Childish Things

by Arthur M Jolly

10 Minute Play - Jerry is faced with the task of telling his estranged adult daughter that he has a terminal illness. He plans on using a go-between: Teddy and Bunny, who initially seem to be her siblings but in fact are her childhood toys - a stuffed Teddy bear and a rabbit - which he used as puppets when she was a little girl.
This play is published in The Best American Short Plays 2015-2016, and produced as a...

10 Minute Play - Jerry is faced with the task of telling his estranged adult daughter that he has a terminal illness. He plans on using a go-between: Teddy and Bunny, who initially seem to be her siblings but in fact are her childhood toys - a stuffed Teddy bear and a rabbit - which he used as puppets when she was a little girl.
This play is published in The Best American Short Plays 2015-2016, and produced as a short film in 2017.

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Childish Things

Recommended by

  • Charles Scott Jones: Childish Things by Arthur M Jolly
    “

    Deeply sorrowful is CHILDISH THINGS. A sort of toy gallows humor augments the complex absurdist mood. I admire the repetition of the dinosaur jokes that Teddy makes, how they gauge the growing desperation of Jerry as he tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter Rachel to give her some very bad news. The theme of trying to fix an adult catastrophe with toy surrogates is an important one as we become more and more accustomed to virtual realities and AI companions that Teddy and Bunny foreshadow. Arthur Jolly is a major talent.

    Deeply sorrowful is CHILDISH THINGS. A sort of toy gallows humor augments the complex absurdist mood. I admire the repetition of the dinosaur jokes that Teddy makes, how they gauge the growing desperation of Jerry as he tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter Rachel to give her some very bad news. The theme of trying to fix an adult catastrophe with toy surrogates is an important one as we become more and more accustomed to virtual realities and AI companions that Teddy and Bunny foreshadow. Arthur Jolly is a major talent.

    ”
  • Christopher Plumridge: Childish Things by Arthur M Jolly
    “

    I found this play equally engaging and moving, I can't help feel sorry for Jerry in his situation, trying to break his sad news to his daughter in such an odd way. A lovely short piece which still leaves me pondering....

    I found this play equally engaging and moving, I can't help feel sorry for Jerry in his situation, trying to break his sad news to his daughter in such an odd way. A lovely short piece which still leaves me pondering....

    ”
  • Cheryl Bear: Childish Things by Arthur M Jolly
    “

    A cathartic and moving expression as a father works up to telling his daughter something you'd hope he'd never have to. Excellent work.

    A cathartic and moving expression as a father works up to telling his daughter something you'd hope he'd never have to. Excellent work.

    ”
View all 5 recommendations

Character Information

2m, 2f
  • JERRY
    Jerry, who has spent a lifetime sidestepping honesty and confrontation, tries to tell his estranged daughter that he has a terminal illness using two of her childhood toys as puppets.
    60's up
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • BUNNY
    Caring, a little less aware than Teddy. She is another stuffed toy, although coming across as Jerry's older daughter initially.
    Adult
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s,
      40s,
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • TEDDY
    Smart, funny in a goofy way. He comes across as a son to Jerry and older brother to Bunny - although, while it is not apparent in the first half of the play, he is actually a stuffed teddy bear, used as a puppet by Jerry.
    Adult
    Male
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s,
      40s,
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male
  • RACHEL
    Jerry's daughter - his only real daughter. She is the adult daughter of an alcoholic mother and a co-dependent father, still trying to overcome her childhood.
    30ish
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female

Development History

  • Reading, Last Frontier Theatre Conference (Monologue), 2015

Production History

  • Professional, Midnight Summit Ensemble, Chicago, 2017
  • Professional, Mildred's Umbrella Theatre Company, Houston TX, 2016
  • Professional, Short & Sweet Hollywood Festival, 2016
  • University, Mt. Hood Community College, 2016