October 3, 2026 · daily scene
The Parallel Park
Given circumstances
- Character
- Driver
- Setting
- Driver's seat, engine running, your hands at ten and two, examiner in the passenger seat.
- The moment before
- You just hit the curb for the third time and saw the examiner write something down.
- Scene partner
- The driving test examiner, clipboard on lap, pen clicking
Direction
Desperate optimism. Each failure makes you double down on confidence instead of admitting defeat.
Script
That curb came out of nowhere. You saw that, right? Total blind spot. City planning issue, really.
EXAMINERYou have one more attempt.
One's all I need. I'm a very good driver. My mom says I'm a natural. She's biased, obviously, but also she's driven with a lot of people and statistically I'm in her top three.
(beat)
Okay. Attempting parallel park, take four. This is the one. I can feel it.
EXAMINERTurn the wheel now.
Turning now. Yep. Turning so much. Really committing to the turn—
How much space would you say there is between my bumper and that mailbox? Ballpark. Roughly.
Written for Act It Up. Free to rehearse and perform for practice, classes and self-tapes.
Record this scene with a teleprompter and a scene partner who reads the other lines.
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