This is a short one-act play that is ready for staging:
My Feelings Matter
By: Dominic Richardson
A Safe Touch Production
Character List:
Narrator: Mason as a high school student
Mason: Mason in middle school
Coach/Mason’s Dad: Mason’s baseball coach/ Mason’s dad
Mrs. Bernstein: Director of the Child Abuse Prevention Program
Kevin: boy in educational video
1
My Feelings Matter
(Lights up on a young man sitting on a stool in front of a video camera.)
Narrator:
Hi, my name is Mason. And this is my story. A story about feelings. Do you pay attention to your feelings? It’s easy when you feel happy. Like when you get a new bike or pair of shoes. Of course, everyone loves those kinds of feelings. But sometimes there are scary feelings. Scary feelings that hurt people. Once I had a scary feeling and someone made me promise not to tell anyone. Keeping it a secret made me feel bad. I didn’t know what to do.
(Lights up on Mason in a baseball uniform practicing with Coach)
Narrator:
It all started when Coach came over to play catch. Coach came over every week to help me get ready for the season, and we had a lot of fun. But one day things were different.
Coach:
That’s some arm you’ve got. Keep it up and you’ll be a pro in no time.
Mason:
Thanks, Coach.
Coach:
You’re definitely ready to pitch this season. It seems like your fastball picks up velocity every time we practice. In a couple weeks you might reach 100mph on the gun.
Mason:
Do you really think so? My dad said if I ever threw a baseball that hard he would start charging people for my autograph.
Coach:
That’s a great idea. I’d be first in line for one of those when the time comes. It might not happen in two weeks. It could take a little longer. I’m happy to practice with you each week until you reach your milestone.
2
Mason:
That could take awhile. What if I never do it at all this season? We would practice a lot together. My dad would appreciate it. He always says practice makes perfect.
Coach:
Where is your father? Usually he joins us for catch by now?
Mason:
He and mom are probably at the grocery store or something. We should see their car pulling into the driveway any minute now.
Narrator:
Coach and I usually practiced for about an hour while my parents ran errands. They loved when Coach came over because it gave them a chance to get things done. This time my parents were stuck in traffic and it took them longer to get home.
Coach:
While we’re waiting, let’s work on some hitting. Grab a bat and stand in front of the tree.
(Mason grabs a bat and stands in front of the tree.)
Take a swing at this!
(Coach throws a fastball, Mason swings, misses and stumbles.)
Mason:
That wasn’t one of my best swings.
Coach:
Your mechanics are all out of whack. Let me show you a better approach at the plate.
Narrator:
Coach came over to help me with my batting stance. He told me to bend my knees a little bit more and choke up on the bat. He brushed his body against mine and held the bat with me.
3
Coach:
There isn’t this better? If you hold the bat this way you’ll have a better chance of getting a hit. All you have to do is generate more power from your lower body. When you see a pitch coming, raise your front leg and step forward. This will give you the energy you need to send the ball over the fence. But the energy must come from this part of the body (Coach takes one hand off the bat and puts it on Mason’s thigh). It has to come from here in order to be effective.
Narrator:
Coach began touching me on the private parts of my body. I didn’t know what to think about what happened. I didn’t know what to say or how to handle it. The next week, my parents went out again while Coach and I practiced in the yard. This time, I decided not to practice hitting with Coach. I didn’t want what happened before to happen again this week. At first, things were normal. Coach and I ran our usual trail from the patio to the backyard fence. Everything was fine until we made it to the fence the final time.
(Coach surrounds Mason at the fence)
Mason:
Why’d you do that?
(Coach begins touching Mason on private parts of his body)
Stop, Coach! Stop! I don’t like this!
Narrator:
Coach touched me for the second time. I really didn’t like the touching and told him to stop. Coach kept saying the touches were okay. When we got back to the patio I started to cry.
Coach:
Don’t tell anyone about this. Not even your parents. They won’t believe you anyway.
Narrator:
That was the secret. Coach made me feel guilty. It felt like it was my fault that he touched me in the wrong places. I wondered if I did something wrong. I couldn’t figure out if I did anything to deserve what he did to me. That night, I felt sick all over my body. My dad thought I was exhausted from practicing with Coach.
(Lights up on Dad pulling a thermometer out of Mason’s mouth while in bed)
4
Dad:
Well, Slugger. You’re temperature is fine. You don’t have a fever. You’re probably tired from all that practice. You better get some sleep. You’ll feel better in the morning. Goodnight.
Narrator:
I felt terrible. I began feeling angry at my dad. Why didn’t he pick up on what was going on? How come he couldn’t figure out why I felt so bad? I wanted to tell Dad what happened, but I was afraid. What if Coach was right? What if Dad didn’t believe me? After all, Dad had known Coach for longer than I had been alive. I decided not to tell my dad. I kept the touching a secret just like Coach said. Then, the following week, Coach came over again. But this time my parents never left. I thought he wouldn’t try any touching because my parents were inside the house. This time when we ran to the backyard fence, Coach began touching me for the third time. I was afraid to yell because my parents might hear. I wanted to get away but he wouldn’t let me. Then he warned me to never tell my parents about what happened. I thought about what happened to me all the time. Maybe Coach’s touches were okay? Maybe the whole thing is my fault? I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Not even during my classes at school. I was worried that Coach would do this to me every week and I would remain silent. Then, one day Mrs. Bernstein came in from the Child Abuse Prevention Program. She showed us a video on the difference between okay touches and not okay touches.
