Lindsey's Oyster

by Tammy Ryan

Sixteen year old Lindsey is “texting” Dylan, captain of the Lacrosse team. When he invites her to the cemetery for a party with his friends she goes, but the date quickly spirals out of her control. When her parents discover she is pregnant, they pressure her to have an abortion, but Lindsey at first resists. Instead she decides to get a tattoo and must convince Rooster, the Tattoo Artist of Saints and...

Sixteen year old Lindsey is “texting” Dylan, captain of the Lacrosse team. When he invites her to the cemetery for a party with his friends she goes, but the date quickly spirals out of her control. When her parents discover she is pregnant, they pressure her to have an abortion, but Lindsey at first resists. Instead she decides to get a tattoo and must convince Rooster, the Tattoo Artist of Saints and Sinners Tattoo Shop that she is “ready to get inked”. Through texting and memory, in her relationship with her BFF Melinda and the Tattoo Artist, Lindsey begins to gain a more complex understanding of what happened that night, reclaiming the narrative of her life and her ability to reshape her own destiny.

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Lindsey's Oyster

Recommended by

  • Cheryl Bear: Lindsey's Oyster by Tammy Ryan
    “

    Perfect for teenagers and an excellent teaching tool about the right of owning your own body and the boundary which must be respected. Excellent!

    Perfect for teenagers and an excellent teaching tool about the right of owning your own body and the boundary which must be respected. Excellent!

    ”
  • Claudia Haas: Lindsey's Oyster by Tammy Ryan
    “

    Everyone owns 16-year old Lindsey's body except Lindsey. We open with her best friend encouraging her to have a tattoo which she doesn't want - to the teenage boy who assumes that Lindsey joining him one night implies consent and even her mother who makes a snap medical decision for her daughter's pregnancy. The use of flashbacks growing in clarity is tense, succinct and frightening. The ending scene is a triumph for Lindsey - the imagery is used beautifully. Loved the character of Rooster - and his sanity. Just a gorgeous play for teens and their families.

    Everyone owns 16-year old Lindsey's body except Lindsey. We open with her best friend encouraging her to have a tattoo which she doesn't want - to the teenage boy who assumes that Lindsey joining him one night implies consent and even her mother who makes a snap medical decision for her daughter's pregnancy. The use of flashbacks growing in clarity is tense, succinct and frightening. The ending scene is a triumph for Lindsey - the imagery is used beautifully. Loved the character of Rooster - and his sanity. Just a gorgeous play for teens and their families.

    ”
  • Jordan Bird: Lindsey's Oyster by Tammy Ryan
    “

    This play perfectly captures being sixteen, being a young woman: all of its excitement, horror, lust, fear, and confusion. This is the world of a teenage girl's body -- a battleground of others' expectations, ridicule, and intentions, both good and bad.

    This play perfectly captures being sixteen, being a young woman: all of its excitement, horror, lust, fear, and confusion. This is the world of a teenage girl's body -- a battleground of others' expectations, ridicule, and intentions, both good and bad.

    ”
3W 2M
3 Teenagers
2 Parents
1 Tattoo artist

The play can be performed with 3 actors: 2W, 1M.
Actor playing Lindsay would not double.
Other characters can double as required (woman playing all female roles, man playing all male roles)

*Casting in terms of race and ethnicity is open. However, I recommend that Lindsey and Dylan should be of the same race. This is a play about a woman's right to choose, the focus is not on race in this instance.

Development History

  • Workshop, International Culture Lab Cornell University/garajistanbul , 2011

Production History

  • University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania/KCATF 2nd place David Mark Cohen Award, 2012

Awards

  • David Mark Cohen Award
    Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival
    Runner Up
    2011