Prized Possessions
By Joe Swenson
Prized Possessions was born out of the desire to tell stories that get people to think, find themselves, learn more about the human interaction, be inspired.
Scene Setting – New York City, October 2000. The Department of Homeless Services was in their 5th year of rescue and rehabilitation as the city switched from state and federal funding for shelters to opening privately run homes especially for the mentally deficient, but also for families that were taxing the already overcrowded shelter situation. Prior to 1981, single adult homeless persons were not permitted into shelters. Families still received priority until the privatization of homes designed for rescue and rehabilitation, which included many social services that the homeless population was missing. By the time of our story in 2000, the rescue and rehabilitation had reduced homelessness in NYC by nearly 30%, a short-lived registration program was instituted and monitored by both social workers and DHS police officers. This captures some of that time. Although all of the characters and the story is fictionalized the historical references are completely accurate.
Show Synopsis – What is freedom? What does it mean to truly be free? We follow the wisdom and philosophies of a very nice and respectful homeless woman, whose personal definition of freedom depends on her remaining homeless. She is faced with sacrificing her freedom for the protection of something that she perceives is of higher value to anyone in her shoes, prized possessions. Along our short-lived journey we get to meet some very wonderful characters. Jackson is instantly likeable because of his innocence and his amazing recall ability for daily historical references. Thomas is the grizzled veteran social worker, who appears as a clock-in/clock-out type of employee, but he finds some spirit along the way. Most of that spirit is thanks to the attractive energy of his new coworker, Laura. She is of the belief that she can help anyone and that help is defined in only one specific manner. We meet Mike who is scared, but has a sweetness to him about his kids, that you immediately root for him. Finally, we come across Officer Douglass, who you can tell protects the homeless, but also holds them accountable in the event that accountability needs to be enacted. The Prized Possession could easily be translated into what is your purpose? What is your reason for living? What is the one thing that you derive all of your choices from? For some of us it’s an intrinsic desire to help others. For some it’s a reminder of where we’ve been or who we are or who we aspire to be. What is your prized possession?
Character List
Jennifer – 40-45 (55 – 60 in final scene) Homeless for 10+ years, with an overtly positive tone, she truly tries to be an inspiration to those around her. She has a sharp tongue and demonstrates a good amount of wit about her and strongly opposes being forced into homes.
Thomas – Late 30s. Department of Homeless Services social worker, who is very experienced in his position and slightly burned out, although he is energized by the presence of his younger colleague.
Laura – Mid 20s. Department of Homeless Services social worker, she is well educated and has an abundance of energy towards homeless registration or rehabilitation.
Jackson – Mid 20s. Homeless for only a short time, high functioning Asperger’s Syndrome that has translated into an incredible amount of knowledge on historical events including knowing what happened on each day in history. He’s very naïve and has a sweetness about him.
Mike – Mid 30s. Recently homeless, very raw or rough around the edges, is quick to feel shame and has a constant paranoia about him.
Officer Douglass – 20-30s. Police officer with confident baring and demeanor. He is very stoic and demonstrates very little emotion in the execution of his duties. He is friendly though.
Barry/Judge Andrews/Doctor – Versatile characters played by one actor. Barry/Doctor can be any age, Judge Andrews must be aged to appear 70+.
Sarah/Kelli/Orderly – Versatile characters played by one actress. Mid 20s is the age goal for each character.
Scene Setting – New York City, October 2000. The Department of Homeless Services was in their 5th year of rescue and rehabilitation as the city switched from state and federal funding for shelters to opening privately run homes especially for the mentally deficient, but also for families that were taxing the already overcrowded shelter situation. Prior to 1981, single adult homeless persons were not permitted into shelters. Families still received priority until the privatization of homes designed for rescue and rehabilitation, which included many social services that the homeless population was missing. By the time of our story in 2000, the rescue and rehabilitation had reduced homelessness in NYC by nearly 30%, a short-lived registration program was instituted and monitored by both social workers and DHS police officers. This captures some of that time. Although all of the characters and the story is fictionalized the historical references are completely accurate.
Show Synopsis – What is freedom? What does it mean to truly be free? We follow the wisdom and philosophies of a very nice and respectful homeless woman, whose personal definition of freedom depends on her remaining homeless. She is faced with sacrificing her freedom for the protection of something that she perceives is of higher value to anyone in her shoes, prized possessions. Along our short-lived journey we get to meet some very wonderful characters. Jackson is instantly likeable because of his innocence and his amazing recall ability for daily historical references. Thomas is the grizzled veteran social worker, who appears as a clock-in/clock-out type of employee, but he finds some spirit along the way. Most of that spirit is thanks to the attractive energy of his new coworker, Laura. She is of the belief that she can help anyone and that help is defined in only one specific manner. We meet Mike who is scared, but has a sweetness to him about his kids, that you immediately root for him. Finally, we come across Officer Douglass, who you can tell protects the homeless, but also holds them accountable in the event that accountability needs to be enacted. The Prized Possession could easily be translated into what is your purpose? What is your reason for living? What is the one thing that you derive all of your choices from? For some of us it’s an intrinsic desire to help others. For some it’s a reminder of where we’ve been or who we are or who we aspire to be. What is your prized possession?
Character List
Jennifer – 40-45 (55 – 60 in final scene) Homeless for 10+ years, with an overtly positive tone, she truly tries to be an inspiration to those around her. She has a sharp tongue and demonstrates a good amount of wit about her and strongly opposes being forced into homes.
Thomas – Late 30s. Department of Homeless Services social worker, who is very experienced in his position and slightly burned out, although he is energized by the presence of his younger colleague.
Laura – Mid 20s. Department of Homeless Services social worker, she is well educated and has an abundance of energy towards homeless registration or rehabilitation.
Jackson – Mid 20s. Homeless for only a short time, high functioning Asperger’s Syndrome that has translated into an incredible amount of knowledge on historical events including knowing what happened on each day in history. He’s very naïve and has a sweetness about him.
Mike – Mid 30s. Recently homeless, very raw or rough around the edges, is quick to feel shame and has a constant paranoia about him.
Officer Douglass – 20-30s. Police officer with confident baring and demeanor. He is very stoic and demonstrates very little emotion in the execution of his duties. He is friendly though.
Barry/Judge Andrews/Doctor – Versatile characters played by one actor. Barry/Doctor can be any age, Judge Andrews must be aged to appear 70+.
Sarah/Kelli/Orderly – Versatile characters played by one actress. Mid 20s is the age goal for each character.