Banana Nut Split
Way back in high school, 10th grade to be specific, we had this glorious thing called Mini-Term. Our second semester ended in early May. Then, students would experience Mini-term, a collection of fun elective classes allowed students to explore their specific interests. (You could also make-up a class.)
Anyway, during Mini-term the drama club put on a series of One Acts. (My favorite show by the way was I.T. — Improvisational Theater, by fellow drama buddies Ryan, Joelle, and other talented thespians.) I decided that I wanted to write and direct my own show. So I wrote: BananaNutSplit — all one word to be cool. It’s a pretty silly show with a rather sitcomish premise:
A young man is meeting his girlfriend at a fancy restaurant. He is going to propose to her. The problem? He secretly has split personalities, and whenever he gets nervous, those multi-personalities burst out of him. Wackiness ensues.
Yes, quite silly. But I had a great deal of fun directing the show. The drama students voted it Best Play — so that was an ego boost. And something else happened with it. Around 1988 when I was working at the Grand Cinemas, a smart, sexy manager named Cheri wanted to do a comedy for her college class. I suggested Banana Nut Split, she directed the play, and I got to watch adult actors perform the work.
Now here’s where I turn into Paul Harvey:
That sexy smart manager named Cheri, the woman who directed my first-ever play, married me in 1995 — and we’ve been living happily ever after ever since.
A few years ago, I found an old copy of the play. I dusted it off — updated some of the jokes — tightened things up… and then sent it to Big Dog Plays. And now, Banana Nut Split is a published one act play.
Learn more about Wade’s plays.
