The Play

My daughter, Grace, is a junior at a university in New York City, majoring in Theater. She invited me to see a play which the students had written and in which they would perform.  She felt the need to prepare me for what I would see, so she said:  “Just so you know, the play’s got some porn in it.” She quickly added, “The porn is in film clips.”

I was a surprised by my reaction to this bit of news; I was actually relieved that that the porn would be on film and not performed live, especially, not by my daughter. So, with great anticipation about what I might be seeing, I walked to the theater, having been fortified by two Manhattans.

The play opened with a young man, about twenty years old, speaking a monologue.  He was describing historic events over the last thirty years or so.

After the narrator set the scene, two students appeared as Ronald and Nancy Reagan.  (I’ve already confessed to my daughter that I didn’t entirely follow the plot, especially after the Manhattans, and she, graciously, acknowledged that the script was still a work in progress).

At this point in the play, while Ron and Nancy were chatting, a young woman began simulating masturbation and licking her fingers and slapping herself in the face. Of course, this was unusual, but not entirely unexpected. But that was because I was already knew about the porn.

And, yes, the porn was explicit.  Thankfully, it was the typical, one on one stuff, with no major kinky action. I was, sort of, proud of myself for being cool about this. 

After the play, Grace was a little apprehensive about my reaction.  So, I guessed she wanted some assurances. And being the dad that I am, trying to be cool, with my lame jokes, I offered:  “Yeah, I was cool with the porn.  It seemed a little tame to me!” Grace gave a nervous laugh and we changed the subject.

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I wrote this for the the Trifecta Week 55 Writing Challenge where we are required to write a 33-333 word composition using the word "anticipation" in the context of a visualization of a future event.

Your comments are appreciated.