the room and places a cold glass of water on the desk and retreats.)

Wow! What a coincidence! I just wished for a cold glass of water and then one was delivered to me by the maid. That kind of reminds me of the play “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen. It was kind of weird that when Nora gets in trouble and can see no way out of her dilemma with Mr. Krogstad, her old friend Christine (who she hasn’t seen in years and years) appears and LO AND BEHOLD … she knows Krogstad and is able to convince him to release Nora from Krogstad’s blackmail and extortion scheme.

Of course, things don’t work out so happily in the end. Before Krogstad’s amazing turnabout, Nora’s husband Torvald shows his true colors and makes Nora realize that her marriage is a sham. I suspect I am supposed to sympathize with Nora and support her decision to leave Torvald and her children … I mean, he treats her like a birdbrain (not that she does anything to relieve him of that notion with her ridiculous speaking habits and flighty behavior) and immediately turns on her when he learns what trouble she got into with Krogstad but still….

(Pauses to eat more cookie.)

Humph. Where was I? Oh yes … Nora and Torvald’s marriage. I’m guessing that Nora’s big breakthrough and liberation speech is supposed to be an example of early feminism maybe? I mean, I get that she had to be herself. But she walks out on her own children! Without a goodbye! I have a hard time being sympathetic with that. Of course, she did seem to pawn the children off on the maid/nanny throughout the play….

(Another pause to drink some water. Realizes cookies are gone and a look for pure sadness crosses her face.)

But why am I bothering to talk out loud to myself about a play that barely takes any time to read and I barely have any perspective on and that I wasn’t particularly impressed with—probably due to gaps in my education or long forgotten college lectures? Oh yes … to finish up a requirement in the Mini Challenge. Well, the challenge simply said to read a play and blog about it. I wonder if writing a few incomprehensible paragraphs will satisfy the requirement? I suspect it shall. Oh … and the FTC? Do they need to know that I downloaded a copy of the play from Project Gutenberg onto my Kindle? I suspect they don’t really need to know that, but I better include that information anyway. So onward and upward and ….

(Yawns.)

Actually I’m kind of tired and blathering now so I think I should go to bed.

(She schedules the post for the next morning, shuts down the computer, and heads upstairs to bed…leaving a trail of cookie crumbs behind her. Lights dim and go dark.)