(Lights up on Mrs. Bernstein, showing a video to Mason’s class)
Kevin (Boy in Video)
When it comes to touches, there are okay touches and not okay touches. There are only two times when someone might have to touch the private parts of your body. A doctor or nurse might have to look at or touch the private parts of our body to make sure that we are healthy. That would be an okay touch. Our parents or guardians might have to look at or touch the private parts of our body when we take a bath or shower, just to make sure we are clean. That would be an okay touch. If someone is trying to touch the private parts of our body, and it isn’t one of those two times, then those kinds of touches are not okay touches. If someone tries to touch you on the private parts of your body in a not okay way, tell them to stop. Those are private parts of your body and no one has the right to touch you there.
Narrator:
Then Mrs. Bernstein talked to us about how to handle it if someone tried to look at or touch us in a not okay way.
Mrs. Bernstein
(Turns off television set) In the movie, Kevin had been touched in a not okay way. Who touched Kevin in a not okay way?
5
(Mason raises his hand. Mrs. Bernstein calls on Mason).
Mason
Tyler.
Mrs. Bernstein
And Tyler is Kevin’s…
Mason
Cousin.
Mrs. Bernstein
Not okay touches can come from someone we know, like a person who lives in our neighborhood, attends our school or is a part of our family. Or a not okay touch might come from someone we don’t know, like a stranger. No matter who the not okay touch comes from we have to tell that person no, run away and tell a trusted adult. How did Kevin feel about the not okay touch?
(Mason raises his hand. Mrs. Bernstein calls on Mason.)
Mason
Kevin felt guilty. He thought it was his fault he had been touched in a not okay way.
Mrs. Bernstein
The touch made him confused and he didn’t understand the difference between an okay touch and a not okay touch. He thought it were his fault that his cousin touched him in a not okay way. It was not Kevin’s fault. If something like this were to ever happen to you, it wouldn’t be your fault either. How else did Kevin feel about the not okay touch?
(Mason raises his hand. Mrs. Bernstein calls on Mason.)
Mason
Kevin felt sad and hurt. His body even felt sick.
Mrs. Bernstein
When it comes to touches this is the first thing I need you all to do…
(Mrs. Bernstein raises placard displaying “Listen to Your Feelings”)
Mason
6
Listen to your feelings.
Mrs. Bernstein
Our feelings will tell us if a touch is a not okay touch. If a touch makes us feel sad, upset, or confused, then those kinds of touches are not okay touches. If our feelings tell us that a touch is a not okay touch, then what can we do?
Mason
Say no.
(Mrs. Bernstein raises placard displaying “Say no and run away”)
Mrs. Bernstein
Next we have to “Say no and run away”. When we say no, do we say it in a quiet whisper voice?
Mason
No.
Mrs. Bernstein
We say it with a strong voice. Do we say no in silly tone of voice?
Mason
No.
Mrs. Bernstein
We don’t say it in a silly tone of voice. We say no in a serious tone of voice. Why do we know say it in this way?
Mason
We say no loudly because we want a grown up to hear us and give us some help. We say no in a serious tone of voice because we want the person doing the not okay touch to stop.
7
Mrs. Bernstein
When I count to three, let’s practice saying no in a strong, serious voice. One…two…three.
Mason
No!
Mrs. Bernstein
Very good. Next we have to run away, but where do we go?
(Mason raises his hand. Mrs. Bernstein calls on Mason)
Mason
We could go tell our parents, or another adult we trust.
(Mrs. Bernstein raises placard displaying “Tell a trusted adult”)
Mrs. Bernstein
We do the most important part of our safety plan, which is to…
Mason
Tell a trusted adult.
Mrs. Bernstein
And who here knows a trusted adult for us to tell?
(Mason raises his hand.)
(Mrs. Bernstein raises a placard displaying “Top Ten Trusted Adults to Tell”)
I have the top ten trusted adults for us to tell about not okay touching. Who knows a person on the list?
(Mason and the audience members in the black box theater take turns guessing the top ten people on the list. The answers are 1. Parents. 2. Grandparents. 3. Teacher/Principal. 4. Counselor. 5. Aunts/Uncles. 6. Police officer. 7. Coach. 8. Minister, Reverend, other religious figures. 9. Doctor/nurse. 10. Trusted adult or friend.)
8
Mrs. Bernstein
These are your top ten people to tell about not okay touches. I have to ask you, if someone were to touch you in a not okay way, you told a person on this list about it, and they said they couldn’t help you. What could you do then?
(Mason raises his hand. Mrs. Bernstein calls on Mason.)
Mason
You tell a different trusted adult.
Mrs. Bernstein
You continue to do the most important part of our safety plan, and that is to tell a trusted adult. Even if someone were to try to trick us or get us to keep a secret, we still have to say no, run away and tell a trusted adult. We should never keep secrets about not okay touches.
Narrator
After the presentation, I told Mrs. Bernstein what Coach had done to me. She didn’t get upset, she just listened. She forwarded what I said to the school counselor. The school counselor told my parents about what happened. Coach is now getting the help he needs, so that he doesn’t do to someone else what he did to me. The presentation helped me out a lot. I learned that my body is private, and that I am responsible for keeping it safe. I learned the difference between an okay touch and a not okay touch. I learned that my feelings matter and that no one has the right to touch me, even if they want you to keep a secret.
Black Out