When We Get Good Again (formerly, Good)

Poor but brilliant college student Tracy needs straight A’s to get into a top law school that will forgive her mountain of debt so she can be a lawyer for the poor. With the economic odds stacked against her, she manages to rationalize her job writing terms papers for other wealthy students, including Roy, a lazy hockey player and Nadiya, an equally brilliant Ukrainian student who has not yet mastered English...
Poor but brilliant college student Tracy needs straight A’s to get into a top law school that will forgive her mountain of debt so she can be a lawyer for the poor. With the economic odds stacked against her, she manages to rationalize her job writing terms papers for other wealthy students, including Roy, a lazy hockey player and Nadiya, an equally brilliant Ukrainian student who has not yet mastered English. So why is she having so much trouble sticking to the program? GOOD explores the current age in which personal integrity seems to be eroding before our eyes, and each day seems to bring new headlines about politicians caught padding their resumes, footballs stars claiming to have fictitious girlfriends, or journalists discovered making up the people they’ve been writing and winning awards about. But GOOD also asks the question whether, in a world of privilege and deprivation, is cheating all that bad when done to level a playing field that is supposed to be flat in the first place?
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When We Get Good Again (formerly, Good)

Recommended by

  • Cheryl Bear:
    22 Jul. 2021
    How do you make it through a system with so many barriers affecting our integrity as we strive to get the right education, the right jobs and opportunities. Is cheating an alright means to try to level the playing field? Well done.
  • Nick Malakhow:
    13 Feb. 2020
    This is a well-crafted, funny piece that successfully explores some excellent moral questions about getting ahead vs. equalizing the playing field in the world of academia. All four characters are credible and sympathetic, and it is fun to see them get to know each other and complicate one another's worldviews over the course of the play. It's a huge credit to McLindon's writing (and, indeed, one of the points of the play, it seems) that I found myself rooting for each character--even the ones I had judged more harshly at the outset. I'd love to see a production.
  • John Minigan:
    19 Jan. 2020
    McLindon's brilliant craft in When We Get Good Again pulls you in with wit and sharp characterizations and, before you've quite realized it, you're in a complex and compelling world of moral questions. Are we what we do or who we say we are (or will be)? What is the nature of loyalty? Is gaming a system (in hockey or academics) justified when the system itself plays games? Thoroughly engaging, clear, and thoroughly entertaining.

Character Information

  • Tracy
    early 20s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    A college student, very bright, very guarded and not very affluent
  • Roy
    Early 20s,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    A hockey-playing college student, smarter than he thinks, a pretty good guy.
  • Perry
    late 20s-early 30s,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    Perry non-athletic, smart, full of nervous energy and driven by a core insecurity that he tries to cover with bravado. Unable to make it as an academic, he carries a pretty big chip on his shoulder. His attempts to exude command and power meet with varying degrees of success.
  • Nadiya
    around 20, Array,
    Female
    A very bright college student from Ukraine with some English, she has a commanding personality, but can be abrupt and abrasive.

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Silverthorne Theater Company
    ,
    2021
  • Workshop
    ,
    Athena Theatre, New York
    ,
    2014
  • Workshop
    ,
    HRC Showcase Theatre, Hudson, NY
    ,
    2013
  • Reading
    ,
    Lark Play Development Center, New York
    ,
    2012
  • Reading
    ,
    John Gassner Memorial Playwriting Award winner reading
    ,
    2012
  • Workshop
    ,
    New American Voices Festival, Houston, TX
    ,
    2012
  • Workshop
    ,
    New Repertory Theatre, New Voices Festival, Boston
    ,
    2012

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    Nobis Playhouse
    ,
    2021
  • University
    ,
    University of Miami (Ohio) (workshop)
    ,
    2020

Awards

Smith & Kraus Best Men’s Monologues 2021
,
Smith & Kraus
,
2021
Winner
,
Best Original Script
,
Ostrander Theatre Awards, Memphis, TN
,
2020
Semi-Finalist
,
Southwest Theatre Productions new play festival
,
Southwest Theatre Productions
,
2020
Winner
,
John Gassner Memorial Playwriting Award
,
New England Theatre Conference
Finalist
,
Julie Harris Playwrights Awards
,
Beverly Hills Theater Guild
Finalist
,
Kitchen Dog Theatre New Work Festival
,
Kitchen Dog Theatre
Finalist
,
Icicle Creek Theatre Festival
,
Icicle Creek Theatre
Finalist
,
Local Lab Festival
,
Local Theatre
Finalist
,
Telluride Playwrights Festival
,
Sparky Productions
Finalist
,
Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre New Play Festival
,
Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre
Finalist
,
Stage Left Fall Residency
,
Stage Left Theater
Semi-Finalist
,
Seven Devils Playwrights Conference
,
id Theatre
Semi-Finalist
,
Ashland New Play Festival
Semi-Finalist
,
Next Act! New Play Summit
,
Capital Repertory Theatre
Honorable Mention
,
Ohio State University-Newark New Play Contest
,
Ohio State University-Newark