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“Coda”

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Ladutke, Rachel Rubin (American playwright, director, 1967-____), “Coda,”

a 10-minute drama in English, set in the kitchen of a farmhouse in Connecticut, U.S.A., an afternoon in September, 1978,

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• © 1998 by Rachel Rubin Ladutke; • script/rights available from Rachel Rubin Ladutke, 30-27 41st Street, #2R, Astoria, New York 11103-3423, U.S.A., e-mail rachel@rachelwrites.com, www.rachelwrites.com, telephone (home) 718-721-6083, (work) 212-875-7785, fax 718-721-7709. • Cited by Rachel Rubin Ladutke, via ftp February 14, 2000; Ladutke says,

§ Dramatis Personae Catherine (f), 30, an artist, coping with an unexpected pregnancy; Grace (f), 65, mother, in the process of separating from her husband.

§ Synopsis “It is 1978. Catherine is helping her mother Grace move into a new apartment. Catherine is planning to reveal her second out-of-wedlock pregnancy to her mother, while Grace wrestles with a decision to leave her own husband of thirty years.

§ Comment “One set, period costuming (1970s). ‘Coda’ is part of a full-length evening, entitled Grace Notes, which depicts Grace’s life over a period of fifty years and which premiered at the Gemini Theatre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., in February, 2000, as one of the winners of the Pittsburgh New Plays Competition. Excerpts from Grace Notes appear in three Smith & Kraus anthologies. ‘Coda’ stands on its own and offers a strong showcase for two actresses.”

§ Themes 1970s, divorce, family, pregnancy, stepfamily, teenage, ten-minute play.

See also Rachel Rubin Ladutke’s