A Ten-Minute Comedy
Three people see the same thing. That doesn’t mean they know what happened.
Synopsis
Night classes have ended. Rain is coming down. Mara, an agnostic professor, and Paul, a theology professor, are finishing an argument about the difference between believing and knowing.
Mara challenges Paul to ask God for something specific: a blue umbrella.
Then Ellie, a younger staff member whose own unanswered question has been waiting six months, looks through the glass door.
There’s an umbrella outside. It’s blue.
About the Play
Blue Umbrella is a comedy about faith, skepticism, coincidence, and the human need for an answer when a decision cannot wait.
Mara says, “I don’t know.” Paul says, “I know.” Ellie needs to know. The play gives all three of them the same evidence and refuses to tell anyone what it proves.
The question is not whether God exists. It is what we do when we need an answer and the available evidence cannot give us one.
From the Student Lounge
Blue. Ordinary. Real. That is all anyone actually knows.
A campus has a Lost & Found for a reason. Mara would like that entered into evidence.
In the Room
Three actors. One lounge. Rain outside.
The play begins as night classes are ending. Mara and Paul are already disagreeing. Ellie enters moments later, catching just enough of their experiment to understand exactly what it means when she sees the umbrella outside.
The production should remain ordinary and playable: institutional furniture, a glass exterior door, a hallway toward classrooms, and rain. The umbrella should never look magical. Its power comes from being completely plausible.
Production Information & Script
If you’re considering Blue Umbrella for your production, download a sample here, visit New Play Exchange for the complete script and production information, or request a reading copy directly.
The sample downloads directly from this site—no registration required. The complete script is available to NPX subscribers, or you may request a reading copy directly.
“What do we do when we need an answer and the available evidence cannot give us one?”
Further reflections on the writing of the play.
These reflections discuss plot developments and endings.