Just Cause

by Laura Neill

Security guards Harry and Sammy are supposed to watch over the subway tunnel their bosses are turning into luxury condos. But they start to wonder... is that interchangeable white guy boss really in the Caymans, or did he maybe die in an explosion of blood and shadows? A gory and incisively depressing comedy that takes a hard look at Boston’s economy and the monsters that lurk in our shadows. [In development...

Security guards Harry and Sammy are supposed to watch over the subway tunnel their bosses are turning into luxury condos. But they start to wonder... is that interchangeable white guy boss really in the Caymans, or did he maybe die in an explosion of blood and shadows? A gory and incisively depressing comedy that takes a hard look at Boston’s economy and the monsters that lurk in our shadows. [In development with director Dawn M. Simmons]

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Just Cause

Recommended by

  • Playwrights Foundation: Just Cause by Laura Neill
    “

    Playwrights Foundation enthusiastically recommends this play, JUST CAUSE, as a Semi-Finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival 2020. We were moved by the quality of the writing and the relevant and compelling themes that spoke to the mission of our festival. It excelled in a competitive process of 735 plays submitted this year and rose to the top after a six month long process discussing its merits with both national and local Bay Area readers, and we hope it moves swiftly towards production.

    Playwrights Foundation enthusiastically recommends this play, JUST CAUSE, as a Semi-Finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival 2020. We were moved by the quality of the writing and the relevant and compelling themes that spoke to the mission of our festival. It excelled in a competitive process of 735 plays submitted this year and rose to the top after a six month long process discussing its merits with both national and local Bay Area readers, and we hope it moves swiftly towards production.

    ”

Character Information

In addition to the human characters below, there's this. Not a character you have to cast, but definitely a character...

SOMETHING The sound in the tunnel. Or the lack of sound. Really just
the feeling that there's a pair of eyes, or a hungry set of
teeth, watching you... It lives in shadows.
  • Sammy
    Security guard for Blue Star. On the surface, cheerfully jaded,
    with a strong sense of humor. You take what you can get and you
    don't take any shit. Behind the tough exterior, she's still destroyed
    by what Hurricane Maria did to her hometown. And no, her name
    isn't short for anything in Spanish.
    20s
    Puerto Rican,
    Latinx
    woman
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female,
      Non-binary
  • Harry
    Security guard for Blue Star. A family man, and he and his wife
    are finally having a baby, despite the fact that they have no health
    insurance because he works three different thirty-hour-a-week
    part-time jobs. He's pulling all the midnight shifts these days even
    though he hasn't slept more than three hours in weeks.
    30s
    Black
    Man
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s,
      40s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male,
      Non-binary
  • Elaine
    Associate VP of Management for Blue Star. Gunning for a bonus
    and a promotion. Knows she has to work twice as hard as the
    boys.
    30s
    Asian American
    woman
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s,
      40s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female,
      Non-binary
  • Dave
    VP of Management for Blue Star. Not racing anyone for anything.
    Somebody's nephew. Also plays WHITE GUY, his cousin, ditto.
    30s
    White
    Man
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s,
      40s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Male,
      Non-binary
  • Em
    "Third-party scientific consultant."A millennial who's trying really
    hard to pretend she knows what she's doing.
    20s
    woman
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female,
      Non-binary
  • Ava
    Technically lives in Cambridge. Really, really needs to feel
    like she's making a difference. Has enough of a safety net
    to spend some of her weekends making a difference.
    50s
    White
    woman
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      40s,
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female,
      Non-binary

Development History

  • Commission, SpeakEasy Stage Company, 2019