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Chemo Girl and Other Plays by Christian Kiley play script cover

Chemo Girl and Other Plays

by Christian Kiley

A collection of plays that examine the impact of cancer as seen through the eyes of teenagers. Characters deal with the difficulty of saying the word cancer out loud, the difficulty of admitting a friend or family member has the disease, and the difficulty of finding the energy and the attitude needed to fight.

Chemo Girl can be performed as a full night of theatre or as a cutting for competition.

Drama Character Study Experimental Form Issue-Based Movement-based

Recommended for High Schools

At a Glance

Running Time
About 90 minutes (for the full collection)
Approximate; excludes intermissions and scene changes
Productions
Produced by 40+ schools
Licensed by schools and youth theatres around the world
Set
Simple Set
Length
70 pages
Free Excerpt
Classroom Study Guide
Download a free Classroom Study Guide

This Book is a Collection of 4 Plays

License the entire book, or license individual plays separately. To license a single play, click its title below.

Chemo Girl

3 F, 13 Any Gender · Approx. 25 minutes

Camille is given a video game system from her mom as a form of recovery therapy for cancer. She prefers reading books. Video game worlds lack realism and she believes they will not help her fight against cancer. However, Camille is pulled into the video game world that mirrors her fight. She meets the Gamemaster and takes on the screen name Chemo Girl.

The Other Room

4 M, 3 F · Approx. 20 minutes

Dad is recovering from cancer and heavy chemotherapy treatments in the other room. It has become a dark corner of the house, especially for Mary, who rarely goes in there. Tommy goes in to watch Cubs games and wonders how the team’s over a century-long World Series drought is helping his Dad. Mom is trying to hold the family together, but it is not an easy challenge for a family dealing with cancer in The Other Room.

Red Rover

1 M, 3 F, 12 Any Gender · Approx. 20 minutes

A young girl is pulled out of her history class to go to the hospital where she discovers she has cancer. She befriends Lucy (who is chemotherapy personified) and she and Lucy prepare to take the disease.

Waiting Room

4 M, 7 F, 1 Any Gender · Approx. 25 minutes

A group of teenagers who all have various types of cancer are waiting to be called into the doctor’s office to receive updates on their progress. At first everyone wants to be by themselves, to stay in their personal bubbles. But as they discover their similarities and appreciate each other for their quirky eccentricities, a bond is created. Their common desire to find out who the mysterious Mr. Fitzpatrick is, after he is called time and time again to go into the office with no response, allows them to express their own feelings about their illnesses.

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Performance Royalty Fees

Royalty fees apply to all performances whether or not admission is charged. Any performance in front of an audience (e.g. an invited dress rehearsal) is considered a performance for royalty purposes.

Exemption details for scenes and monologues for competition.

Cast List

Characters in this play are currently identified as male or female. Directors are welcome to assign any gender (binary or non-binary) to any character and modify pronouns accordingly.

Chemo Girl

  • GIRL, Camille Female 98 lines
    She is battling cancer. Screen name: Chemo Girl
  • MOM Female 29 lines
    Has come back to give her daughter the power to fight
  • GAMEMASTER Any gender 37 lines
    Is in charge of Save the Planet (the video game world)
  • WITCH Female 8 lines
    Guards the forbidden forest of living trees
  • LAGGER Any gender 10 lines
    Flies behind the flyers and helps GIRL PARTS OF THE STORM 1, TREES, MINES, STATUES, PATIENTS, FLYERS, PARTS OF THE STORM 2

The Other Room:

  • DAD Male
    In the other room, is seen on stage in three flashbacks
  • TOMMY Male 47 lines
    Watches Cubs games with his dad
  • MARY Female 58 lines
    Avoids the entire ordeal by going to her best friend’s house
  • MOM Female 44 lines
    Trying to keep the house in order
  • ROB Male 12 lines
    Tommy’s friend
  • BOB Male 16 lines
    Tommy’s friend
  • JEN Female 25 lines
    Mary’s best friend

Red Rover

  • HOLLY Female 105 lines
    girl who recently discovered she has cancer
  • LUCY Female 65 lines
    Her friend, Chemotherapy
  • The Side Effects:
  • NAUSEA Any gender 5 lines
  • VOMITING Any gender 5 lines
  • FATIGUE Any gender 4 lines
  • FEVER Any gender 2 lines
  • SWEATS Any gender 2 lines
  • CHILLS Any gender 5 lines
  • HAIR LOSS Any gender 5 lines
  • The Visitors:
  • DOCTOR Any gender 11 lines
  • MOM Female 15 lines
  • DAD Male 11 lines
  • CAL Any gender 9 lines
  • PAL Any gender 6 lines
  • SAL Any gender 7 lines
  • SOCIAL WORKER Any gender 14 lines

Waiting Room

  • CALLER Any gender 18 lines
    Calls patients in for their appointments
  • FAITH Female 55 lines
    Very positive and gregarious
  • FINN Female 71 lines
    Real name Finland, a sharp cynic
  • ROHAN Male 56 lines
    Real name Ronald, but uses this name as his cancer-fighting character
  • CLOUD Female 23 lines
    Real name Claudia, struggling with depression
  • OSWALD Male 17 lines
    Already knows his diagnosis and options, but comes to the waiting room once a week to be a part of something
  • Finn’s Family
  • DAD Male 6 lines
  • MOM Female 5 lines
  • SISTER Female 7 lines
  • Rohan’s Family
  • DAD: Male 15 lines
  • MOM Female 5 lines
  • SISTER Female 3 lines

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